Square Enix‘s upcoming Avengers game has been shrouded in mystery (and quite often, scepticism) for quite a while. The gameplay demo was constantly shown behind closed doors during certain events (E3, SDCC, etc.) and leaks were constantly popping up on different social media platforms.
Less than a week ago, Square Enix finally released the 20 minute long demo online after polishing it up for public viewing, but is it as mighty as Earth’s mightiest heroes or is it just a complete letdown?
The demo focuses on A-Day, a celebration dedicated to the Avengers. Unfortunately, a terrorist attack on the Golden Gate Bridge cuts the festivities short. From that point on, we see the player control the 5 different Avengers during certain points.
Thor basically plays like the recent God of War (true, considering that they hired the combat designer behind it). His moveset, however, is hindered by lacklustre sound effects. Any point of impact from his hammer should feel powerful, instead it feels underwhelming. The moveset itself, however, is fairly decent. A good amount of melee combat & aerial combos, and some brutal lightning based attacks.
Iron Man basically plays like Anthem, except its less fast paced. In fact, most of his abilities feel quite sluggish. You’re able to pull a long range ground combo & aerial combo, but again, the lackluster sound effects make the rays feel less authentic.
Hulk’s gameplay was a joy to watch, as his moveset harkens back to the much beloved Ultimate Destruction game. He can use anything he can get his hands on as a weapon, be it debris, vehicles or even other enemies. He’s basically a grappling tank! The only downside is that some of his animations feel rather stiff.
Black Widow basically plays like Uncharted & Spider-Man mixed together. Flashy combos, tons of gadgets, but again, some glaring animation issues stopped this from being a perfect character showcase. Lastly, Captain America‘s showcase was the best of the whole group. They did a phenomenal job with his moveset. His gameplay seems to lean more towards close combat, but his shield can be used for some medium to long-range attacks. Once he’s done, the demo ends with a cliff-hanger and with the release date (15/05/2020).
To conclude, the Avengers demo was actually enjoyable. Aside from a few issues (which hopefully they’ll iron out ASAP), it still seems like a fun experience and I can’t wait to pick this up. Hopefully, despite it being a ‘live-service’ game, it will have a fair amount of content on launch, be reasonably priced, and won’t have any scummy monetization practices, even though they promised NO LOOTBOXES & FREE DLC.
