Marvel's Avengers: Everything we know
Turbulent 2020 be damned, Marvel's Avengers is still on track to release this year. The new Avengers is a third-person co-op action game from Tomb Raider studio Crystal Dynamics. Similar to Sony's PS4 game, Marvel's Avengers doesn't actually fit in with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Instead, Crystal Dynamics is telling a story that branches off from the MCU and tells an original story. With coronavirus-related delays for Black Widow and other future Marvel films, though, this is the main Avengers action we can expect in 2020.
This is the first part of what's described as a "multi-year, multi-game partnership" between Square Enix and Marvel. Avengers won't be the only Marvel game you'll see from Square Enix, then, but it's the one we know about right now, so let's dig in.
When is Marvel's Avengers coming out?
Marvel's Avengers will launch on September 4th, 2020 for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Google Stadia.
Square Enix originally planned a May 2020 release but the spinoff was pushed back, as have been so many games this year, due to the pressures of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Watch brand new Thor gameplay in action
Square Enix revealed a lot of new stuff during the Marvel's Avengers War Table event, including a big chunk of new gameplay from a Thor-exclusive Hero mission. Square Enix describes these Hero missions and standalone levels designed to accentuate the strengths of a specific hero.
In the Thor mission, Once An Avenger, we see Thor in fighting off robots on a rooftop with some air support from Iron Man. Despite having Iron Man floating around, it's not clear if Hero missions can be played co-op. The new gameplay also has a distinct lack of the maligned QTEs seen in last year's E3 gameplay reveal.
Watch the Marvel's Avengers trailer from the War Table event
The newest Marvel's Avengers trailer more-or-less restates the story setup that we've heard about for a year now, but with a new focus on the game's main villain, MODOK. That big head is where he keeps all of his evil.
Marvel's Avengers official overview video
Square Enix released an official "game overview" video for Avengers that mostly goes over what we already know about the game's structure and story with some new info as well. We now know that Ms. Marvel plays a big role in the story as she reunites the heroes after the opening disaster.
Marvel's Avengers will get post-launch heroes
It's not so surprising considering Avengers will be an ongoing service game, but it's cool to hear that more heroes are on the way after launch. We've already seen hints at hero cameos like Hank Pimm (Ant Man), but it'd be great to see more of the Avengers roster filled out over time. Get some Hawkeye in there, maybe a dash of Captain Marvel or Black Panther?
Unfortunately, we can be pretty sure we won't see Spider-Man, considering Sony has that particular hero on lock.
There will be a beta, too
No word on when, but Square Enix teased at the end of the War Table event that a Marvel's Avengers beta is coming. Considering how often betas run close the launch of new games, expect to hear more about it in mid-August.
The Marvel's Avengers 18-minute gameplay demo is finally live
The previously leaked demo shown to press at E3 2019 and panel attendees at San Diego Comic-Con is finally live for anyone to watch. The demo covers the opening of the game, walking the player through a section with each of the four avengers.
Marvel's Avengers will have singleplayer and four-player co-op
From what we gather from Square's press release, Marvel's Avengers will have separate missions designed for single player and co-op. There will also be an extensive multiplayer component. "Master extraordinary abilities, customize a growing roster of Heroes, assemble into teams of up to four players, and defend the Earth from escalating threats," the press release reads.
"Featuring regular content updates, the game will take players on an epic journey delivered over multiple years. This is what’s next for the Avengers." This makes us think it's probably going to be a Destiny-ish game with a lot of repeat play, but we'll know more about this leading up to release.
Who's developing Marvel's Avengers game?
Crystal Dynamics, creators of Tomb Raider, with Eidos Montreal (creators of the last two Deus Ex games), Crystal Northwest, and Nexxes Software. Considering the game has big plans for post-launch content and multiplayer, it makes sense that so many hands are on deck to make Avengers work.
Marvel's Avengers has an all-new, original story disconnected from the MCU
We've known for years that Marvel's The Avengers would have a unique story disconnected from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but now we know what that story will look like.
Marvel's Avengers begins during A-Day, a celebratory day for the Avengers coinciding with the unveiling of their new headquarters and helicarrier. After a tragedy resulting in death and destruction, the Avengers are blamed for the incident. "Five years later, with all Super Heroes outlawed and the world in peril, the only hope is to reassemble Earth’s Mightiest Heroes."
In the reveal trailer, we also see that Captain America perished in the blast that wiped out a chunk of New York. Crystal Dynamics made a point to say that you would be playing as Cap in the game, so unless they're only talking about the opening mission, we doubt he'll stay gone for long.
What kind of game will Marvel's Avengers be?
After the E3 2019 reveal, we have a good idea of the kind of game Marvel's Avengers will be: a continuously singleplayer and co-op 3rd person 'action-adventure' game, with what sound like a few RPG elements. You can "master extraordinary abilities, customize your heroes to fit your playstyle, and combine powers", after all, which all sound kind of RPG-ish. We also know that you can unlock "powerful skills and new gear to build your ideal version of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes." Mention is also made of an 'ever-expanding world under constant threat'. So yes, Marvel's Avengers will be a frequently updated live service game.
Marvel's Avengers combat will make use of QTEs
When Samuel went hands-on with Marvel's Avengers at E3 2019, his demo leaned on QTE (quick time events). He thought it somewhat tarnished the more epic moments of gameplay, but Crystal Dynamics was clear in their reasons for that direction.
"For us, this audience is so broad. This isn't just some hardcore gamer's game." Matching button prompts to specific actions is meant to remind players of the controls in a natural way, too. "It's a way for us to integrate QTEs in a kind of tutorialised way. They're also cinematic moments we want to make sure land from a narrative perspective. So there might be a point where we use them just to give that moment for players to get the best experience on the narrative side."
Other Marvel heroes will likely make cameos in Marvel's Avengers
Crystal Dynamics makes it seem like Marvel's Avengers won't be taking focus away from the 5 core heroes associated with the MCU's Avengers: Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Thor, and the Hulk. But that doesn't mean other heroes won't make an appearance at some point.
In fact, during Square Enix's E3 2019 conference, we got a taste of Hank Pimm (the original Ant-Man and Scott Lang's mentor in the movies) testing out some sort of shrink cannon.
Marvel's Avenger's voice cast is stacked with talent
Crystal Dynamics brought in a pretty stellar grip of voice talent for Marvel's Avengers. From left to right in the image above, that's Troy Baker (The Last of Us, 1000 other things) as Bruce Banner, Jeff Schine (Telltale's The Walking Dead: Season 3) as Captain America, Travis Willingham (Critical Role) as Thor, Laura Bailey (Uncharted 4, Critical Role) as Black Widow, and Nolan North (Uncharted, Assassin's Creed, everything else) as Tony Stark.
These are pros that have lent their voices to all sorts of good stuff, but there does seem to be a theme of D&D and Uncharted in the building. In fact, the reveal trailer includes a clip of Bruce Banner and Tony Stark speaking over Captain America's grave. The two actors also play Nathan and Sam Drake in Uncharted 4, a fact I was constantly reminded of every time they said anything.
Read the comic before playing the game
Before Avengers comes out in September, Marvel is releasing tie-in comics to flesh out the events leading up to the game's disastrous intro. You can already read Iron Man #1 for $3.99 and more are on the way. If you're not a comics fan, I wouldn't worry about missing important story beats. Tie-in comics fill in gaps, but essential info will surely be saved for the game itself.
Here's the Marvel's Avenger teaser trailer from 2017
"They say the time of heroes is over," says this moody, 51-second trailer. We're then shown some iconic Avengers imagery: Mjolnir, Thor's hammer and Captain America's shield, as well as other items associated with Iron Man, Hulk and Black Widow. This trailer was shown all the way back in 2017.
A Guardians of the Galaxy game is rumoured to be in the works at Eidos Montreal
While Eidos Montreal is helping with The Avengers game, the developer behind Shadow of the Tomb Raider and the recent Deus Ex games is also reported to be working on a Guardians of the Galaxy game. Kotaku reported this in January 2017, when the Square Enix partnership with Marvel was announced, but no official announcement has been made about any games beyond Marvel's Avengers yet.