Our Score

8/10

The Good

Solid strategy gameplay and fun character moments

The Bad

Lots of cringe-worthy dialogue and technical issues

Release Date

December 2nd

Developed By

Firaxis Games

Available On

PlayStation 5, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC

Reviewed On

PC

I knew exactly what I wanted from Marvel's Midnight Suns. I'm a huge fan of XCOM series, so that tried and trusted framework with some obscure Marvel characters taking the place of the marines sounded ideal for someone who likes comic books but is kind of burned out on the MCU.But I was surprised to find that Midnight Suns isn't just Enemy Unknown with a colourful coat of paint. The XCOM DNA is definitely there, but Firaxis has shaken it up in a big way. It's a bit of a bumpy ride at times, but there's a lot to like. A fun (if goofy and often cringe-worthy) story, flashy and satisfying combat, and a chance to poke around in some of the lesser-known corners of the Marvel universe make this one an easy recommendation.

The basic premise is pretty standard stuff. Hydra have raised Lilith, the mother of Demons, from her eternal slumber, paving the way for the return of Cthon, an evil elder God. It's up to Stephen Strange and Tony Stark, with the help of the Midnight Suns, to save the world. In order to do this, they resurrect "The Hunter" (the player character), Lilith's long-dead child and the one destined to kill her. From there it's a case of battling Lilith and her minions while racing to stop a prophecy that threatens to wipe out the human race.Related: Marvel's Midnight Suns: All Confirmed Characters For The XCOM-Style Game

The Hunter and Charlie

The emphasis on magic is a breath of fresh air. This is a Marvel deep dive, and the Midnight Suns, Nico Minoru (a very obscure choice), Magik, Blade, and Robbie Reyes bring a certain novelty to proceedings, along with the ancient hieroglyphs, astral realms, portals, and demons. My interest in the more traditional members of the Marvel ensemble has been waning for some time, so I relished the opportunity to play as and learn more about this cast. By leaning into the arcane, Midnight Suns is able to explore fun concepts, like Nico Minoru's "Staff of One", which can never cast the same spell twice, or what it's like to be brought back to life 300 years after dying in battle.Much like the XCOM games, Midnight Suns is divided into two halves, strategic battles out in the field, and time spent in the Abbey, your home base, where you manage your abilities and equipment, and build relationships with the other characters. The battles are almost entirely card-based. You can take three heroes out on a mission and each has a deck of cards corresponding to an attack, ability, or strategy. Unusually for this genre, movement is almost entirely de-emphasized; you can move one hero each turn, but otherwise movement is entirely automated. If an enemy is out of range, an attack card will move you into range, with no input from the player.

Midnight Suns Combat

It takes a bit of getting used to (and watching your heroes wander into range of an enemy AOE can be infuriating), but once it builds up a head of steam, and you get your hands on enough cards, it becomes hard to put down. It reminds me of another excellent card battler, Slay The Spire. Synergy is the name of the game. The variety is great, and every hero has abilities that work in conjunction with a number of others. One of my favourite tricks was using The Hunter's whip to corral enemies into a line, then blast them all away in one fell swoop with Captain Marvel's photon beam. Clever thinking and forward planning are rewarded, which is exactly what I want from a game like this.Related: Midnight Suns: Tips & Tricks To Play The Hunter It all controls very smoothly. Even with a number of overlapping systems at play, everything is easy to understand. Perhaps most importantly, it's always clear who an enemy is targeting, which is vital information for forming your own strategy. This may seem like small a thing, but in a game like this, it makes a huge difference, giving the player the ability to plan ahead, which is what strategy games are all about. If you know one or more enemies are targeting The Hunter, it's probably a smart move to use one of his counter abilities, which deals damage on receiving damage, and completely turn the tables. Strategy games should make you feel clever, and Midnight Suns absolutely does that.Some of the levels, especially the side stuff, can be a bit pokey and a lot of them boil down to just eliminating all the enemies on screen, but the story missions mix things up nicely. The game keeps throwing out interesting curveballs, like having to save civilians from a rampaging Venom, or a boss fight against a classic Marvel hero under Lilith's control. There's also a lot of visual flair, which helps ease the repetition. Every attack is big, colourful, and punchy, the villains look wonderfully sinister (especially Fallen Hulk), and the environments are pleasingly reactive. Hurling a Hydra goon through a wall or into one of Ghost Rider's portals to hell never gets old.

Hunter and Spiderman

It's the way that everything you do out in the field and everything you do at the Abbey complement each other that really impresses me. When you're not out fighting the forces of evil, you can research new equipment and abilities, hone your skills, and learn more about your comrades, which is where things get really interesting. Every hero in your roster has a "friendship level", that increases when you spend time with them, give them some friendly advice, or even just show an interest in them on a personal level. As a hero's friendship level increases, so does their effectiveness in combat, but it was the little character moments that really made this mechanic for me.

One of my favourite tricks was using The Hunter's whip to corral enemies into a line, then blast them all away in one fell swoop with Captain Marvel's photon beam.

Whether it's listening to Captain Marvel open up about what it's like to wield such enormous power, Spider-Man's big identity reveal, or playing video games with Doctor Strange, these moments expose the characters' more human sides, which is infinitely more endearing than any number of brainless one-liners (which, unfortunately, the game also has its fair share of). There's a nice level of depth to each of them once you get to know them, and taking a moment to slow down and relax is always a welcome change of pace. It's a little strange that all the best writing is hidden away, off the critical path, but at least that gives you the freedom to engage with it as much or as little as you please.Related: Midnight Suns: How To Unlock Every Hero The only criticism I have of the Abbey is that early on, it completely piledrives the pacing. The tutorial goes on for about four hours and consists of a handful of very short missions, a lot of running around the Abbey, and doing oddjobs for its inhabitants. It's one extremely long exposition dump, and it comes straight at you whether you're ready or not. So many characters, concepts, and magical MacGuffins are thrown at you that it's hard to keep up. I found myself sleepwalking through the earlier chapters, desperate for a chance to get back out into the field.The story features enough interesting villains (Venom, Sabertooth, and Mephisto all make appearances), but a lot of the actual writing outside the Abbey is kind of excruciating. Firaxis seems to have been of a mind that every other line of dialogue must, without exception, be some kind of smartass quip. Some of the dialogue, especially between Tony Stark and Doctor Strange, is wince-inducing. You can practically hear the laugh track as the same jokes are trotted out again and again. Tony doesn't trust magic and kids these days sure love social media. It all started to grate pretty quickly. There are some nice moments when the sarcasm and goofiness are dialed back a little, and characters really open up to you but they are few and far between, drowned in an ocean of terrible jokes about capes.

Strange Video Games

My only other complaints are of a technical nature. There are a lot of small performance hitches, long load times, and some of the textures and models look a bit dated. The characters' faces in particular do a poor job of expressing emotion. It was nothing I couldn't look past, but still disappointing for such a big release.But beyond these hopefully fixable hitches, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Midnight Suns. It's Marvel meets XCOM meets Fire Emblem, which isn't something I knew I wanted, but now I have it, I want the hell out of it. Firaxis deserve a lot of respect for taking risks and trying something new, especially with such a high-profile property. The dialogue and a few technical hiccups mean Midnight Suns doesn't quite stick the landing, but the rock-solid core gameplay and fun character moments more than makeup for it.

Marvel's Midnight Suns
Marvel's Midnight Suns
8 / 10

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