XCOM developer Firaxis Games has today shared the first public glimpse of Marvel's Midnight Suns gameplay ahead of its launch in March 2022, detailing what it will be like to fight alongside the superheroes of the comic book universe. In short, it doesn't really play like the tactical titles the studio is known for. You will instead select random cards from a deck and then activate their abilities, all of which is explained in the six-minute gameplay video embedded above.
Battles are fought with teams of three, and the new superhero known as the Hunter will always be by your side. She can be fully customised (cosmetically and with new skills and abilities), but also provides the perspective outside of clashes with those who want to take the superhero task force down. When you're not fighting, you'll be able to explore a hub area called the Abbey. Here you can interact with other characters, selecting dialogue options and strengthening your bonds with them in order to unlock new powers for use in battle. You can also acquire new abilities for yourself back at the aforementioned base.
What do you make of Marvel's Midnight Suns? Are you interested in its card-based battle system or does it actually turn you off? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Comments 55
This turns me off the, I probably wouldn't have picked it up anyway but now I definitely won't
This look like a ps3 or mobile game 😂.
It's from the guys that make Xcom, graphics aren't the priority for them
Disney/marvel need to license out more of their characters to Sony for games.
Yeah, I’m massively let down. I just hoped it would be like XCOM but I’m so bloody sick of card and chance based gameplay. I don’t want to hope for the right card to be drawn, I want to just unlock an ability and use it. Went from a must-buy to a wait and see.
I was so excited
And then the card system hit. The whole random card based thing is such a crock and so frustrating. Why are you literally locking skills that I'm trying to level up and use behind "random card draws." That's so stupid.
Why couldn't they just put a Marvel skin over XCOM? The XCOM games are TERRIFIC and I'm sure they could have found some great ways to tweak that system.
@nessisonett I mean Xcom was based on luck too, I played the first game and your squad can shoot enemies point blank but the game will still have them miss.
I'm am pretty excited about this one. My only issue right now, is having to maintain relationships and explore stuff outside of combat. I really don't care about exploring the grounds, and watching a bunch of cut scenes to unlock abilities. That just feels like unnecessary filler. I would rather do that through the combat gameplay itself. Will just have to see how it all comes together.
@AdamNovice Well yeah, all strategy games have accuracy stats. They don’t lock abilities behind cards. Cards are my pet peeve, just really hate the gameplay mechanic, from Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories to Slay the Spire.
Was there any footage of opening card packs?
@ankehuber
Definitely a hard pass for me.
After playing XCOM 2 on the PS4, I wouldn't play this on that.
Yeah was super excited for this but being card based is a massive no go. I’ve only tried one other card based game and that was the one kingdom hearts game and it sucked
Yeah, this doesn't look like something I'd enjoy. I'd love this concept with gameplay from X-Men Legends.
Well, the graphics don't look great, and I was expecting something closer to the XCOM system for combat. On the other hand, the story looks like it could be some over the top comic book fun and I like card based games. So-this is not a day one purchase or anything, but it stays on my list of games I am interested in for now.
@RBMango I wish I could upvote this more than once. X-Men Legends and its sequel are so great.
Yay... cards. everyone's favourite.
Wouldn't look out of place in the App or Play Stores 😐 Totally unrelated but can we give insomniac the X-men license and see what they could make?
I actually don’t mind the card based thing, the only worry I have is whether it’ll involve micro transactions.
I really like the look of this and looking forward to playing it.
How to kill hype in 5 minutes or less
@JechtUltima Personally I don't think anyone is upset that its not action but more so about it being a card based game which screams heavy-handed MTX.
@Juanalf sucker punch should get the the X-men licenses because infamous is basically X-men
This looks really cool actually.
Some people expected what? A 3rd person fighter? It's Firaxis, they do Xcom, wake up lol
Does seem a bit moble game like. I'm not a big fan of card based systems unless its an actual card game like gwent. I still remain hopeful though and look forward to a full pushsquare review.
This looks awesome! I kept hearing about the game but was not sure what it was, looks very cool. I think every company should do videos like this with a breakdown of what the game actually is instead of a sizzle reel with rendered cinematics and 4 seconds of gameplay.
Looks like the Sony-published, Insomniac-developed Spider-Man games will remain the undisputed champion of modern superhero games for a while longer.
@nessisonett yeah I’m avoiding this then.
If this turns out to be really good despite all of the doubts, I'll still get it at some point. Like others have basically said already though, the fact that it won't be an X-Com style strategy game sends this from being a must buy to maybe down the road at best. Amazing how in a matter of a week, it went from something I didn't even know existed that I would buy on day 1 to something I may not buy at all now (or down the road at least).
One positive thing is that it's developed by Firaxis, so it should end up being good, but this is one time they didn't need to try something different for them when it would have sold just because it has Marvel attached to it.
@Blues2Youse If Playstation did these things I would hand them a bunch of money. I would love to play those games on new consoles.
@JechtUltima i was expecting a turnbased thing but not with cards looks cool though but i need a demo to see if i really like it.
Jesus, just cancel it now 😭
@AFCC People was expecting xcom. People wasn't expecting the cards.
Gotta admit I was disappointed by the card battle system too but I still think it looks pretty decent.
@Floki this looks literally Xcom but using cards as abilities to me
I dunno, it's not for me but I have quite a few friends who are going to be way more interested in this now once they find out about the cards. Lots of people love card systems in their games, so a Marvel game for them I guess.
Well, that's a massive letdown. I'm honestly pretty surprised it made it this far into development.
@AFCC X-Com doesn't use card abilities which is what everyone is generally upset about.
I mean it looks more interesting after the CGI reveal trailer where everyone was wearing wild gold armor. I think having a player created character is a bit of a letdown - I don't think anyone wants to play as a random new character in a Marvel game. Otherwise it looks alright. Firaxis knows what they're doing so I won't write the game off because of the ability cards, but I'm also not jumping in on day one.
Looks like a good game to play a year plus after launch.
@JechtUltima what is wrong with a card based system?
You must believe.... in THE HEART OF THE CARDS
Not my kind of game, but for the ones who like it, I hope this card system does not become some paid microtransactions bs...
Thank god at least SpiderMan is in capable hands. Sony should get some sort of medal,
Looks like if a mobile studio got a console development kit by mistake.Next video will be on how you buy jewels.
@RBMango. That is precisely how i feel. This would have been an instant buy with Ultimate Alliance or Xmen Legends type gameplay
Ahh man they lost me at cards. Hope some can find some fun in it but definitely not a game for me. Shame was excited after the initial trailer but oh well, plenty to play in 2022 this far!
I'm not ecstatic about the card system, but it's not necessarily a dealbreaker either. Microtransactions, on the other hand...
And I actually like that you play as an original character as long as you also get control over/can use the other heroes' powers.
Will be a "wait and see" for me, though
So this is what Chimera Squad was a prototype for? Other than the cards it's about what I expected, which is kind of a shame because while Chimera Squad was... Fine? It was also the only game in the franchise I was done with within a fortnight and never returned to.
I completed Enemy Unknown a couple of times before buying Enemy Within on Android to play on my commute, beat that about 4 or 5 times, and then XCom 2 had given me more campaigns than I can count, with the various DLC and mods (on Steam). Chimera Squad was great for an initial playthrough, but by the time I was hoovering up the trail end of the achievements I was quite frankly bored.
Hopefully the cards system ends up keeping things fresher rather than just being annoying, but looking at the core loop of this, it has gone from pre-order to wait-for-a-sale
I'm quite surprised to see the negative reaction to this. Personally, I think it looks really promising! Excited to see more of it.
Why waste such a great license on a game that hardly anyone would like playing?
Looks like Agatha Harkness in the background at 2:55 in the trailer. I can't wait for this game, day one
@Quintumply Agreed. I guess people were hoping for a third person action game.
@Legacy2K Hoping for an X-Com like game. That’s been pretty well articulated throughout this thread.
@Legacy2K as @Chidoro says, XCom fans have been waiting for a new XCom game, and we're disappointed this will likely not really scratch that itch. It has been over 5 years since most of us beat XCom 2 and saw the cliffhanger ending. I'm hopeful that XCom 3 has been being developed in parallel and that we shall hear something soon, but after the somewhat disappointing Chimera Squad (it was a fine game, but it lost the magic that makes the main series excellent), it would have been nice to hear that there was something else to tide us over.
I normally despise card based games, but will make another exception due to the emphasis on story/plot and exploration.
Only done this a few times in the past, namely Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories.
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