It turned out to be a stroke of luck that I happened to be playing Crimson Desert during the open beta weekend of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls (24 – 26 July). Of course, the two games have little to nothing in common; and its those differences that flavoured my impressions of ArcSystem Works’ new fighting game, and those differences that helped me appreciate what the game will mean for fighting game aficionados and Marvel devotees alike.
From what I’ve managed to playing this weekend I think this is going to be most intense fighting game experience since ArcSystem’s Dragon Ball FighterZ. This stands in necessary contrast to the slow build and longevity of Crimson Desert.
The open beta only allowed a handful of single player content to be played. Episode Mode, the game’s story mode, was available, but I’ll be honest, I didn’t play it: I want to savour whatever narratives Kieron Gillen (legendary British comic book author – Eternals and A.X.E. Judgment Day being a particular highlight) when the game is out on August 6th.
So I spent my time playing Versus mode and occasionally playing online matches (more on the network connectivity later). The character roster is limited to 16 out of 20. Deadpool, Hulk, Loki and Carnage were not available to play. Again, I don’t mind savouring them in the full game. And my experience with this limited content was incredibly exciting and the future bodes well.
The future bodes well… presuming network issues can be sorted out. On the first day of the open beta I couldn’t connect to the network and thus access the game. I wasn’t the only one. I checked online and everyone was having the same difficulties. I wasn’t alone in my frustration – I was joined by the agitated millions and it was consoling, somehow. And yet the timing could not be worse for Sony.
Of course, Sony recently announced its historic switch to digital-only format and the millions of us barred from playing the beta because of network (digital) issues you could just hear a worldwide sigh of schadenfreude – ha ha Sony, we told you so. I won’t be going into that boiling hot controversy. It is sad to lose discs forever and to be deprived of video game cover art, but it is also the nature of the cruel march of progress (I still miss Super Nintendo cartridges, but hey ho).
Online performance for lobby matches performed well, but there was still noticeable lag in certain matches. Not enough to put another nail in Sony’s reputation, but enough to be a noticeable frustration.
Technical stuff aside, I want to focus on what really matters (to me) in video games: art. From the minute the game launched me into a tutorial match, I saw a radiant Captain America posed in a gorgeously lit New York, the deep, almost Renaissance perspective, leading towards Avengers Towers, I was won over and the network issues were long forgotten.
The backgrounds of the battle stages (six were available to play) are absolutely a cut above. The lighting is intense and beautifully saturated. Even in darker stages like Knowhere, everything just shines stunningly. The character colour palettes also perfectly reach an equilibrium point between brightness that avoids descending into garishness. This is as artistic as colouring can be without it being carnival. It makes me think of the colours that adorned ancient Greek statues in their heyday.
Character design is also a joy to behold. Of course, these are Marvel characters portrayed in an anime style that is typical of ArcSystem’s MO. They already have an incredible C.V. in this field. Their work on FighterZ and the Guilty Gear series, among others, was strong enough to get them this commission. And here they don’t disappoint. I’m not a big fan of anime as I find the artwork somewhat too repetitive (like reggae music that is just great, but all too samey); and I was also not a big fan of the Marvel manga crossovers. But I am a fan of this.
Character design leans into the bulkiness that would not be out of place in Street Fighter 6 (a game whose artwork overall really put me off); Wolverine and Captain America, in particular, have exceedingly hulking (pun intended) shoulders, hardly any necks, and chunky hands. But this is not overbearing. And Spider-Man, on the other hand, is fittingly slim and agile, Green Goblin is hunched over and pointy and elongated to make him feel sinister, and Peni Parker’s robots feel like they take over the entire arena.
Costume design also carefully straddles the line between tradition and manga-esque innovation. Iron Man has been given an almost Transformers-like make-over, especially his V-shaped helmet. Blade has been given a not unbecoming samurai look, complete with a Noh mask embedded into his shoulder armour. This is really a loving, idiosyncratic ode by one of gaming’s best fighting game developer to Marvel’s deep lore. What can go wrong? (Network, behave.)
And then there’s the music, my god the music: what caught my attention was its variety, from traditional Japanese style music, to heroic, Avengers-level beats, to fast-paced, hardcore pieces that remind me of the original Blade film. The intensity and appropriateness of the music really helped ramp up the intensity of the online games.
Online games which depend, as they often do, on learning your character’s intimately. It was impressive how varied each character’s play style was. From Magik’s portal teleportation, to Spider-Man’s web-swinging, to Magneto’s collection of metallic debris… the list goes on. Single player content was limited in the beta, but learning the intricacies of each character’s play style was time consuming in the best possible way.
I must admit, I am not a big multiplayer player (that doesn’t sound right). I’m a believer in the one-on-one dialogue that developers manage to conjure up between gamer and game, the same way an artist choreographs the interaction between painting and viewer. And yet online play comes with the fighting game territory, and I actually enjoyed my time playing with fellow Tōkon-ites across the world.
And this brings me back to Crimson Desert. The game that never ends. A game that is designed to keep players looped into its world and gameplay for hundreds of hours. A game which, to my eyes, is lacking, ironically, in world-building, at least on the aesthetic level. A game world which, although addictive, is unwelcoming; like a cheap casino.
As a fan of single player fighting games, my time with Marvel Tōkon will be limited. After finishing Episode Mode (which is touted at being around 10 hours long) and learning the mechanics of each of the 20 characters, I will probably take a break from the game, waiting for new DLC content. Although, before doing that, I will be indulging my inner geekiness and setting up some comics-based matches. Avengers vs. X-Men. Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin. Civil War. Dr. Doom vs., well, everyone. And then, then I will probably taking a break from the game.
Games are meant to be finite. Games are meant to end. Not to sound all wabi-sabi, but a game is more beautiful for its brevity. Especially if it provides… I’ll come back to that key word… intensity. And Marvel Tōkon will provide that in spades. What’s more, it will provide that intensity in some of gaming’s most beautifully designed settings (even the menu designs are works of art that could be adopted as templates in MoMA exhibition catalogues) and some of the most unique interpretations of the Marvel universe.
Postscript: My Wishlist for future DLC characters
- Nightcrawler
- Moon Knight
- Knull
- Dr. Strange
- Mr. Sinister
- Daredevil
- Morlun
- Captain America Falcon
- Tombstone
- Dr. Octopus
