Games have a long history of critical success, but also commercial failures: There’s Beyond Good and Evil, Savage Legends, and Sleeping Dogs. Then there’s Dishonored, Dishonored 2, Prey, Deathloop… well, sadly, anything Arkane makes. Sometimes the gaming press generally falls in love with a title, but the consumer base can’t pick it up. There are multiple reasons for this; release window, competition, taste, cost. 2022 is home to some video game mega-success — most notably Elden Ring — but behind the golden light of gaming’s latest cash cow, there are several titles hoping only for consumer approval.
one of them is Marvel’s Midnight Sun.
A cast of beloved classic characters, a gothic arcane school set in a pocket dimension, and a great betrayal… Marvel’s Midnight Sun has everything it takes to make it great? So what went wrong?Based on new info from Jason Schreier, it’s clear that the newest 2K/Firaxis game is Critical to success, but commercial failureTake-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick hopes the traditional “long tail” of Firaxis games can be revived.
The game’s promise is simple: take command of some of the world’s greatest superheroes — and some of their furious, angry C-class friends — against the forces of HYDRA and Hell, and stop a war that is leading the world to a catastrophe disaster. The age of endless terror. Sounds dramatic, right? On the way, you’ll need to harness the power of friendship and Tony Stark’s ludicrous technology to subdue and suppress this supernatural menace.
Iron Man, Hulk, Scarlet Witch, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Wolverine, Spider-Man, and more Your favorite Marvel icons team up with more niche eccentrics you’ll find, no matter what Marvel’s trending what is it. Magik, Nico Minoru, and the new Ghost Rider all live in a strange monastery, away from prying eyes from the rest of the world – mourning the Scarlet Witch who disappeared in an accident at the start of the game. From this explosive narrative beat, the groundwork is laid: The Avengers don’t trust the Wizard, and the Wizard doesn’t trust the Avengers. But everyone needs to come together to, you know, save this bloody world.
Combine all of this with the age dynamic — hardcore old superheroes don’t get brave young upstarts and their weirdly illogical powers — and you’ve got the groundwork for one of the best comics since the Dark Phoenix saga . But this is no comedy. This is the setting of the game. The writers have orchestrated everything, and I think it’s my favorite Marvel experience since Civil War in 2006 – including the MCU.
Yes, that’s a big statement. But I mean it. Midnight Suns does everything I could ask for from Marvel; it clashes with lesser-known characters. It’s a deep dive into the weird goth horror stuff that the X-Men did well in the ’90s and ’00s. It taps into mythology’s mystical side and its sci-fi side — and does so with confidence. Like all good nerds, Midnight Sun knows how ridiculous everything it does is, and having some characters speak up (weird) while others face it all (blade) really helps to rationalize the state of the world.
Games are fun! A really fun game, imagine that. With this and Pentiment, last year we’ve been spoiled with games that are really humorous – I don’t think there’s been that many years in the industry where you can say that. The one-liners and banter between the characters feel real—as real as they are in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. The neuroticism of the complex, weird Marvel Universe.
Making your own character the central figure of the game (you’re called “the hunter”) is a bold move, but it works well. The Hunter, resurrected after centuries away from the world, is the perfect narrative vehicle for us; a player who embraces a Marvel universe unlike anything we’ve seen so far. Earning a lot of agency in a matter of minutes and clearly establishing yourself as someone who can’t be bothered, you start to shape the story around yourself with ease. Even someone as confident and powerful as Carol Danvers can be intimidated by your presence. Talk about power fantasies.
All this before we start playing the game! This is a Firaxis game. Automatic 10/10 battles. Deftly weighing power and risk, every encounter feels like a Kevin Feige nightmare. Guys tumble from buildings, heroes leap to slam thugs, and Captain America’s shield whizzes around countless creatures from beyond the void before snapping back into his arm with a satisfying sound effect. Blade said something glib and impaled the Hydra drone. The Scarlet Witch cursed loudly, and the green thing swelled and exploded. Spider-Man did an embarrassing thing.
While all this delightful eye candy is hissing and popping across the screen, there’s a well-thought-out and serious numbers game going on under the hood. You need to constantly calculate the odds: what is the probability of surviving the next attack? Can Magik teleport that soldier into that heavy unit to interrupt his attack? Will this give Wolverine enough room to put the boss to bed? What would happen if I let that barrel explode instead of aiming at the sniper?
The pomp of the action blends effortlessly with the mechanical precision of the numbers, making every battle a satisfying, exhilarating experience. The semi-random nature of the deck building that underpins it all makes it feel like a more fleshed-out version of Slay the Spire, and the utility afforded to all heroes through environmental interaction means that even the most dire of situations can work if you Get creative enough and you’ll be saved.
In my opinion, Marvel’s Midnight Sun is one of the best games of 2022. It does everything I want from a Marvel game and a Firaxis game, without any compromises in the process. In a landscape full of rote stories, homogeneous open worlds, and one-dimensional characters, Midnight Sun offers something refreshing and bold.
I hope Zelnick’s prediction of the long tail turns out to be correct, because this is a game everyone should play at least once. Even if you hate poker.
