Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Review (PS5)

There was a sense of inevitability about superhero brawler Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, and I’m delighted to say it’s delivered.

For my money, this is comfortably the most exciting fighter since Street Fighter 6, delivering a zany competitive experience powered by unprecedented production values and some innovative gameplay design.

I grew up with Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes on the Dreamcast, which was one of my favourites for SEGA’s ill-fated console.

But I think comparing this game to Capcom’s iconic tag-team title is futile: dev Arc System Works – in collaboration with both Sony and Marvel Games – has delivered a release that has an identity all of its own.

There’s certainly evidence of the Japanese dev’s past work here, specifically PS5 favourite Guilty Gear Strive and anime all-timer Dragon Ball FighterZ.

But the outing’s unique four-on-four format is something wholly original for the genre, and outside of a slightly tardy tag mechanic and some cumbersome default controls, I think it works.

It’s interesting to me how you can approach this game as though it’s a one-on-one fighter, with your support characters adding different tools to your combat arsenal, like anti-airs.

But I think as the title matures we’re going to see pro players build more of the tag mechanics into their combos, and I believe there’s going to be more than enough depth here to give the release longevity at the highest levels of play.

However, it’s important to underline that anyone can have fun with this effort; while its opening tutorial is perhaps a little dense, auto-combos and streamlined special move commands mean even new fighting game players should be able to get to grips with the effort’s 20 character roster fairly fast.

Speaking of which, Arc Sys has done an outstanding job with the launch day lineup of superheroes (and supervillains).

While obvious inclusions like Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk are present and correct, there are some deep-cut inclusions, like Danger from the X-Men comics.

The art team has done an absolutely astonishing job giving each of these familiar faces an anime-inspired makeover; I love Iron Man’s Gundam-style suit, for example, as well as Peni Parker’s oversized Sp//dr mech, which fills up the whole screen.

Each character is beautifully animated, making the game both a treat to look at and play. While I’d have liked to see a couple more stages at launch, the backdrops are similarly superb – including the Easter egg laden Marvel’s New York and X-Mansion levels, which are packed with little details to look out for.

The fighters all feel unique from a gameplay perspective as well. Captain America, for example, can use his shield both defensively and offensively, bouncing it around the screen to control space. Meanwhile, Ghost Rider has an overheating mechanic, which powers him up – just don’t let him get too hot.

Not only do these systems suit the characters and their source material, they give you new mechanics to learn without overcomplicating the release. Many of the characters share inputs, so you can get a handle on them quickly – although mastering their unique combo strings will require time and investment, which is where the depth comes in.

The campaign does a good job of introducing each of the characters, so you can get a taste of their gameplay.

Divided into five distinct episodes, each depicting a different team of fighters, these stories are presented as animated comic books, each drawn and coloured by a unique artist.

Uncanny X-Men’s Kieron Gillen has penned all of the plots, and his writing is really good at adding depth to many of the characters; I particularly enjoyed his take on Robbie Reyes as Ghost Rider, which digs into the duality of the anti-hero.

While this is certainly a more linear single player campaign than Street Fighter 6’s unprecedented World Tour mode, I really enjoyed seeing all of the different artists bring their unique visual flare to each plot.

For example, Betten Court of Spider-Man: Octo-Girl fame brings a cutesy Shonen Jump-esque flavour to the Amazing Guardians storyline – while Brazilian illustrator Mike Deodato adds a more mature, Western style to the Knights of Doom narrative.

The campaigns do follow a similar structure with overlapping Saturday morning cartoon cutscenes, but I think there’s enough strength in the writing and art direction to make them all worth playing, and they’ll keep you occupied for the best part of six to eight hours, depending on your skill level.

But there is more to the single player suite beyond these, as the All-Star Arena serves as a kind of arcade-esque ladder with branching paths. Completing each route unlocks unique artwork which you can view in the gallery.

There’s also an obligatory Survival mode with roguelite-inspired aspects, as well as the more inventive Arcadia Rumble, which can be played offline and incorporates the chibi-style online lobby characters into a more Mario Party-style mode.

Personally, I could take or leave this option, but I appreciate its inclusion nonetheless – and of course you can play it online with multiple other competitors if you want a bit more challenge.

Combo trials and character lessons round out the offline suite, which is robust enough to recommend at launch – even though you’re probably going to spend the bulk of your time online.

I’ve generally found the rollback netcode to be good, although it should be noted that the PC version is encountering issues, and that can affect the crossplay environment. For example, I’ve had some battles where the slower speed of my opponent's SSD has caused brief pauses during stage transitions – not ideal.

But while the flaws of the PC release have been well documented since launch, I think it’s important to underline that the PS5 version is practically flawless.

Of course, you’ll sometimes find yourself at the mercy of your opponent’s Internet connection – and I’ve had trouble getting matches in Casual mode – but generally I’ve found the online play to be largely faultless against other PS5 players.

I want to shout out the presentation across the board too, which I think is one of the highlights here.

The voice acting is superb, with tons of unique contextual quips across the entire roster. I think Nolan North is excellent as Deadpool, as he frequently references other fighting games and even Arc Sys titles.

The soundtrack effortlessly spans a variety of different genres too, from heavy metal through to J-Pop – that Peni Parker theme is an absolute bop.

And while I know a lot of people will be playing on an arcade stick, I think the DualSense haptic feedback support deserves a mention; there are some really lovely little tactile moments implemented throughout each of the single player episodes, while I love all the flourishes added to the intro movie.

I think most exciting of all is that this is a foundation, and as long as Arc Sys can continue to work on it – and whip the PC version into shape – then it’s only going to get better. We know Phoenix Cyclops will be added later this year as the game’s first DLC character.

The Japanese studio’s support for Dragon Ball FighterZ and Guilty Gear Strive has been superb over the years, and while its ten year plan for this title will rely on players supporting it, I’m optimistic about what the future holds for the game.

But even though I’m hoping for a long and fruitful future for this fighter, I’d still recommend what’s here at launch – as I said from the outset, I think it’s the most exciting addition to the genre since Street Fighter 6.