Play enough games and you’ll start to develop an eye for those that take a lot of time and focus. Within minutes, I knew that Firaxis’ comic book-based adventure starring the Marvel superheroes would be one of those games, packed with numerous currencies, cosmetics, and game systems. Midnight Suns is a strategy/RPG with tremendous depth, character development in both storytelling and upgrades, and dozens of hours of gameplay to discover. While the repetitive nature of the storytelling structure is a chore at times, the combat is top notch. It adds a gamma boost to the slow-paced tactical XCOM experience Firaxis is known for, resulting in rewarding battles that stay fresh even after you’ve sunk countless hours into the experience.
An ancient evil has awakened and threatens to plunge the world into the darkness of an Elder God’s malice. Well-known heroes like Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider and Captain Marvel have no choice but to revive the long-dead hunter who defeated the menace hundreds of years ago. You control this reanimated hero as he leads the mightiest on earth against this menace.
Combat follows the turn-based tactical loop of Firaxis’ XCOM games, but forgoes huge battlefields and cover points for tighter arenas, and card-based action selection inspired by deck-building gameplay. Each character has an array of card attacks, abilities, and heroic abilities that leverage their unique talents, and it’s incredibly fun to stack each character deck towards greater dominance.
Although there is enough time to carefully consider each move, the action feels more bombastic and faster than most tactical games. Each map has a special animation that emphasizes the character’s uniqueness, and the battles look beautiful as they play out. Wolverine comes back from a KO with renewed vigor. Magik’s portals send enemies across the field. Captain America hurls his shield to hop between hapless Hydra forces, taunting them into taking on him. And everyone jumps over barriers, hurls boulders, and detonates explosive barrels to add to the mayhem – just like any good cinematic superhero fight.
The complexity of this system grows over time, gradually layering up objectives you may need to face or unique enemy mechanics you need to overcome. You may be asked to damage a helicopter before it takes off, or face a demon that summons obelisks each turn, which must be smashed if you don’t want to be overwhelmed. Get deep enough into the game and you’ll even see some intriguing puzzle challenges where you have to complete a specific task only with certain cards or other restrictions. Firaxis built a robust and exciting combat engine and used many ways to keep it exciting and fresh.
Between battles, return to the Abbey, a sprawling social and exploration space. Here you can improve and train your heroes, build new battle items, and unlock an impressive array of cosmetic tweaks for characters and home decor. The Abbey grounds are also home to a mystically steeped adventure game with secret clues, arcane treasure chests and snippets of history; It leads to some intriguing discoveries, but can sometimes detract from the flow of the main story.
The Abbey also functions as a giant friendship sim where you play out interpersonal drama with the likes of Spider-Man and Blade over time. The dialogue selection (and the option to choose light or dark conversational responses) is most reminiscent of BioWare games like Dragon Age or Knights of the Old Republic and can sometimes seem overly simplistic. A ton of these interactions unfold as the game progresses; Each builds your status with these individuals, which in turn is reflected in their abilities during battle. What I liked most was the focus on character development. But with a game this big, I eventually got tired of the endless loop of conversations after each mission, some of which devolved into boring dialogue that would be more at home on a reality TV show than a superhero adventure.
For all of its focus on supernatural magic and demonic menaces, Midnight Suns is a fun-loving and exciting ride. XCOM strategy fans will not be disappointed; The format changes still result in a pleasing flow of combat. But this is a more accessible and story-driven experience than Firaxis has attempted before, filled with some of the most well-known pop culture heroes of the moment. It’s big, boisterous, and a little goofy at times, but just like the best installments of Marvel in recent years, it’s also a rousing good time.
