One of the simplest games I played at Summer Game Fest 2025 is also one of the most "pure fun" experiences I had while I was in L.A. earlier in June.
I had to chance to check out Marvel Cosmic Invasion, a beat 'em up being developed by Tribute Games and published by Dotemu.
This duo is the same partnership responsible for the excellent 2022 title, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, and I'm happy to say the teams seem to once again be hitting a high-quality bar.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion loosely follows the Annihilation comic storyline, which dealt heavily with cosmic characters like Nova and the Silver Surfer.
I say "loosely," because instead of solely dealing with outer space, plenty of mainstay icons are thrown into the mix, with the roster of 15 playable characters including Captain America, Venom, and others.
While you can take a character another player has active, you can also have completely unique selections.
While I played couch co-op with one other person, the game supports up to four players, meaning you could, in theory, have four Spider-Men running around at once, or have everyone take different picks and get eight different characters onto the field.
As you'd expect, the game looks amazing, with detailed pixel art that perfectly captures the vibes and aesthetic of late-90s Marvel. All the animations look incredible, with special mention going to Venom and Storm, whose ultimate attacks fill the screen with chaotic tentacles and lightning, respectively.
Combat feels good, with snappy inputs and movement that never feels too messy despite how hectic things can get on screen. Because each player selects two characters, one key aspect of movement is learning how to balance swapping in and out.
A second character can be called in for a brief special attack or swapped in during a combo, meaning that once I got the timing down, I was racking up dozens of uninterrupted hits with a continuous stream of blows as I went back and forth between Venom, Nova, and others.
While the slice I played was about 20 minutes long, it was enough to see some familiar foes, including Taskmaster, who closed out one level as a boss fight with some unique mechanics.
Truthfully, my only complaint is that I wasn't able to play around with She-Hulk or Rocket Raccoon, who are both confirmed for the roster but weren't available for the hands-on session at Summer Game Fest.
I'm looking forward to seeing what other characters join the list. The confirmations have been pretty varied up to this point, even if they've leaned a bit on the side of more prominent characters, so there's no telling who could be next.
Hopefully, the team can also share a release date soon, but whenever it's available, Marvel Cosmic Invasion seems like pure co-op fun that shouldn't be missed.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is slated to launch sometime later in 2025 across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.
