Plenty has been said about the things that Marvel’s Avengers does wrong, but it also does certain things very well. One of the areas that the game does excel in is its roster of superheroes, as all the characters are fun to control in-game. The Avengers roster is written well, too, and each of the heroes is brought to life by talented voice actors like the award-winning Laura Bailey and Troy Baker. However, with the characters being so strong, it seems a bit odd that they did not get a chance to shine in games of their own.
Had Marvel’s Avengers taken the time to build up its universe via solo games for each of the heroes, the characters coming together in one big game could have been far more exciting. More of their own stories could have been told, with more of their own villains being included in the process. Most importantly, standalone games could have provided Marvel’s Avengers with more content from day one, instantly limiting the need for a rebuild process that has slowed down post-launch support greatly. While solo outings would not have solved every issue, some of the bigger problems could have been helped with such a strategy.
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While Crystal Dynamics trying to avoid copying the Marvel Cinematic Universe too much is admirable, one thing it should have stuck with is the concept of building up its heroes. Seeing Captain America’s journey prior to his fakeout death death in Marvel’s Avengers would have made the moment more believable. Likewise, truly letting The Hulk let loose in a fully destructible city could have been fun, with Crystal Dynamics able to more easily capture Hulk: Ultimate Destruction vibes.
More stories could have played out, as fans could have seen Iron Man running Stark Industries or Thor battling his brother Loki in Asgard. Iconic Marvel settings could be used, while members of each hero’s supporting cast could have been involved in each story. Much like with the MCU, the characters teaming up could have felt earned, something that would instantly make A Day more impactful.
Beyond just expanding on the heroes' stories, though, each of these games would have been a blast to play through. After all, each character’s moveset is deep, and their rich gameplay could have only been expanded upon in solo games. Proper stealth missions for Black Widow are just one of many solo game possibilities, though they seem less likely now that Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have jumped the gun.
Throughout Marvel’s Avengers, Crystal Dynamics has shown several times now that they love the Avengers’ solo stories as much as their team-up adventures. Collectible comics show off some of the best sources of inspiration, while cosmetics have incorporated some of the coolest alternate designs from every hero’s comic book runs. With such a love for the source material, it is hard not to imagine Crystal Dynamics doing anything but succeeding with a solo hero game. Further, had these singleplayer games happened, they could have instantly provided the game with more launch content on day one.
While Marvel’s Avengers’ villain problem has seen players facing the same handful of bosses and packs of AIM bots since launch, this may not have been an issue at all if there were solo games released prior to the big team up adventure. For example, if an Iron Man game saw him fighting The Mandarin, Living Laser, and Madame Masque, then that would allow for three more boss fights to be added into Marvel’s Avengers on day one. An original villain faction would likely appear as well, with aliens, Doombots, and Ultron drones all possible.
While everything could be the same about the Marvel’s Avengers main story and the use of AIM, Crystal Dynamics could port over the villains and assets from every hero’s solo game. With each hero's game also likely to have different mission styles, Crystal Dynamics would have been able to build off of these as well, adding more gameplay variety from the get-go.
With Hawkeye’s Future Imperfect Operation having a memorable singleplayer into, a world where each Avenger got the same treatment is hard not to imagine. Full singleplayer adventures would have provided a deeper universe full of content to pull from, eliminating the biggest issue from the game. Likewise, both the team-up and break-up of the team would have felt more meaningful, improving the already solid story a bit more. While players will likely never see these solo games released, they would have been great to see, and a slow burn could have led to a much more successful Marvel’s Avengers.
Marvel’s Avengers is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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