Warner Bros. has given new studio player First Games some of its most popular characters to make room in the Smash Bros.-dominated IP crossover fighter genre. MultiVersus has succeeded where others have failed, but it still has a lot to grow.
Although LeBron James makes the list thanks to his starring role in Space Jam: A New Legacy, the WB roster in MultiVersus doesn’t feel as gross as this movie’s roster. Each character is treated with reverence, creating a world where you finally don’t bat an eyelid that Arya Stark of game of Thrones stabs Bugs Bunny.
The tight, Smash-like controls convey the powerful and heavy Iron Giant just as adeptly as the nimble and goofy Finn adventure time. Just when I thought I’d found my main character, I started on another character and was continually amazed at how unique and interesting they were to learn.
While 1v1 and 4-player Free-For-All are included, everything is built around 2v2 gameplay. Character classes show traits at a glance and provide hints on how teams might come together. For example, Velma can sit back and cover with projectiles and buffs/debuffs while Superman rushes in to pound everyone. You can pair characters that bolster strengths and cover weaknesses, or just go all out with two Rushdown characters; All options are viable in the right hands.
The perk system plays a direct role here. Leveling up characters unlocks speed, dodge, jump and more boosts. It’s smart to combine perks with your partner for a stacking bonus. Superman and Velma, for example, both have ice attacks, so you can buff this debuff with a combo. Unique signature perks also play to character strengths. Even at this early stage, the team/perk combos are stunning and kept me experimenting all the time.
Despite the strength of the current base modes, the lack of variety needs to be addressed (and will apparently be coming soon with both an arcade and a ranked mode). The limited number of maps covers the standard size and layout requirements, but none of them quite match the creativity and detail of a good Smash Bros. level. Chasing enemies off a Batmobile in the Batcave is nice, but stages like a generic empty coliseum and a grassy area with a waterfall left me wanting more.
Online play is awesome thanks to rollback netcode and a huge cross-platform player base. I’ve never had to wait for games or deal with lag. Reindog – a new character created for the game – went invisible a few times, but that’s about the extent of my technical issues.
MultiVersus is free to play on almost every console and PC, making it easily accessible. However, this also triggers fears of microtransactions. Luckily, the fair economy offers plenty for players who don’t want to pay. Wonder Woman is free alongside a rotating roster of four characters. An early influx of gold pays off for another character, so you’re set at 6 out of 17 in the list in short order. The remaining grind is much slower, but not too daunting. And all characters are playable in a practice area. Paid content is mostly limited to cosmetics, instant character unlocks, and the premium tier of the Battle Pass.
The current free and paid mini-battle passes and daily quests have kept me busy throughout my time with MultiVersus. While I’ve enjoyed unlocking content, the need to grind through repetitive bot matches to hit some numbers in a reasonable amount of time can be a nuisance. Annoyingly for me, completed Season Objectives weren’t cleared, so I had to dig in the menus and scroll past a page of grayed-out items to constantly check my progress.
Living games have the potential to go in frustrating directions, but MultiVersus has a strong foundation. If rolling out content and smoothing out its rough edges makes sense, it could become a new crossover obsession for years to come.