MARVEL COSMIC INVASION XBOX SERIES X Review 8/10 "A vibrant, retro-inspired beat 'em up that channels old-school arcade energy" 💥 @MARVELCosmicInv @Dotemu

Marvel Cosmic Invasion is here: it hits Xbox Series X as a vibrant, retro-inspired beat 'em up that channels old-school arcade energy - think the classic 1992 X-Men arcade game - with the combos, special moves and overall depth we've come to expect from Dotemu, the publisher behind the excellent Streets of Rage 4.

The game follows the Marvel Annihilation storyline, pitting a huge roster of 15 playable characters against the evil Annihilus and the deadly Annihilation Wave. You punch, claw, fly and swing through locations ranging from New York City, through the Avengers Helicarrier, to the depths of the Negative Zone. The excellent pixel art style and fast-paced brawling capture an energetic comic-book feel that is very much in keeping with other Dotemu releases.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion PS5 Review 8/10 "It isn't a reinvention of the genre, nor does it need to be" @MARVELCosmicInv #IndieGame #GameDev

Marvel Cosmic Invasion doesn’t waste time pretending to be anything other than what it is: a loud, colourful, unapologetically arcade brained brawler where superheroes knock extra-terrestrial pests into orbit. It’s simple, it’s fast, and it wears its comic book heart proudly on it's sleeve, sometimes a little too proudly, but we’ll get to that.

What stands out straight away is the presentation. The game is a love letter to past Marvel fighter/brawlers like Marvel vs Capcom and the X-Men side scrollers. It has a punchy Saturday morning cartoon energy, all neon space vistas and chunky comic panel transitions. 

Every character, from deep cut favourites to headliners, move with personality. Rocket Raccoon scurries and blasts everything that looks vaguely flammable; Captain Marvel practically glows with stoic swagger; and even the grunts have expressive, over the top animations that make fights feel busy and chaotic in the best way.