MARVEL Cosmic Invasion Next Fest Demo Preview - A Simple Yet Engaging Beat 'Em Up

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MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is nearing release, with the game still set for a launch later this year. We got the chance to try out a short demo of the game to see what we thought of it and how it performs on the Steam Deck.

MARVEL Cosmic Invasion (Demo) - Gameplay Impressions

The demo we got to try was pretty short, only around 20 minutes in length, but it did give us a look at some of the characters, as well as a couple of stages that we can look forward to in the full release.

To set expectations, MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is a Beat 'Em Up, not a fighting game, so while there is a "combo" system, it's not nearly as intimidating as you might fear, and it's pretty approachable for beginners.

The characters also have a pretty big difference in how you play them. Spider-Man, for example, swings around the screen and relies on being agile to avoid taking damage. Captain America, meanwhile, is more of a "stand your ground" type character, able to use his shield to block incoming attacks and beat enemies in close combat.

The movement is nice and smooth, which is exactly what you want. The worst feeling in these games is having a "stiff" feeling character, and the game does a great job of making you feel like you can freely move around the arena.

The standout feature of MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is the tag system, allowing you to swap between 2 characters during combat in order to add some additional combos to your moveset. Plus, you can play the game with friends in local and online multiplayer to allow even more synergy opportunities.

Visually, MARVEL Cosmic Invasion has some great pixel art, and I love the style, feeling both modern and retro with smooth animations and visual effects.

MARVEL Cosmic Invasion (Demo) - Steam Deck Performance

MARVEL Cosmic Invasion plays pretty flawlessly on the Steam Deck. The game does run in a 16:9 aspect ratio, with the resolution actually being 960x540. If you run in "Windowed" mode, it does stretch the game to fit the Steam Deck's 16:10 display, if you don't mind a little bit of stretching.

There are no graphical settings, but they aren't needed, as the game will run on a potato PC, meaning we can easily hold 90 FPS on a Steam Deck OLED with minimal power draw, around 6W-7W. So 7-8 hours of playtime isn't out of the question here.

The game also has excellent controller support and would be my recommended way of playing the game.

Final Thoughts

MARVEL Cosmic Invasion looks to be a solid Beat 'Em Up, and best of all, it runs great on the Steam Deck. If this game has caught your eye, I don't think it will disappoint, either in terms of gameplay or how it runs on your device.

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