Marvel Rivals Takes Over the Hero-Shooter Genre

By Kai Bridges

The hero shooter sub genre is beloved by many in the gaming community with Team Fortress 2 and Overwatch being its most defining titles. In the latter’s early years, it provided diverse gameplay and an ample amount of content with new heroes and maps every few months.

In 2023, Blizzard released its sequel Overwatch 2 which replaced the first edition leaving many players enraged. Along with it, came a battle pass players had to purchase to earn rewards instead of the free loot box mechanic.
 

The sequel also changed core fundamentals of team formations and left players without game modes they were promised by Blizzard. With the community upset with the state of Overwatch 2, players searched for a new hero shooter game.
 

Marvel Rivals (2024), a Marvel Games release with a style very comparable to Overwatch very quickly filled the hole Overwatch had left in the gaming community. On launch day alone, player count peaked at over 600,000. Many argue what Marvel Rivals has done right, or what Overwatch has over it: what do the Wolves on campus think?
 

“Rivals just has an overall familiar feeling and cast to Overwatch and also the fact they have a plan to add more characters faster than Overwatch will,” said freshman Corbin Xayabouth, when asked what Marvel Rivals has done to be a successor to Overwatch.
 

Marvel Rivals has a few characters very comparable to its predecessor’s cast that allows players to easily translate their skills from one to another, making the transition between games very player friendly.
 

“The switch to Overwatch 2 damaged the game and removing 6v6 for 5v5 was an unpopular decision,” said junior Charity Paschall, when asked what Overwatch 2 has done wrong to keep its players. “Marvel Rivals continues to take constructive criticism, especially during the beta and early release versions of the game.”
 

With a 6v6 playstyle typically having two tank heroes, two damage heroes, and two support heroes, incorporating a 5v5 playstyle limits both teams to having one tank. This change not only hurt players who loved playing within the tank category, it also hurt how a team is supposed to position themselves on the field. Players must make up new strategies, playstyles and hero picks.
 

Overall, our Wolves say Overwatch 2 damaged how the player base felt about itself and while the original release was very loved, the changes are too much to bear. Marvel Rivals presents itself to making sure its community is happy and continues to provide worthwhile content.