PlayStation just released a first look at Marvel’s Avengers gameplay and I now have a much better understanding of what the game offers. So allow me to break it down for you so you don’t have to.

Just a quick background on the game: Marvel’s Avengers is an action-adventure video game that takes place in an expansive world. It’s also narrative-based so while it may seem linear at first, the game promises an exciting plot and lots of character customisation and upgrades.

If you had seen the official trailer, you would’ve known the game prologue and that Captain America has supposedly died during an attack. So as the story picks up from there, you’re supposed to re-assemble the Avengers who have all gone their separate ways to lick their wounds alone. It’s definitely an interesting premise, hitting fans emotionally right from the get go.

Release date

Avengers is set for release on 15 May 2020. It’s now available for pre-order with beta access, though not for Singapore users unfortunately.

Gameplay

There are two main parts of the game: “Hero Missions” and “War Zone Missions”.

For “Hero Missions”, it’s only for single-player mode where you’ll control one hero. According to IGN, this is the main campaign which is story-heavy so it focuses on the character development and backstory. This means that each mission is designed for a particular character.

It’s been reported that playing Avengers feels like The Division, Destiny and Anthem games. That’s not too far off, one look at the gameplay footage and you can easily see why. And that reminds me of the 2007 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer game where you control one character at a time and are able to switch to another at any time if someone else’s skills are needed. The Avengers game may not allow that but it does take into account each hero’s skill set as it assigns the right hero to the right mission.

For “War Zone Missions”, you can choose to go solo or tag in your buddies online (team of 4 max).

If you ask me, that sounds like such a wasted opportunity since the game can be more co-op based than single-player mode since Avengers is about teamwork.

But perhaps that’s intentional since the game would officially begin after the Avengers had broken up? So there would be some solo missions. Hmm, perhaps. But still, I was hoping for more co-op gameplay. It just makes more sense for a game that has more than 1 hero.

Play controls

The controls look pretty standard with some QTE (quick time events) that require you to repeatedly tap a certain button. I know some people despise QTE play but it injects a sense of urgency into the gameplay which I feel makes the game more fun.

As you can see in the screenshot, there’s two circles in the bottom right corner. Those are Thor’s power moves. To unleash them, press L1 or R1. Yup, standard stuff.

IGN says that the game also feels very much like an Uncharted game too, possibly because of the smooth switch between gameplay and cut scenes so it gives that cinematic experience. Makes sense since Uncharted director Shaun Escayg is part of the game development team.

Customisation and upgrade

Like many modern action-adventure games, Avengers also allow you to customise and upgrade your characters.

You can find costumes in loots located around the in-game world, mission or story thread rewards and in downloadable content packs. IGN reports that these costumes will impact gameplay. Certain types of gear will give you certain bonuses that can help you in missions. For example, a set of Stark Industries branded gear are special builds for your heroes with stat bonuses and synergies. Another perk is the more difficult the mission is, the rarer gear you’ll get as a reward after completion.

This goes in line with character skill upgrades as some gear impact certain skills. As you level up your character, you’ll unlock skills in a particular skill tree that affect the way your character acts in missions. For example, you can have Iron Man more of a “Rockets” guy so you unlock the skill tree that have skills relevant to that. Or have Thor more fight-based so you focus on the particular skill tree that level up his melee power and health.

The best part? You can also unlock different abilities in different skill trees and switch between skill types during the game. This way, your hero can employ different skill sets anytime. Another similar game that comes to mind is the 2011 The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.

Watch the full prologue gameplay: