It’s been almost two weeks since the official launch of Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix’ Marvel’s Avengers, a co-op and loot-focused game based on one of the highest-grossing media franchises today. And while Marvel’s Avengers does feature a lengthy single-player, narrative-driven campaign mode that fans seem to be enjoying quite a lot, players will spend the majority of their time in the end game chasing loot and playing through cooperative missions with AI companions, at least until the matchmaking is fixed.
Unfortunately, struggling to find a multiplayer game online is just one of the many issues plaguing currently Marvel’s Avengers. If it’s not matchmaking, then its mysterious characters in the ending cutscene, severe framerate drops across the board, or simple stuff like not being able to access the marketplace from anywhere other than the game’s main menu. With the first round of DLC planned to launch in late October, Marvel’s Avengers still has a number of basic quality of life problems that it needs to fix as soon as possile.
Once the campaign is all said and done, the biggest component of Marvel’s Avengers and where players will spend the bulk of their time is in the multiplayer, loot-driven Warzone missions. Here the focus is only leveling up each of the core six heroes and unlocking new loot to increase each heroes overall power level to take on the game’s toughest challenges. One of the best ways to do that is to complete faction bounties every day; however, picking them up can be a huge pain because it involves visiting two separate hub-worlds which are separated by long loading times. Crystal Dynamics needs to offer players an easier way to pick up bounties by reducing load times, adding an Inhuman Alliance vender to the Chimera, and/or offering some sort of option in the menus.
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, finishing the campaign opens up new ways to play, new things to do, and new goals for the endgame. One of the most notable options is a ‘Quick Match’ system that can be accessed at the War Table on the Chimera or at the Ant Hill. Quick Match allows players to choose a specific character and then places them directly in whatever multiplayer match is available at the time. With so many different mission types (Vaults, Hives, Villain Sector, etc) and a rather confusing and convoluted menu system in the form of the War Table, the addition of mission-specific playlists would be great. Adding new playlists for players that want to farm Drop Zones, dive straight into the daily Villain Sector, or take on one of the game’s harder challenges would go a long way.
When Apex: Legends launch in early 2019, it changed the BR genre with a ping system, allowing players to communicate seamlessly and effectively online without the need for a headset or microphone. Naturally, that system was instantly adopted and put into other popular games like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone, which makes it even more confusing as to why Crystal Dynamics didn’t add it to Marvel’s Avengers. Adding a ping system for locations, items, and loot, as well as a radar for multiplayer missions with some sort of compass implementation is desperately needed. It can be very difficult to locate players and the current system has already received significant criticism in the weeks since launch.
In the character menus, players are able to preview each of the available cosmetic Avengers items including costumes, emotes, takedowns, and nameplates before choosing what to apply. However, that functionality is not offered in the Marketplace which is accessed at the game’s main menu, or in the Cosmetic Shop aboard the Chimera hub world. When it comes to spending real-world money on cosmetic items, it’s not good enough to offer a single image of a costume or emote and expect players to be satisfied. Looking at other popular loot-driven games like Destiny 2 or Fortnite, players have been able to preview every single item in the marketplace for years and rightfully so.
Following on from the most recent patch on September 9, 2020, Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that the next patch for Marvel’s Avengers will be the largest yet and will address “hundreds of smaller quality of life issues.” Unfortunately, no further details have been revealed about what quality of life issues are being addressed in V1.3.0 or exactly when players can expect to see the patch in downloads, so hopefully, some of the issues raised by players are on the pipeline and will make it into the full game soon (or at least before the first DLC arrives in October).
In our review for Marvel’s Avengers, we stated: “Marvel’s Avengers has some big upsides with its combat and campaign, but is seriously held back by its live-service elements.” At the end of the day, the blend of narrative storytelling with a multiplayer focus and loot grind isn’t going to be for everybody but with quality of life fixes, a more streamlined approach to accessing content, and brand new content including new heroes and story expansions should make for a better overall experience later down the line.
Marvel’s Avengers is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One
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