Marvel Rivalsis NetEase’s 6v6 hero shooter featuring exclusively Marvel characters, and it’s a lot of fun. Between the deep and ever-growing character selection and the mix of shooter mechanics and hero abilities, it creates a competitive gameplay blend that’s difficult to achieve.
If you’re looking for something complimentary to play alongside Marvel Rivals, or perhaps an alternative, there are a few other games that might scratch a similar itch. Some of them might have similar gameplay, while some of them might feature similar characters or worlds. All of them are worth your attention.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a turn-based tactical RPG developed by Firaxis Games featuring, you guessed it, a deep roster of Marvel characters. Some of these characters are very well-known, like Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Wolverine, and Spidey, while others might have flown a little more under the radar, like Magik, Nico, and the Robbie Reyes version of Ghost Rider.
There’sa lot to like about Midnight Suns, a game where there are a lot of different gameplay systems, all of them well thought out and executed. If you’re looking for another game featuring comic book characters and a plethora of abilities to use, Midnight Suns is going to treat you right.
If you’re looking for another game that’s fast-paced but still want that hero shooter element, Apex Legends has been a mainstay in the space for years now for a reason. Few games feel as good as Apex feels to play, with extremely smooth movement and gunplay, all intermixed with individual heroes that all have very unique abilities.
Apex does a great job of making every hero truly feel like a character, as opposed to simply a gameplay option. Respawn has created a very interesting universe with Apex, and it’s never too late to get invested in the characters, and in the game.
A great game in its own right, Insomniac’s Spider-Man franchise is especially great for anybody who has a deep love for Spider-Man. Very few adaptations have captured the essence of Spidey the way that Insomniac has, and combining that with gameplay that’s quite good is an achievement.
There are also multiple games in the franchise, with one of them focusing entirely on Miles Morales. There’s plenty more to come for these iterations of Spider-Men, and Insomniac isn’t finished there, with their Wolverine game, as well.
Another hero shooter, Paladins has a wealth of characters to choose from and is free-to-play, making it a very easy game to jump into and check out. As far as gameplay goes, this is one of the games on the list that’s closest to Marvel Rivals, with many of the gameplay elements being similar, just possibly a little more dated.
One advantage Paladins does have over Marvel Rivals is experience. Paladins has been around since 2018, making it a veteran of the hero shooter space, meaning that it’s been iterated upon enough to have quite a bit of meat to it.
A game that flew wildly under the radar when it released, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is a game that is almost universally enjoyed by those who have played it. Playing as Star-Lord, you lead the Guardians in an adventure that does a good job paying homage to Guardians stories that have come before it while still doing something fresh.
The environment work is absolutely stellar here, doing a great job of truly taking you across the cosmos by making each world and place feel truly unique. It’s a game that would be new to a lot of people who missed it, and it’s well worth the time.
One of the most competitive hero shooters out there, Valorant takes a lot of pages out of Counter-Strike’s book, while taking just a couple out of Overwatch’s. It’s got a ton of characters, all that fit within certain distinct roles, and an economy system that gives you currency between rounds based on your performance and removes your items when you die.
For those who have a serious competitive itch that needs scratching, Valorant isone of the best options for it. It’s got quite a few more inventive qualities than some of the other FPS out there, and gameplay that will be familiar to players coming from many different games.
If you want to live and breathe in a comic book universe, DC Universe Online is possibly the best option out there. With a wealth of experience having released in 2011, DC Universe Online has steadily released a stream of new content, ranging from new power sets to new open-world areas to new instances.
It’s nearly impossible to overstate just how much content DC Universe Online has in it. Quite literally hundreds of hours worth of unique storylines, solo content, group content, and PvP content, all with a real love for the DC Universe and the characters within.
Another one of the most competitive games out there, Rainbow Six: Siege is possibly the most unique shooter on the market. There are basic mechanics in Siege that aren’t found anywhere else and askill ceiling that seems to reach into the heavens.
Siege also happens to have one of the best pro leagues around, so if you give the game a shot and invest enough to watch the pro league, there’s a whole welcoming community there, too. It’s a great way to improve your skills in Siege, and a fun sport to watch besides.
A MOBA as opposed to a shooter, Smite is still going to scratch that hero itch. In Smite, you play as a god from one of a ton of different pantheons, with a truly staggering roster of gods to play as, coming in at over 100.
While not a shooter, Smite is still a highly competitive game, with a big skill ceiling and a lot to learn, especially with such an expansive roster. That being said, it is free-to-play, meaning it’s only going to cost you some time to download it and see if it’s right for you.
The game that Marvel Rivals definitely draws the most inspiration from is Overwatch 2, which has extremely similar gameplay but with a different set of characters and different maps. It doesn’t have the level of destruction that Rivals has either, though Overwatch does have a wider character selection.
Overwatch is going to scratch a very similar gameplay itch, just from a first-person perspective, but it is not going to fulfill any superhero desires. That being said, Overwatch does have a roster of well-drawn characters and gameplay that’s been well-refined over the years.
