I have a confession to make: I am terrible at fighting games. If a game asks me to memorize a combo string longer than “Square, Square, Triangle,” my brain short-circuits.
So, when Marvel Cosmic Invasion dropped on the PS5 this December, aiming to revive that specific era of “quarter-munching” beat ’em ups, I was skeptical. Could a game built on nostalgia for a genre I never mastered actually be fun for someone like me?
The answer, surprisingly, is a resounding yes—mostly because it lets me cheat the system with one brilliant mechanic.
The “Cosmic Swap” is a Game Changer
Developed by Tribute Games (the folks behind TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge), Cosmic Invasion introduces a tag-team mechanic called the “Cosmic Swap.” Instead of picking one hero and being stuck with them until you die, you pick a duo. With a single button press, you can instantly swap between them.
For a novice like me, this is a lifesaver. When my health gets low as Captain America, I don’t have to panic; I just tag in Silver Surfer to fly around and blast enemies while Cap heals in the background.
It stops the game from feeling like a punishing endurance test and turns it into a rhythmic dance. It also solves that annoying thing in old brawlers where you finish a combo and have to awkwardly wait for the enemy to stand up. Here, you just swap characters mid-combo and keep the beatdown going. It makes me feel infinitely better at the game than I actually am.
A Roster That Screams “Comics,” Not “Movies”
The roster of 15 characters is a massive draw, specifically because it ignores the Marvel Cinematic Universe almost entirely. We aren’t stuck with the movie versions of these characters; we get deep-cut comic designs based on the “Annihilation” storyline. You have heavy hitters like Hulk and Thing absent, replaced by cosmic weirdos like Beta Ray Bill (the horse-faced Thor) and Cosmic Ghost Rider.
The pixel art is stunning. It’s crisp, colorful, and incredibly expressive. Seeing Rocket Raccoon unleash a screen-filling arsenal of heavy guns or Venom turning into an amorphous blob of sludge looks fantastic in 4K. It captures the “semi-chibi” look of those old Sega Saturn fighting games perfectly.
However, the game makes a weird design choice with defense. Characters can generally either block or dodge, but not both. Agile characters like Spider-Man rely on dodging, while tanks like She-Hulk have to stand there and block. As someone who panics when the screen gets busy, forgetting which defensive option my current character has has led to me eating a lot of unnecessary damage.
The “Bullet Hell” Frustration
While the combat is fun, the game has a nasty habit of spamming projectile enemies. In the later levels, specifically when you’re fighting A.I.M. agents or the insectoid soldiers of the Annihilation Wave, the screen fills with lasers and bullets.
For a genre veteran, this is probably a fun challenge of spacing and prioritization. For me, it was a headache. Trying to punch a bad guy while three others are shooting me from off-screen feels cheap.
It forces you to play a game of “chase the archer” rather than enjoying the brawling. It’s the one area where the game feels stuck in the past, clinging to “arcade difficulty” that feels designed to steal quarters I’m not even putting in.
Performance on PS5
On PlayStation 5, the game runs like a dream. It targets and holds a solid 60 frames per second, which is essential when the screen is exploding with super moves. The colors pop beautifully on a modern TV.
That said, don’t expect any next-gen magic from the controller. The DualSense features are pretty basic. There’s no fancy haptic feedback to let you feel the difference between a vibranium shield and a laser blast, and the adaptive triggers aren’t used at all. It plays perfectly fine, but it’s definitely a “standard” controller experience.
Verdict
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a fantastic time, even if you—like me—usually avoid beat ’em ups. The tag-team system lowers the barrier to entry significantly, letting you feel like a superhero team rather than a lone punching bag.
While the projectile-heavy enemy design can get annoying and the campaign is short (you can beat it in an afternoon), the sheer joy of the combat and the love poured into the Marvel lore make it a blast. It’s the perfect game to play on a lazy Sunday, especially if you have a friend to join you on the couch.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Cosmic Swap System: The instant tag-team mechanic adds depth and makes the game accessible for newcomers. | Projectile Spam: Later levels rely too heavily on enemies shooting from a distance, which can be frustrating. |
| Incredible Roster: 15 unique heroes that focus on comic history rather than movie trends (Silver Surfer, Beta Ray Bill). | Restrictive Defense: Locking characters to either “block” or “dodge” feels limiting and leads to cheap hits. |
| Beautiful Visuals: The high-quality pixel art looks sharp and vibrant in 4K. | Short Campaign: You can roll credits in about 3 hours, which might feel light for the price tag. |
| Smooth Performance: Locked 60fps ensures the action never stutters. | Basic DualSense Support: Missed opportunity to use the PS5’s unique controller features for immersion. |
