RIVALS ASSEMBLE

MARVEL RIVALS' chaotic fun may be short-lived

- Elie Gould

It seems like every moment of my spare time nowadays is spent in a hero shooter. When I'm not fighting for my life in Valorant, I'm doing the same thing in Overwatch 2 or with the bots in Team Fortress 2. So the last thing I really need is a hero shooter I actually enjoy and will, therefore, carve more time out of my day playing it: enter Marvel Rivals.

I didn't expect Marvel Rivals to get a grips on me so quickly, but I'm having a good time feeling out the kits of its 33 launch heroes divided into three classes: vanguard, duelist, and strategist (tank, DPS, and support), every one of which also includes unique 'team-up' abilities activated by building the right team composition. I've been maining Hawkeye, which I am ashamed to admit, considering how strong he is right now.

It's always fun to go through the wringer with a new hero shooter, especially at the chaotic beginnings. At first, I found it hard to recognise who was hitting you and where. I spent a lot of my time getting shot in the back by Moon Knight's Ankh, which he can set down and then reflect projectiles off.

Eventually, I was able to pick up on the sound the Ankh made when it reflected darts, and it became second nature to destroy it before trying to run for cover. There are loads of these little learning curves to master, many of which will feel familiar for Overwatch vets.

There's nothing quite like reflexively sleeping an enemy Scarlet Witch with Mantis before she ults or pushing away a diving Wolverine without a second thought before he can sink his claws into you.

There are a lot of intuitive abilities and counters in