Today, we got a much more substantial look at Marvel: Midnight Suns, the long-rumoured superhero strategy game from the XCOM and Civilization devs at Firaxis. In some ways, it is the Marvel XCOM that we expected, but there’s more to it than that – you can trace inspirations to deckbuilding games, Mass Effect, and even Into the Breach.
Combat is turn-based, and your characters will have their abilities dealt out like a hand of cards, giving you a selection of combat options to choose from at any time. Some abilities just deal damage, while others provide buffs or detrimental effects to enemies. Still others will knock enemies around in the environment, allowing you to set up chain reactions by, say, tossing a bad guy into an explosive barrel, reminiscent of the excellent indie strategy game, Into the Breach.
You play as the Hunter, an original character that you can customise how you like, and you’ll enter battle with a team of familiar Marvel heroes drawn from teams like the Avengers, X-Men, and Runaways. Between missions, a place simply called ‘the abbey’ will serve as the Normandy does in Mass Effect, letting you build (platonic) relationships with your fellow heroes.
Getting to know your hero team will unlock further abilities for them in battle, and you can also upgrade your home base, or simply explore the areas around it to unlock further new options for the squad.
You can see the full gameplay premiere below, courtesy of IGN.
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