Actually, I had already written off shooters a little. Whether Call of Duty or Overwatch, I always had fun with these games. But I never really got in. Sometimes I lacked accuracy, sometimes at some point I simply lost interest or motivation to improve myself.
I was sure that the genre just didn't suit me. But then Marvel Rivals came and changed my point of view completely. Suddenly I find myself going in my head strategies all day or considering which hero I could try out next. And then I drive up the computer in the evening and play a few rounds with friends - casual, but also in ranked mode.
Marvel Rivals has done it with me what so many shooters have failed over the years. And with very simple means.
For everyone
The selection plays an important role in this. The Marvel-Roster is composed from umpteen, sometimes established superheroes for decades. This creates a gripping mixture of cool designs and fascinating forces that have been adapted and modernized in such a way that they fit perfectly into a modern shooter landscape.
And yes, Marvel Rivals copper shamelessly from Overwatch at the game design. However, it does not feel like a blunt copy, but thinks of Blizzard's hero shooter clever. The supports are shining in my eyes because they are so much more.
While I often felt degraded for blunt healing bot at Overwatch, I not only distribute buffs and heals with Marvel Rivals as a strategist. As a Cloak & Dagger, I share a lot of damage and take Divern with my invisibility the wind out of the sails. And as a cute shark Jeff, I often even decide entire matches by devouring the opposing team with my Ultimate and spitting back over a fatal edge. I don't have to be a sniper god that pulls the backline as Black Widow.
With the right heroes and the right tactics, I also make it to the highlight hill and MVP status at the end.
Always a new challenge
But I don't just play strategists. While I hardly dared to get new heroes in Overwatch and Co., Marvel Rivals is constantly motivating me. If I want to level the Battle Pass or earn in-game currency, I have to master challenges. And they demand that I always try other heroes or roles.
That sounds frustrating, but can even be mastered in the co -op against the AI. So I don't have to have a guilty conscience if not every shot is sitting at first. So I learn heroes with the time, for whom I lacked self -confidence beforehand. The elegant ninjadame pylocke is fast and fatal. As an assassin, she wants to switch off the healers at the back, but always has to find the right position. It dies just as quickly as it picks others from the map.
My first matches with her were a disaster. But I stayed there for the challenge and now I can't get rid of her anymore. And even if the spark does not skip - because I constantly conclude some mission, I always have the feeling of progress. Even when I lose.
A shooter for thinker
Marvel Rivals is not just a shooter. If you just play to shoot and collect kills, you are quickly in a lost position. Because with the focus on Cooldowns, Ultimates and the right positions, the matches almost remind you of Mobas.
As a long-time League of Legends player, I really bloom here. The games feel incredibly intensely because the right tactics almost always win, no matter how accurate the opponents are. If my team proves patience and at the right moment the ultimates of Groot and Iron light light, this can mean the victory - tendrils captivate the opponents and an explosive jet then delete them.
And if a Luna Snow protects the point at the right moment with its healing capacity, the desperate last push of the other team fizzles out because they waste all of their ultimates. Sometimes it depends on the right positioning, sometimes on a good flank or a particularly creative tactic-for example, to suddenly appear behind the opponent team using a Doctor Strange portal.
Suddenly I don't just have to train shooting to be successful. And that makes me incredibly curious about learning and trying out more and more.
Conclusion
More than just an overwatch clone
For me, Marvel Rivals not only copies the strengths that have already lift over other shooters. It still refines and combines them with a really fair Free2Play system. I can play all heroes right from the start, earn cosmetics over the Battle Pass and get many motivating rewards through missions without having to spend money.
Of course, the shooter is still not perfect: the technology with lags and crashes is annoying in between and some heroes still feel much more powerful than others. But I never feel powerless, frustrated or overwhelmed because there is always something to learn or discover for which another game is worthwhile.
