as much as i wanted to hate this game, it's actually pretty good. i was sceptical with the game when it was first announced; will the game feel fun to play, will the ftp make or break, who exactly is this game targeted at? this game looked and seemed like the biggest cash grab. but im pleasantly surprised is the short answer.
i've had my fair share of learning platform fighters. i entered my first tournament for SBBU when it first came out and got my ass handed to me, despite practicing against bots and looking up guides online for hours.. who would have thought i'd lose. i think the hardest part for me was actually getting passed the learning phase of the game, because platform fighters are so unique and different to most fighting games, just getting to learn and understand all the mechanics is a hike and a half, which i believe multiversus tackles very well and lowers the barrier of entry almost flawlessly. quirks like fast falling, landing lag, the ledge, shielding, air dodging, free fall, input delay and movement in general were either neutered or changed to be more simple, which in turn means less to learn. not to say learning the game itself can't be fun, melee is a great example of having an insane learning wall but still being popular. but most players just want to jump right into the meat of the action, and usually for most people that is playing the mind games. there is however a learning curve with the perks, but at least it's somewhat optional.
making it 2v2 was an interesting design choice and makes it for an interesting dynamic, where in most cases both the old and new player are both learning (since more people aren't familiar with 2v2s). i think its an interesting design choice, because of accountability or rather lack of. if you lose a game most will blame outside factors rather than themselves. unsure if it was intentional to make it 2v2, but its a common mindset among most popular multiplayer games on the market, league being the perfect example, having all these factors outside of your control such as team mates, counter picks, etc, lead to not being accountable, sometimes leads to the "just one more game" mentality. making the game 2v2 does exactly that, so either brilliant planning on their end or maybe just a desire to be a little different from the rest. im glad they stuck with the 2v2 format because its a fresh idea that isn't normally seen and it's exciting to see the direction of the competitive scene.
on a side note, because its 2v2 focused they've added "roles" to each character. some characters can be support, tank, assassin, etc but some characters just simply aren't designed outside of 2v2. take that as you will. i think i like it this way since it enforces the idea that 2v2's are the main focus, but some other people don't and i totally get that. 1v1s are still there but the meta is definitely different due to enforced roles.
the ftp model works as well as it needs to. battlepass + character unlockables encourages grinding, with ftp character rotations fortnightly. honestly, ftp + battlepass is probably my favourite model since if i like the game i get rewarded just for playing. online works as well as it needs to using dedicated servers with rollback. i've had some issues with servers struggling but those things should be ironed out by now.
also doesn't wb just seem like the perfect company to pull off the whole crossover theme, all things considered? they have plenty of fun and interesting ip's to work with that i'm kind of excited to see what they have in store.
this game is unexpectedly fun, from a company that has never made a game before, it just seemed like a recipe for disaster, but i am pleasantly surprised and this game does deliver. with constant developer support and a passion to make something cool with fun ips, i can definitely see the potential.
i've had my fair share of learning platform fighters. i entered my first tournament for SBBU when it first came out and got my ass handed to me, despite practicing against bots and looking up guides online for hours.. who would have thought i'd lose. i think the hardest part for me was actually getting passed the learning phase of the game, because platform fighters are so unique and different to most fighting games, just getting to learn and understand all the mechanics is a hike and a half, which i believe multiversus tackles very well and lowers the barrier of entry almost flawlessly. quirks like fast falling, landing lag, the ledge, shielding, air dodging, free fall, input delay and movement in general were either neutered or changed to be more simple, which in turn means less to learn. not to say learning the game itself can't be fun, melee is a great example of having an insane learning wall but still being popular. but most players just want to jump right into the meat of the action, and usually for most people that is playing the mind games. there is however a learning curve with the perks, but at least it's somewhat optional.
making it 2v2 was an interesting design choice and makes it for an interesting dynamic, where in most cases both the old and new player are both learning (since more people aren't familiar with 2v2s). i think its an interesting design choice, because of accountability or rather lack of. if you lose a game most will blame outside factors rather than themselves. unsure if it was intentional to make it 2v2, but its a common mindset among most popular multiplayer games on the market, league being the perfect example, having all these factors outside of your control such as team mates, counter picks, etc, lead to not being accountable, sometimes leads to the "just one more game" mentality. making the game 2v2 does exactly that, so either brilliant planning on their end or maybe just a desire to be a little different from the rest. im glad they stuck with the 2v2 format because its a fresh idea that isn't normally seen and it's exciting to see the direction of the competitive scene.
on a side note, because its 2v2 focused they've added "roles" to each character. some characters can be support, tank, assassin, etc but some characters just simply aren't designed outside of 2v2. take that as you will. i think i like it this way since it enforces the idea that 2v2's are the main focus, but some other people don't and i totally get that. 1v1s are still there but the meta is definitely different due to enforced roles.
the ftp model works as well as it needs to. battlepass + character unlockables encourages grinding, with ftp character rotations fortnightly. honestly, ftp + battlepass is probably my favourite model since if i like the game i get rewarded just for playing. online works as well as it needs to using dedicated servers with rollback. i've had some issues with servers struggling but those things should be ironed out by now.
also doesn't wb just seem like the perfect company to pull off the whole crossover theme, all things considered? they have plenty of fun and interesting ip's to work with that i'm kind of excited to see what they have in store.
this game is unexpectedly fun, from a company that has never made a game before, it just seemed like a recipe for disaster, but i am pleasantly surprised and this game does deliver. with constant developer support and a passion to make something cool with fun ips, i can definitely see the potential.