MARVEL Cosmic Invasion review (PC) -The Marvel Beat ’Em Up Fans Have Been Waiting For

You have no idea how much this game means to me. I grew up surrounded by Marvel; watching the old and new cartoons, devouring stacks of comics, spending hours with X-Men the Arcade game, Captain America and the Avengers, and other classic Marvel beat ’em ups. So, when MARVEL Cosmic Invasion was announced, I felt that familiar spark all over again. A brand-new 2D beat ’em up in 2025, starring the heroes I grew up with? That alone was enough to get my hopes soaring.

Then I learned it was being developed by Dotemu and Tribute Games, the same team behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, one of the best modern beat ’em ups on the market. That’s when excitement turned into full-blown anticipation. Their work on TMNT proved they understand this genre better than most studios today, and it set the stage perfectly for a Marvel brawler that could finally live up to decades of fan dreams. And well, here we are.

Game Name: MARVEL Cosmic Invasion
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch
Developer(s): Dotemu, Tribute Games
Publisher(s): Dotemu
Release Date: December 1, 2025
Price: $29.99

MARVEL Cosmic Invasion opens with a galaxy-wide crisis as the Annihilation Wave tears through every world in its path. Nova, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Wolverine, Phyla-Vell, Captain America, and a lineup of Marvel heavy hitters jump in to hold the line. The game stands as a love letter to the Marvel Universe, and those who have been longing for a beat ’em up, since it’s been so long since we’ve had one. One moment you’re fighting in New York, and the next you’re pulled into a battle for existence that spans multiple iconic corners of the Marvel universe.

It’s an ideal setup for a beat ’em up, and the game wastes no time delivering non-stop action, fast character swaps, and stages packed with big comic-book energy.

The structure will feel familiar if you played TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge: there’s a story campaign that tells an epic comic-book adventure, complete with character-based challenges baked into each stage. Then there’s the arcade mode that forgoes the story and lets you dive right into the game, to see if you can beat it with just one credit, and there are modifiers that you can unlock via the Cosmic Matrix that lets you change various variables such as freeplay.

Combat That Hits Like a Comic Panel

On the surface, combat looks straightforward. Every hero has a basic attack string, a special move with more bite, and a super that must be charged before unleashing a huge payoff. They all handle differently too. Some can dodge, others block or parry, and a few even have aerial mobility that completely changes the flow of a fight.

The real magic happens when you start swapping characters. Calling in teammates for assist attacks or fully switching mid-battle turns simple encounters into wild, comic-book-style brawls. Wolverine may dominate up close, but when aerial enemies show up, tagging in a hero who can control the skies keeps the momentum going. The game embraces a fast, tag-team rhythm, and once it clicks, it feels incredible. There’s a certain amount of fun juggling the enemy, then calling out your other character to continue to juggle, swapping back to perform a super move, and watching them bend to your fury, while the combo meter just keeps going.

My only gripe is that only certain characters can grab or slam enemies. It’s a strange limitation for a beat ’em up, but it doesn’t kill the fun. If anything, it pushes players toward characters that fit their style. Personally, I fell in love with Nova. Not because he has sexy pew-pew blasts, but he’s always been one of my favorite Marvel characters. Pairing him with Captain America, had me grinning as I laid the smackdown with two of my comic book heroes.

Why You’ll Keep Coming Back for One More Run

Outside of kicking ass and looking good doing so, you’ll earn points by defeating enemies, finishing stages, clearing side quests, and completing optional challenges. Campaign mode will allow your favorite characters to level up, increasing stats like health, improving how quickly your super meter fills, and other unique talents. All of which make your characters all the more lethal.

With fifteen characters, maxing out the roster isn’t a weekend project. The campaign lasts two to three hours, while arcade mode goes much faster, especially with a friend or two. And if you’re a completionist that wants to find every secret and collect everything there is, it can take considerably longer.

Then there’s completing all of the achievements, as well as unlocking all of the Cosmic Cubes in the Cosmic Matrix, which features music tracks, character bios, various color palettes, and more. There’s plenty to come back to after you’ve played the main course a few times.

Team-Ups and Chaotic Four-Player Fun

Multiplayer is where MARVEL Cosmic Invasion goes full Saturday-morning-cartoon chaos. Up to four players can jump in, and it gets wild, in the best possible way. Punches, lasers, claws, webs, and energy blasts fill the screen, yet the action stays readable enough to enjoy. Who doesn’t like a bit of chaos, especially when it’s fun.

Both local and online co-op are supported. Though, I don’t recommend using Steam Remote Play Together, since every session I tested had button delay and lots of dropped frame rates, due to how that all works. For those not in the know, while Remote Play Together is an amazing idea since the other people don’t need own the game themselves, it’s also very dependent on not only your internet speeds, but also everyone who is connected to you, not to mention distance. But maybe you’ll have better luck. However, when playing with those who had access to the game and playing co-op, things played out much better.

And yes, MARVEL Cosmic Invasion does support crossplay, however, I was unable to test this during the review period.

Performance on PC & Handhelds

I played for about fifteen hours across multiple devices: my high-end PC, Steam Deck, ROG Ally X, and even an older laptop. All ran the game flawlessly. Performance is a complete non-issue. Though, I did experience some issues with fonts not looking correctly on the Steam Deck, not that this caused me any pause while playing. That will be all ironed out by the time the game is released, so don’t worry too much about that.

Keith’s PC Specs: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, Nvidia RTX 5090, 64GB DDR5

The Marvel Beat ’Em Up We’ve Been Dreaming Of

After spending real time with this game, I can say without hesitation that MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is everything I wanted and then some. It’s fun, it’s energetic, and it’s clearly made by people who genuinely love this universe. As a beat ’em up fan and a lifelong Marvel nerd, it felt like the game was made for people like me, and honestly, that’s the best feeling of all.

The animations ooze personality, the voice cast absolutely shows up, and each stage is packed with deep-cut references that feel like little nods specifically for longtime fans. Half the time I was pointing at the screen like the Leonardo DiCaprio meme going, “Oh, I know that!”

If I could change one thing, though? I do wish there was more X-Men representation, and don’t get me started about the lack of Fantastic Four love. Wolverine, Storm and Phoenix (Jean Grey) are awesome, but imagine rolling in as Cyclops, Jubilee, Rogue, or Nightcrawler. And while She-hulk makes an appearance and was a Fantastic Four member at one point, where’s Johnny Storm? Where’s Susan? The roster leans more into the Avengers, and cosmic heroes, which is cool, but I wanted more. But outside of that, this is game is, well, fantastic.

Review Disclosure Statement: MARVEL Cosmic Invasion was provided to us by Dotemu for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media or technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy.

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