Summary
OhMultiVersus, what a long, arduous, and emotional journey we’ve been on together. After reeling me in withSteven Universe punching Batman in the nards,MultiVersus went on to become my 2022 Game of the Yearas well asone of my most-played live-service games of all time.
Then, as you all know,Player First Games infamously took the game offline for a full yearto rework its mechanics and build a steadier content pipeline. The decision was highly controversial due to how many expensive in-game purchases were made available during the original first and second seasons, as well as going against fan expectations that MultiVersus would transition from early access into hard launch easily,not take a prolonged absence that felt like damage control.
It was hard to be optimistic after that. But, despite everyone shouting in my ear that MultiVersus was dead,it emerged very much alive earlier this year. For a little while, at least.
Season 1 Woes
During my initial preview of MultiVersus’ relaunch,I was very positive about its return. I loved the off-kilter character picks and updated combat mechanics, and thought Rifts were a smart addition for a game previously lacking any single-player content.Even without Daffy Duck, I truly believed that MultiVersus was coming back swinging and that everyone would be as enthusiastic as me.
I was wrong.While players agreed that the new characters were fun, a lot of criticism was aimed at how slow everything was, how much grinding it took to unlock things, and of course,how expensive the microtransactions were.Even when several missing features were added back in, it seemed like PFG had burned fans one too many times and lost its chance at a revival.
It doesn’t help thatPFG tried to pass off purchasable extra lives as a bug.
Going into Season 2, I wasn’t exactly optimistic. MultiVersus’ last attempt at a second season ended with the game being shut down. With how unhappy the community seemed with everything, I was worried that history was about to repeat itself and that my heart was going to break all over again.
MultiVersus Is Back! Again.
I’ve never been happier to be wrong. MultiVersus Season 2 (for real this time) is a big step in the right direction and one that puts the work in to make pretty much everything better in the long run. It’s still got some issues and hasn’t reached its full potential just yet, but it’s certainly better than it was. That’s enough to keep me optimistic about the game’s future.
Let’s start off with the most exciting thing for any platform fighter - the characters.Season 2 has only confirmed two new fighters so far in the form of Samurai Jack and Beetlejuice, but they’re much more balanced than the last round we had. Samurai Jack is the only one who’s playable at the time of writing, but he’s quickly emerged as one of the best fighters in MultiVersus.
EVO has seemingly confirmed that Season 2 will get more than two new fighters, so there’s room for even more great additions in an already great season.
Jack might not be as unique as Tom and Jerryor as tricky as the Joker, but his moveset is one of the most satisfying in the game. He’s basically MultiVersus’ equivalent of Cloud in Smash, but even more fast-paced and aggressive. Considering my previous mains were Steven and Joker, I’m surprised that a relatively simple sword-focused fighter has already jumped to the top of my most-played characters. Well, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised:Jack jump good.
Samurai Jack also feels like the first step to addressing one of the biggest problems that fans have had with MultiVersus’ relaunch - its speed. It’s not something that’s ever bothered me too much (even if Bugs is as fast as Snail Mail), but Samurai Jack is so fast that he feels as close to the original game as we’re going to get.
Then there’s Beetlejuice, who has long been rumoured for MultiVersus and is a popular pick among fans. I’m not that fussed about him myself, but he’s certainly a more sensible and crowd-pleasing pick than Banana Guard or Agent Smith, and one who has the potential for a more interesting moveset. Not to mention the increased interest he’ll generate with Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice in theatres soon. Combine those two with whoever else might join (fingers crossed for the Powerpuff Girls) and it’s a stacked season for new fighters.
Ranks For Playing
One of the other big new additions to Season 2 is Ranked Mode, another thing that fans have been begging for since 2022. It’s not quite there yet and has some issues with its matchmaking and lack of punishment for losing, but it’s still a great addition that gives players way more to do than they did before.
Season 2 also sees the arrival of the Water Tower map, which has to be the best new location that’s been added since launch. It’s nowhere near as intrusive as Dexter’s Laboratory or Townsville, and has some of the best visuals and music of any stage in the game right now.
Player First Games has also added a ton of cherries to the icing on the cake that is the new and once again improved MultiVersus. Rifts have been reduced in number to be less repetitive and will no longer have characters locked behind doing an ungodly number of them, while events have seen some big changes that reward players who get stuck in with unique currency and tokens to spend on skins and cosmetics.
Throw in the upcoming events already blowing Season 1 out of the water (I’ll take a cyber theme over Summer skins any day), and the future is already looking a lot brighter and more stable for MultiVersus than it did this time last week.
As great as everything that’s been added to MultiVersus Season 2 is, there are still some issues that need to be ironed out. The microtransactions are as egregious as they’ve ever been and some characters are still a little busted, but with how many changes have been made for the better, I’m at least a little more confident now that they’ll be addressed in the future.
MultiVersus still has a long way to go before it completely earns back the love and trust of myself and the surprisingly faithful community, but Season 2 feels like the most solid the game has been since the first few months of its open beta. I wish that wasn’t something worth celebrating as much as it is, but with how rough things have been lately, it’s a positive step that I’ll take all the way to the Gleamium bank.
