MultiVersus (PC) Closed Alpha Preview

If anything is sure to pique the interest of people, it’s crossovers. Whether it’s a limited-time collaboration that you see in games like Fortnite and Smite, video game IPs coming together like with Brawlhalla and Street Fighter, or arguably the most video-game centric (and relevant) crossover game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It’s adequately timed with the final updates for that last game that companies have recognized the potential and funded projects to fill the void. Last year we got Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl and this year we have the free-to-play MultiVersus.

With how big and successful the Super Smash Bros. series was, it’s pretty common for platform fighting games like these to be called Smash clones. Although there is a lot of direct influence to be found in MultiVersus, including a control scheme and plenty of other customizable options to fine-tune your experience, there are also enough differences and personality for it to stand out as its own thing. Additionally and similar to the previously mentioned Brawlhalla, this game is extremely consumer-friendly in that it’s F2P, has crossplay with every platform it’s on, and has rollback netcode.

In terms of the game modes, it’s pretty interesting in that it focuses on a 2v2 format. Those looking for a more typical four-player free for all or even a 1v1 can search for matches in those modes, however, the primary mode is 2v2 and the characters do have moves that help to assist a teammate. Many of these moves will still be useful for players on their own, so there’s no need to worry about your character feeling neutered without a teammate.

After playing each of the modes I found the 2v2 and 1v1 modes to be the most fun. Truth be told I had a lot of fun in the free for all mode as well, but each of those matches only had a two-minute match timer. That felt a bit too short, and as a result I gravitated more towards the other modes. Being able to help a teammate in 2v2 by giving them certain buffs or giving them a platform to jump off of with some moves was really cool. Conversely, 1v1 matches felt the least hectic and yet still managed to be intense thanks to the quick gameplay.

This brings me to one of my favorite aspects of the game: how it feels to play. MultiVersus is fast-paced and has a strong emphasis on movement. Without a universal option to block or grab, players have to rely on dodging a whole lot more. While a majority of the cast can dodge to the sides or stand still with spot dodging on the ground (some can dodge diagonally), it’s even more useful in the air.

Each character is limited to two special moves, two jumps, and two dodges in the air. Throw in high jumps, dodge jumps, and fast fall jumps, and you have a game where speed is key. Using dodges to approach enemies quickly or to cancel some attacks to make longer combos is likely to be what separates the higher skilled players when the full game launches with a ranked mode.

Understanding perks is another vital part of the game. Characters unlock perks as they level up which provide small boosts for yourself and a teammate. These boosts can range from quicker cooldowns to allowing more air control. Aside from two or sometimes three signature perks that are exclusive to each character, each can also unlock five additional perks from a pool of 38. These are divided into offense, defense, and utility. Similar to the signature perks, only one perk from each group can be equipped at a time.

As fun as these small boosts are, they’re more fun in 2v2. Teammates with the same non-signature perks can stack and gain even better effects. From what I played, this surprisingly didn’t seem as intrusive and game-changing as those horrible hundreds of gems that were used in Street Fighter x Tekken a decade ago.

I also have to mention how important and useful the lab/training mode is. The game is pretty simple, but it never hurts to spend some time learning a character in the training mode or even checking out the tutorials again to freshen up on some mechanics. I wouldn’t fault anyone for going in just to check out the amazing animations either.

Another reason why I particularly enjoyed the training mode is that it gives you free rein to everything. All the perks are available to attach to your character so you can see their effects firsthand and not have to worry about coming back every time you unlock a new one. All the available skin variants and characters in the roster are also available, even if you haven’t unlocked/purchased them. I’m hoping this carries over to the full game because being able to see what a variant looks like or how a character plays before you commit to buying them is a fantastic level of transparency.

Speaking of characters, something very notable is the diverse roster that comes from a variety of Warner Bros. franchises and reminds you just how extensive their properties are. The alpha included characters from Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, Adventure Time, Steven Universe, the eponymous Tom and Jerry, the DC Universe, and Arya Stark from Game of Thrones.

As much as that last one seems to stick out among the other characters who are already generally animated, she fits quite well thanks to a consistent art style among the roster. No character stuck out too much and at no point did I question that I was seeing Steven Universe and Arya Stark beating up Harley Quinn and Bugs Bunny.

Along with the art style, it cannot be overstated how incredible the animations are. From idle animations to dodges and attacks, there’s simply so much personality exuded from every character. It’s incredibly obvious that they’ve been animated with love.

Harley Quinn is gleefully happy whether she’s prancing around or trying to hit you with her mallet. Taz looks deviously excited as he tries to smash you between two pieces of bread. Velma’s crouch/crawling animation has her looking for and bumping away her glasses with the screen turning blurry after a couple of seconds. Shaggy embraces his own memes and can enter a power-up state straight out of Dragon Ball. Tom and Jerry are packaged as one character and they’re probably the best in terms of animation since their entire moveset is them trying to attack each other.

While personality is important, especially in a crossover game like this, what’s even more important for a fighting game is the animations for attacks. Thankfully, most attacks have a decent impact. Latching onto someone with Batman’s Bat-Grapple and then zipping across the screen to hit them feels good. The only thing I would want to change is for there to be more hit effects. As chaotic as the game is, I certainly wouldn’t mind a little extra oomph.

That’s not to say I didn’t find the majority of attacks satisfying. It helped a lot how wonderfully animated everything sounds. Wonder Woman’s lasso has the perfect thwip sound. Velma’s charging run meanwhile uses that classic bongo-made cartoon run sound effect that instinctively made me smile out of nostalgia.

What made me smile even more is the voice acting. As fantastic as tight and open gameplay is, what we learned from Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is that the lack of voice acting for well-established characters can be a major negative point for people. MultiVersus seemingly has a much bigger budget and certainly used some of it towards getting voice acting. Some characters have new voice actors step into the role such as Steven Universe and Wonder Woman. Many others feature their most famous or recent voice actors behind the characters though. Even Maisie Williams reprises her role as Arya Stark.

It’s not as if they only hired them to make grunts and yells either. Characters will drop voice lines here and there with certain attacks as well as when they spawn in. A lot of characters have voice interactions with each other as well, both with those from their own universe/series and those outside of it. Hearing Jake The Dog tease Taz is funny. Hearing Batman ask the iconic “Do you bleed?” line to Shaggy of all characters is absolutely hilarious.

Fans may notice some familiar tunes with the music tracks as well. Stages based on worlds/areas from the different series feature remixes of popular themes. I can’t deny how great it is to hear that iconic Danny Elfman Batman theme from the 1989 film. At the same time, these remixes do sound a bit softer. They’re more orchestral and whimsical. The best way I can describe them is that they sound like theme park music. I imagine some will like it, but I also think some may be a little disappointed.

Something that would help is of course more stage variety. There’s no telling how much more content will be in the game when it launches, but I hope there are more stages available from the beginning. Three of the stages from this closed alpha are from existing properties. One is an original stage with two versions, and another is the training room stage which also has two different versions. I’m not sure what their map pool is like for each mode, but I felt like the odds of me playing on a training room stage were higher. With such a limited map pool, it was a strong reminder that training room maps aren’t fun.

That leaves us with the elements I’m most excited about and trying to stay optimistic for. This is not the first fighting game to go F2P. Brawlhalla is the most successful example, although many dismiss it for being an indie and for being a platform fighter which is seen by some as more casual. Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown seems to have performed well enough as a limited-time PlayStation Plus title that Sega seems interested in F2P fighting games for future projects. Riot Games’ upcoming Project L isn’t confirmed to be F2P, but it is heavily expected to be.

Most other attempts to make a F2P fighting game (especially Bandai Namco’s attempts) haven’t been lucrative. Even though some may not take MultiVersus seriously for being a platform fighter, this isn’t an indie game. This is a well-funded F2P fighting game that’s using huge IPs. If it’s successful, it could be a monumental advocate for how possible F2P games can work in the fighting game genre. Fighting games are still niche and a game like this can bring in a lot of the casual audience while still being deep enough for the pros.

The closed alpha gives a look into how the game will monetize content. There is a battle pass that has a free tier and a premium tier. Two currencies to keep in mind are XP and Gold. You earn Gold from playing matches, leveling up through the battle pass, and leveling up in general for your profile. XP is earned in matches, as well as from completing daily missions and seasonal milestones (i.e. dodge 100 attacks). There is also a premium token currency listed that I assume will be a stand-in for real money and used for the greyed-out shop section.

Some content like variant skins or emotes can be unlocked by leveling up characters. A lot of that content is locked to the battle pass though and is mostly on the premium tier that you level up through with XP. Locked characters need to be unlocked with gold. You can also bypass what perks are available to a particular character through perk training which lets you buy whichever ones you want for gold. I can imagine characters and skins being available in the shop for premium tokens as well, although that’s all an assumption on my part.

As is, MultiVersus is a really fun time that exceeded my expectations. Every character is lovingly brought to life by the animations and voice acting. The netcode is great, and if the distributions of gold and XP remain around the same I feel the cost to unlock new characters won’t be terribly grindy.

“Potential” is the best way I can describe the game. The potential for a strong player base is huge when the game is F2P and has crossplay. The potential of possible characters is insane if you have an inkling of what other properties Warner Bros. owns. There is a lot that can change between now to the open beta in July and then later on with the eventual full release. As long as the content keeps coming at a steady pace and it doesn’t end up feeling too predatory with its currencies though, this could be a really huge game. I’m looking forward to seeing how it grows.

A PC key to the closed alpha of MultiVersus was provided by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for this preview.