Tribute Games gave us a true dose of Turtles Arcade nostalgia just a few years back with Shredder’s Revenge.

Between that and the grossly underated Panzer Paladin, this is a development team with some serious firepower. So for them to have access to the Marvel license and give us their take on the classic X-Men and Marvel Super Heroes side-scrollers feels like a dream come true.

And in what should be a surprise to no one, they’ve completely and utterly smashed the assignment. Marvel Cosmic Invasion is an absolute banger and may just be one of my all-time favourite side-scrollers.

This one really encourages teamplay with up to 15 playable heroes, each very different from the next, with individual missions focusing on certain characters more than others, like getting you to use Wolverine’s throw ability or fight and defeat a certain boss as Black Panther.

Each level feels distinctly Marvel, with legendary, iconic locations such as Wakanda and Genosha. Those who are deeply embroiled in the MCU will feel right at home here, though this definitely feels more distinctly comic book leaning with each character feeling like they’ve been pulled from the pages with the less serious undertone we’ve been used to on the big screen. There’s even much lesser known comic book characters that bulk out the roster in some fun and interesting ways.

All this gets brought home by the game’s absolutely magnificent comic-book opening montage that feels ripped right out of those aforementioned Saturday morning cartoons, but of the equal, excellent production values of the brilliant What If. Which, by the way, is a great point of reference as the wonderful Jeffrey Wright reprises his role as The Watcher, and expertly weaves the narrative between scenes. He even tells you how to play the tutorial, so that’s worth the price of admission alone.

As mentioned, each of the characters really responds and works well, giving off their own distinct vibe. In each level you select two characters to alternate between and team up with together to produce a myriad of powerful, beautiful manouerves. From Spider-Man swinging around the screen to Wolverine slashing and pummelling enemies through the floor. These characters can even team up for super blitz combo moves that make use of both their abilities.

Even down to the animations, like She-Hulk just stomping around the screen, throwing people around by their head, clubbing them through the floor. She’s a total bad-ass and you just feel that in every inch of what she does.

It’s just great, old fashioned, mindless, switch off and play fun that you can just dive into, alone or with a local group and just feel the Saturday morning vibes just wash over you. Even the small touches, like the little menu jingle effects when you pause and the sound bytes that get thrown out after a satisfying combo like ‘Enough out of you’.

Whether you were there in the Marvel 90s, or you’re more present in the X-Men 97 and Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man animated shows on Disney+, there’s a rich vein of nostalgia that’s being tapped into here.

Just as Tribute Games did with the Turtles, the game uses this 16-bit inspired pixel art style that’s less blocky and pixelated, more sharper and concentrated but still manages to feel authentically retro. It’s beautifully designed and very intelligently implemented to create the desired effect.

There’s a decent amount of personalisation here as well as you can change the costume designs to suit the era you’re most connected with, such as Wolverine’s browner costume or more of a silver and red inspired suit for Iron Man.

And further onto the uniqueness of each character – you’ll have great satisfaction flying around the screen as Iron Man or tossing your shield at a horde of enemies as Cap. Even pelting enemies with Rocket Racoon’s ridiculous firepower. Your favourites are really presented beautifully here.

But so is the feeling of each world, and the score that flows beautifully in the background. Tribute have not only nailed those chirpy, action tunes we know and love about these games, but they’ve managed to make them feel truly Marvel esque and presenting them in such a grand standing way.

This game is absolutely superb, even enabling you to jump online in crossplay or create parties to find friends. And while this one is obviously a fun single-player adventure, the true fun and mystique is there to be found with friends and strangers.

From epic, jaw-dropping bosses, to some satisfyingly Marvel twists and turns, power moves you’ll gasp at and unlockables you’ll love. The levels can sometimes feel a tad repetitive and I would say the enemy variety is a little lower than I would have hoped for. I definitely felt like I was facing similar kinds of enemies more than once or twice, but the core of the game is solid and the experience enjoyable and energising, I was having too much fun to really care.

It’s an absolute must-play, and it’s even on GamePass if you fancy checking it out first, but this is one you’ll want to own and revisit time and again. It’s brutally beautiful and brilliant.

Verdict

MARVEL: Cosmic Invasion is just an absolute ball-busting blast with all your favourite Marvel heroes, in iconic settings, with great action and feeling mechanics, wonderful animations, and a vibe that feels ripped out of the 90s animated shows. This is that rare moment where the perfect team got the perfect license and just ran hard with the ball to deliver something pretty magical. Some repetition in levels and enemies aside, this is a must-play side-scroller whether you’re in it with a pal or just looking for something to dip into solo. Absolutely MARVELous.

Pros

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Marvel: Cosmic Invasion is out now on PC, Xbox, Switch, and PS

Played on PC / Steam Deck

Code Kindly Provided by DotEmu for review purposes