NetEase’s ambitious third-person hero shooter Marvel Rivals has attracted a sizeable player base since its launch back in December of last year. While the game initially gained a massive following at first, its daily active players have declined over the past few months.
Wonky matchmaking is one of the reasons I stopped playing the game. I’ve always wanted a role queue to help fix that, but apparently, not everyone agrees with the idea.
Cosmetics have been NetEase’s main way of bringing players back. Popular heroes like Psylocke, Iron Fist, and Luna Snow get beautifully designed skins every season, but for me, that’s just not enough to make a return worthwhile.
Marvel Rivals Needs More Game Modes
What I wanted most in Marvel Rivals in the future is a new competitive game mode. Something that could reignite the competitive spark I once had during the game’s early months.
NetEase could take a page from Blizzard’s Overwatch by adding an entirely new mode with its own rank and gameplay style. Overwatch’s Stadium mode is a great break from the monotony of regular ranked matches, mixing the hero-shooter formula with MOBA-style elements for a refreshing twist.
The good news, NetEase is slowly heading up in that direction with the introduction of Marvel Zombies, its limited-event PvE mode where a select Marvel roster slays zombified versions of our favorite Marvel characters. It’s not a bad mode, per se, but it’s not particularly fun for me either. And it’s a shame that it will disappear once the season ends.
How Can Marvel Rivals Improve Its Playerbase?
As Marvel Rivals’ numbers continue to drop (from around 100,000 daily players to barely 70,000), its core hero-shooter formula feels increasingly stale. It needs something more than counter-picking heroes, weekly skins, and recycling the same healbots every season.
The addition of new heroes each month is a nice touch, but they would only create short-term excitement in the core gameplay. Plus, their novelty would soon wear off once players realize they are underpowered. In the long run, power creep becomes a real issue, with new heroes often feeling like weaker versions of older ones. These new heroes needed a new game mode to excel at, and only NetEase knows what it is.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Marvel Rivals. I’ve spent over a hundred hours in the game, but I feel like it has reached a point where weekly skins could barely keep up with its declining player numbers. Maybe Luna Snow and Hela fans would be happy to get their weekly dose of new content, but for someone like me who’s looking for something fresh, like a new game mode, it’s just not there.
I just wish NetEase would do something new for its upcoming first anniversary this December. Maybe we’ll finally get a story mode, or something new entirely? Either way, I hope it’s enough to bring me back.
For more like this, stick with us here at Gfinityesports.com, the best website for gaming news and features.