Marvel Cosmic Invasion Preview - Co-op Buddies, Assemble!

I've been really impressed with Marvel's video game lineup, recently. I'm not even that big on superheroes, but these games coming from Marvel constantly have me excited -- games like Marvel's Wolverine and the recently announced Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. Perhaps most of all, though, I'm eager to see the release of the upcoming beat 'em up, Marvel's Cosmic Invasion.

Even better, I was able to play Marvel's Cosmic Invasion earlier this month at Summer Game Fest 2025. A retro-style beat 'em up with a roster of popular and slightly more niche Marvel heroes, grab a few friends and some brewskies for this one, since you'll be hooked to the CRT all night long. 

A Diverse Roster to Choose From

First things first, hero selection. You're not picking one character to play as, but two. You can switch between these in the middle of combat, which makes combat more varied and dynamic. There are 15 heroes in all, so plenty of combinations are possible. So far, Marvel and developer Tribute Games seem pretty tight-lipped on this beat 'em up's roster.

Just recently, we saw the announcement of She-Hulk and Rocket Raccoon as new inclusions to the current selection, that being Spider-Man, Captain America, Venom, Wolverine, Nova, Storm, and Phyla-Vell. Clearly, they're going for a nice mix of heroes here, so really, anyone could show up. Heck, Squirrel Girl or Jeff seem just as likely as Iron Man or Thor. 

For my first playthrough, I went with Captain America and Venom. Any duo should be optimal, though, since this is a beat 'em up, after all. Gameplay is really tight. You could theoretically button mash and be fine, but there's a bit of nuance to each skillset to make every hero feel true to their personality and powers.

Venom and Captain American = BFFs

Captain America, for instance, throws his shield and has a strong uppercut to take down pesky air enemies. He's an all-rounder with a decent set of moves, if a bit generic. Great for juggling enemies, though, which I tried my best to do at every chance I could get!

Venom, on the other hand, is this chaotic mass of goo that wreaks havoc on the battlefield. He morphs into different shapes and can take down groups of enemies pretty fast. Despite his size, he's agile both on the ground and while swinging around with his web.

My favorite aspect of Venom, though, is his move that grabs enemies. You can pound bad guys into the ground, or throw them. I was always flinging guys around, throwing them off ledges and wherever else I could have them insta-die. He can grab in mid-air too, so flying enemies better look out.

I played with TechRaptor Editor-in-Chief Andrew Otton, and he went with Spider-Man and Wolverine. He seemed to favor Wolverine, who was just an absolute menace on the battlefield, tearing things up. Now, for our second go-around, I went with two new characters as did Andrew. 

My new team now comprises Spider-Man and Phyla-Vell. She's a character I'm very unfamiliar with, but her toolkit seems to tick all the right boxes. She floats around and uses her sword to attack. What I really like about Phyla-Vell is that she can throw her sword, and once it hits an enemy, press the button again and she teleports to the sword.

This allows you to travel across the battlefield and meet enemies and reinforcements head-on. I could definitely see her being a mainstay to my team. Andrew also took a liking to Storm who, from a gameplay perspective, seems like another mechanically diverse character. Tribute Games does a good job at making every character shine in their own special ways. 

Each character has a special move you can use once a gauge is full, but there's also a sort of tag-team mechanic. It reminds me of Marvel vs. Capcom to some degree, where the one character you have benched can come in and land a hit or two; of course, you can always outright switch and play as them with the click of a button. 

Marvel Cosmic Invasion Preview | Final Thoughts

Marvel Cosmic Invasion is super fast-paced, and so great to play with others. I like that there's more to it than just simple button mashing, and I can't wait to see what combinations I can make once the full roster is revealed. Really, if you enjoyed the developer's previous beat 'em up, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, you'll like this just as much, if not even more.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion was previewed at Summer Game Fest 2025.