2025 is already a stacked year for gaming, especially when we're talking indie titles. After playing Marvel Cosmic Invasion, I can safely say the latest Tribute Games beat 'em up is not going to be outshone by the likes of Silksong and Hades 2.
Tribute Games is slowly becoming the go-to beat 'em studio, with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge perhaps being their big breakout success. The studio was formed in 2011 by former Ubisoft developers who previously worked on Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game (and are currently working on the spiritual sequel, Scott Pilgrim EX).
Cosmic Invasion, from the small taste of gameplay I had from playing the fantastic demo available on Steam, feels like a proper evolution of what Tribute has been working on for the past decade. The demo features two levels, but nine playable characters, including Wolverine, Spider-Man, Venom, Captain America, and more.
If you're a fan of their previous games, you'd come to expect a level of polish and attention to detail that is still very much present in Cosmic Invasion. What sets it apart from, say, Shredder's Revenge is the big leap in terms of gameplay: almost every character has unique actions and feels distinct to play.
Spider-Man is highly mobile, able to quickly rush down opponents with web swings and projectiles, all while dodging incoming attacks. Venom, on the other hand, retains some of the mobility but is more the bruiser type, getting access to grabs and a shield that, if timed correctly, leads to a parry with devastating effects for anyone dumb enough to try and take the Lethal Protector down. Storm can fly, giving her easy access to aerial enemies that would otherwise be difficult to approach.
You'll get to pick two characters, so team synergy could surprisingly be important, as using a couple of heroes that complement each other can make things much more fun. Especially if we take into consideration that Marvel Cosmic Invasion adds an extra layer of complexity with the assist system.
If you've played or are aware of the Marvel vs Capcom series, you know the drill. If not, suffice it to say that Cosmic Invasion has a mechanic in which you can swap from your two selected heroes at any given moment, but more importantly, you can utilize the "resting" hero as a support to extend your combos in a variety of ways.
There's your regular neutral tag. However, you can launch tag as well, making the incoming character swoop from the skies. You also get access to unique assists in case you don't want to outright swap characters, which range from standing assists to "tackle" assists, which are best used when sprinting towards an enemy.
When playing co-op, each one of you will have to pick two different heroes, as no repeats are allowed. Things can get insanely chaotic with characters flying around, but it's the sort of chaos that makes for good fun rather than frustration.
Overall, I loved my time with the Cosmic Invasion demo, and I highly encourage you to give it a shot for yourself.
A reminder that Marvel Cosmic Invasion is set to come out later this 2025 for Nintendo Switch 1 and 2, Xbox Series S/X, PlayStation 4 and 5, as well as PC via Steam.
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