Editor’s Note: The developers have released a patch for Marvel’s Avengers and are working to fix bugs and crashes. See the patch notes here.

After a delay and quite a lot of hype, we can finally play Marvel’s Avengers. I love character-action titles, and the prospect of playing as several famous superheroes, some of whom haven’t had proper video games like Iron Man and Black Widow, is quite exciting. Having the team behind Tomb Raider (which I really enjoyed) give it their all and have the extra time to polish it is appealing, so let’s dive in!

In recent memory, I can’t recall a game with a more fantastic opening sequence than Marvel’s Avengers. Set on a day of celebration, the Avengers are burdened by the devastation of San Francisco that they couldn’t prevent. As such, Kamala Khan, Avengers superfan and the later Ms. Marvel, takes to tracking them down and reuniting them in about 3 hours of tutorial gameplay that is a thrill to experience. It is full of compelling setpieces and fun combat with the likable protagonist.

When you finally get to the downed Avengers helicarrier, things start to pick up and you get a better idea of what’s to come. Missions are selectable via the War Table, where players can opt for combat training and side missions before entering the challenging campaign missions. I found it easy to queue into a mission with randoms, who were cooperative and didn’t slow the gameplay to a halt like other online co-op games.

Now, the front-and-center focus of Marvel’s Avengers is obviously the combat. Honestly, it’s hit or miss. There’s an awesome variety of playstyles accommodated thanks to the skill trees. However, I found one of the most vital mechanics (dodging) to be unresponsive and not work most of the time. This is excruciating in missions where you have to play alone, such as an early one with Iron Man, where I found myself struggling to secure a small area with the messy dodging.

That brings me to the problem with a game like this: the need for grinding. Your superheroes have their own power level dictated by their gear. This, in turn, will dictate how much health your enemies have. Enemies aren’t necessarily sponge-y, but they don’t go down in one or two hits, either. This makes taking down a drove of baddies demand the player to use their whole arsenal, but also creates a difficulty curve that makes the early proceedings of Marvel’s Avengers a real bog.

Thankfully, the grinding doesn’t take very long at all. These side missions can be replayed and only last a few minutes, with nice payouts while the player learns how to balance their combos/playstyles in the process. As such, getting through this early bit of the game opens up to a worthwhile, expansive campaign that can be just as fun solo or with your friends. I’d recommend devoting some time to the grind to make the rest of the game easier.

It’s been announced that Marvel’s Avengers is slated to be released on next-gen systems as a free upgrade, and characters like Hawkeye and Spider-Man are set to join the fray soon. The game is being retailed at $59.99 but only boasts a 12-hour campaign, so I would suggest grabbing this on a sale, as more content will be released for free in the future. Regardless, this is one of the better games this generation, and can prove for a very enjoyable time!

A PC Review copy of Marvel’s Avengers was provided by Square Enix for this review.

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Marvel's Avengers

$59.99

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• Captivating combat
• Lots of polish
• Lovable characters

Cons

• Performance Issues
• Needs more content to warrant the price tag
• Bad dodging mechanic