This is MultiVersus and the contagious madness of Warner Bros’ proposal for the smash fighting genre. Someone thought putting Shaggy from Scooby-Doo with Batman and pitting him against Wonder Woman and Garnet from Steven Universe was a good idea. And I am very grateful to the person who thought of it.
If there is a video game capable of becoming a good meme factory, that is MultiVersus. A game that comes in handy for me to forget how little I liked the Multiverse of madness in Doctor Strange 2. Here, there is indeed madness in the Warner Bros game developed by Player First Games. Lots of quality.
Multiverses prove that not everything was made up, taking the world of crossovers a step further than Fortnite had already. It is a game that is very reminiscent of its aesthetics, although the genre has nothing to do with it. Or if? Let’s take a closer look at this smash-style fighting title.
multiverse and the madness unleashed by Warner Bros
When a company with many IPs decides to do a crossover, you don’t know where it can go. Therefore, if you thought that it would be fun to see Shaggy fighting with Superman a few years ago, you would never have thought that you were not the only one with that idea in your head. But surely, among all the possibilities that the Multiverse could bring to your head, you would not think that Shaggy could reach the Ultra Instinct. And yet here we are.
In addition to the crazy crossovers, I want to mention a detail that seemed very important to me: most of the characters that appear keep their usual dubbing actors, both in English and Spanish (as you can see in the trailer above). It may seem silly, but it is greatly appreciated that this has been taken into consideration and taken care of.
Because if there’s one thing you’ll find in MultiVersus, it’s care and attention to detail, even in this closed alpha madness. Everything has been carefully crafted about music, scenery, character designs, and customization options. Being able to configure each aspect of the game for your comfort is something to be grateful for, especially on a visual level. Believe me when I tell you that it is straightforward to get lost with so much color, and for that, I am grateful to be able to see the enemies with a slight red tint. So I know where I have to hit.
The character design is faithful to the originals (as accurate as Arya Stark’s design can be, for example), but with just the right touch to make it clear that it has been redesigned and adapted to the video game. In general, we are facing a cartoon style that is somewhat reminiscent of Fortnite designs, and that allows you to catch better the madness that is so much crossover in MultiVersus.
Innovating within what is already invented
The MultiVersus style of play also matches the crossover craze. Following the foundations of Smash Bros, this title manages to contribute its grain of sand with the roles of characters based on team play. Because, yes, it is a delightful title in a free-for-all, but where it shines is in cooperative mode.
With characters based almost entirely on the Support, being, for example, the case of Parreno, MultiVersus makes us enjoy team fights. Your abilities will reinforce those of other companions or increase your survival. Wonder Woman can use her lasso to pull in an enemy and get a teammate out of a tight spot, while Parreno can save you from a fall and return you to the battlefield.
This, of course, has its downside. Some characters are practically useless in 1vs1 modes or chaos mode. Few players will want to play as Parreno in these modes unless they have set themselves a challenge. This is quite inviting for us to enjoy the cooperative, but it discourages us if we are something of a child-rat (which is usually my case). What could encourage the madness in MultiVersus is a local mode that we hope to see later, without the need to go online and be able to party at home.
The good thing about having also given that importance to online is enjoying so many options and queueing for all the possibilities online without choosing just one.
The usual, but with spices
With so many tutorials before you can play MultiVersus, it’s only natural that you end up with a lot more craziness. However, despite the innovations, the base remains. You have a button to make your regular attacks and special attacks—both with their different combinations depending on the movement. Of course, you can also jump and double jump, block and create armor according to some characters, and dodge option for all.
In other words, MultiVersus maintains what you already know about traditional smashes, even if it adds its spices. For example, it is almost impossible in this game to fall into the void (unless you are poorly pushed). And it is that for each jump you can do, in addition to infinite combos with your regular attacks, two special attacks, and two dodges.
The Battle Pass will give us skins and different elements, and it also levels up with how you perform in combat. We also have the added feature of unlocking characters with coins that you earn by completing missions and fighting. So you can open your favorites just by playing.
If I must highlight something that at the moment is not convincing me, it is the ability to equip improvements. Upgrades can increase your damage, speed, or defense, among other things. They are earned by leveling up each character, so you won’t always be in a fair fight. The difference may not be too noticeable when you equip an upgrade or two, but it can be vital to face a fully-equipped character with your character at level 1. Do we leave the pay to win for a play to win?
Let yourself be infected by the madness in MultiVersus.
If you like Warner Bros IPs and Smash Bros-style fighting games, you’ll like MultiVersus. It is a delightful title that only in its closed alpha has already shown that it has a great team behind it, treating it with great care. Yeah, there’s still some polishing upon whether it will release in 2022. But what you’ll find in this alpha will blow your mind.