‘Marvel Rivals’ Season 0 Review: A Great Beginning

Season 0 of Marvel Rivals offers an overall good time, boasting an expansive roster that fits any skill set with tons of lore for those willing to dive into this new entry from Marvel Games. Read our Marvel Rivals season 0 review.

Marvel Rivals is a 6v6 hero (and villain) based shooter developed by NetEase Games and features familiar game modes such as Capture Zones, Payload, and Team Deathmatch. The story revolves around Doctor Doom and his 2099 counterpart. The two are in a merciless clash, which results in a “Timestream Entanglement” that forces universes to collide. Heroes and Villains are teaming up with and against each other to defeat the Dooms before one can gain control of all reality. 

Season 0 is a brief introduction to what the game holds, featuring a story focused on the two Dooms with hints of a greater threat in the form of Knull. Read the official Season 0 synopsis below:

From what we can tell… it began out of curiosity.💫

Inspired by Doctor Doom and his never-ending quest to unravel the mysteries of time, Season 0 isn’t just the beginning. It’s the explosive start to innumerable conflicts beyond imagination. Between Doctor Doom and his counterpart from 2099, no one knows who will be the final victor, but everyone knows that the time has come to ignite the battle. 💥

The gameplay remains the same as the closed tests, with the exception of character buffs and nerfs that I couldn’t identify in a real-time scenario. I would like to give a special focus to the new additions to the roster. I especially loved Cloak & Dagger, Moon Knight, Iron Fist, Black Widow, and Hawkeye, as they made for perfect counters against flying enemies. A major issue I had during my time with the Closed Alpha Test.

I will admit that the ranking system is not my favorite. While it’s done in a way that makes you feel like you’ve truly earned your place, I found it frustrating as a solo player to try and climb the ranks, especially with the uncertainty of random players. On the flip side, I have to confess that I’ve begun to appreciate the lack of a role queue when it comes to the time taken to get into matches. This is namely in part to the great points raised by former Overwatch 2 players in the community.

Perhaps one of my favorite parts of the full release was all the lore hidden throughout the menus and maps to discover. I had tons of fun reading each entry and getting a grasp on the overall story with references to iconic villains such as Knull and Dracula. I also enjoyed learning the quirks of each character and which universe they reside in. This is further extended by the in-game interactions between different characters while waiting to either capture a zone or attack/defend the payload. 

With the release of Season 0 came three new locations: The Intergalactic Empire Of Wakanda (my personal favorite), The Hydra Charteris Base, and Klyntar. Each map felt a lot easier to navigate compared to the previous ones while also offering players alternate routes to sneak up on enemies and get to objectives faster. I also appreciated the special additions to each map, whether it’s blocking off enemies on Klyntar, the changing capture zones in The Hydra Charteris Base, or additional damage to enemies/ability to fly in The Intergalactic Empire Of Wakanda. Each location was able to stand out on its own.

In terms of cosmetics, I’m happy to see the variety really start to shine. There are original skins, comic-inspired and MCU-inspired, giving all sorts of players the ability to express themselves. While the pricing may feel a bit steep at first glance, the amount of cosmetics you receive definitely eases that opinion, offering a nameplate, spray, emote, and unique MVP animation in addition to the skin. While I appreciate the more unique designs, I was a bit put off by how difficult it was to locate the alt-colours. The alt-colours, nameplates, and sprays were all hidden away in the hero pages and profile pages, making it a bit difficult to know they existed in the first place. Dedicated tabs in the Store are a must in a future version of the game.

The battle pass was one of my favorite parts. From a general standpoint, I find enjoyment in completing them to the end. With the Marvel Rivals battle pass in particular, I was especially excited to learn that they’re permanent (as long as you purchase them during the season) and that players can receive free skin. While this free skin may not be for a character everyone loves, it still feels great knowing that no one misses out on every aspect of the battle pass, regardless of their playstyle.

Overall, my time with Season 0 of Marvel Rivals has been a good one. The game feels great, and the developers have definitely taken the feedback from the closed tests into account. While the game isn’t perfect yet, I’m optimistic it will be in future seasons.

Marvel Rivals is a 6v6 shooter developed by NetEase Games. The game is available now on Steam, Epic Games, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

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