Multiversus Impressions

More than a Smash Bros clone

Fighting games and crossovers are well acquainted with each other, especially the platform fighter subgenre popularized by Super Smash Bros. Multiversus is a new competitor within that subgenre, bringing together a bizarre mix of characters with the only apparent rule being that WarnerBrothers owns the IP. Thanks to a friend I was able to take part in its recent closed alpha test. Now that it’s been over for a while and I’ve had time to reflect, I want to share my impressions of the game.

What immediately sets Multiversus apart from the other platform fighters is that it is designed around 2v2 battles as the default. Furthermore, the win condition of these battles isn’t to ring out the enemy team until they’re out of lives and eliminated like in other platform fighters. Instead the win condition is to ring out the enemy team four times. It’s a subtle distinction, but since characters are never eliminated it avoids situations where a player is left watching a battle they can no longer participate in.

Playing fighting games with friends can be difficult. Skill gaps between players have a way of draining the fun quickly in any game that isn’t cooperative. Multiversus’s focus on team play has me hoping it will avoid that problem.

To emphasize the team focused nature of the game, characters are assigned to different classes (bruiser, assassin, tank, mage/ranged, and support) that inform their abilities and role on a team. In addition, each character is also categorized based on their primary method of scoring ring outs, those categories being horizontal, vertical, and hybrid.

Even the approach to individual moves leans away from platform fighter conventions. Certain attacks have a cooldown timer that limit how frequently it can be used, in a few cases there is even an alternative move that can be used during cooldown. The number of special moves a character can have is also variable, with some exchanging aerial versions of their specials for a completely different move that can only be used in the air.

Talking about the characters as a whole, Multiversus has quite the roster. Superman, Bugs Bunny, Shaggy, and Arya Stark from Game of Thrones all in one game is a bizarre mixture even few fanfics would think of making. Crossovers of this size and range have also gotten a bad reputation lately through movies like Ready Player One, where the crossover aspect only amounts to meaningless cameos that happen to be in the same movie without interacting with each other.

However, creating a playable character in a fighting game like Multiversus requires far more effort than a cameo in the background. Each playable character has a distinct moveset that adds something different to the game. And while most fighting games restrict dialogue between characters to before and after the match, Multiversus has characters speak throughout the fight. Having Batman shout something along the lines of ‘take that hippie‘ when he hits Shaggy with a batarang is a small touch, but it does a lot to sell the crossover aspect of the game.

I’ve observed that some other platform fighters have begun to shy away from distinctive stage elements in the pursuit of the competitive Smash Bros audience. On the other hand, Multiversus features stages with gaps in the middle, destructible platforms, ceilings that prevent KOs, and switches that change the stage layout. You have to adapt your strategy based on the stage and how it changes, which help makes each fight feel different.

Unfortunately, it’s time to bring up something that has me concerned for the gameplay as a whole: the perk system. Each character can equip three generic perks that increase their stats, and a single unique perk that modifies how a move functions. New perks are acquired by leveling up your character, which is done by playing as them. Trying out a new character, who will have no perks available, becomes doubly intimidating if the game pits you against opponents who have a full set of perks.

This is also where the game shows its free to play nature. After a certain level players can spend in game currency to give a character any generic trait in the game. There’s no doubt that there will be a premium version of this currency. Although each character can get a full set of perks by playing normally, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth that you can pay your way to more flexibility with character builds.

In general I’m not fond of the kind of game that expects people to play it every single day, with daily missions and seasonal battlepasses. I can’t devote myself to any one game the way that these games seem to expect. Multiversus is that kind of game and doesn’t pretend to be anything else. So while the core gameplay is fun, I can only hope that the wave of updates doesn’t leave me feeling lost and out of place after a month of doing other things.

Even with these concerns, the alpha test has left me eager for my next chance to play the game. No platform fighter can reasonably expect to surpass Super Smash Bros, but Multiversus has created its own identity and niche that should let it exist alongside Nintendo’s behemoth.