Strategy developer Firaxis Games officially announced Marvel's Midnight Suns today, and it's coming in March 2022. As expected, it will effectively be a superpowered version of XCOM — the tactical classic that Firaxis rebooted in 2012.
Officially revealed as part of the Opening Night Live presentation leading into Gamescom 2021, the game was first rumored ahead of E3, when 2K's plans seemingly leaked, including a mention that the game would be "XCOM with Marvel heroes" and would feature famous voice actors. Subsequent rumors said the game would feature customizable superheroes.
According to creative director Jake Solomon, Marvel: Midnight Suns will indeed feature a customizable superhero, and will also flip the script on the typical XCOM experience. Instead of a survival horror-like experience in which soldiers battle to stay alive against impossible odds, it will pit superpowered characters like Iron Man and Captain Marvel against large numbers of enemies, with the goal being to take out as many as possible. It will retain plenty of familiar features like destructible environments, but series staples like permadeath will be out, and many of the mechanics will be entirely new.
"The idea was to make the gameplay as fast as we could," Solomon says, explaining that superhero battles have a certain kinetic pace and energy to them that Firaxis hopes to reflect in Midnight Suns' gameplay.
A 2K representative describes Marvel's Midnight Suns as a "single-player focused experience."
Marvel's Midnight Suns casts you as The Hunter — a customizable character who is also the child of Lilith, the story's designated villain. The Hunter will be able to channel light powers or dark powers, the latter of which can be be very potent but can potentially come at a cost. They are joined by 12 heroes including Ghost Rider, Dr. Strange, Iron Man, Wolverine, Captain America, Magik, Nico, Captain Marvel, and Blade.
The choices reflects Firaxis' decision to adapt Marvel's Midnight Suns event from the early '90s — a somewhat obscure storyline that is nevertheless beloved by a certain segment of fans, including Solomon.
According to Solomon, Marvel approached Firaxis with the opportunity to make a game using its characters, offering the famed strategy developer carte blanche to create its own version of the Marvel universe. Solomon ultimately settled on the Midnight Suns storyline because it gave Marvel's lesser-known supernatural characters an opportunity to shine.
"It's a story that hasn't been told in 30 years now... since the comic came out," Solomon says. "It gave us two things, right? One, it gave us a new villain, which I love Lilith as a villain. It gave us all these new characters to talk about, some supernatural characters that I think players won't be as familiar with. And then of course the more popular characters we could pull down to this sort of darker side of the Marvel universe."
One of the major threads will be the inherent conflict between the Avengers — represented by familiar characters like Iron Man — and the lesser-known supernatural heroes, who will feel sidelined somewhat. Adding to this intriguing mix will be the X-Men, who have faced many hurdles to being part of Marvel stories in recent years. Wolverine and Magik will represent the X-Men, with Wolverine being his typical gruff self.
While many details of the gameplay remain under wraps for now, XCOM fans will feel right at home with some of the elements announced so far. They include the Abbey, which resembles the home base from the core series, and represents the other half of the gameplay. When The Hunter isn't out slaying demons, they can spend time with a hero, whether that means playing video games with Ghost Rider or getting to know Dr. Strange. Spending time with a hero has a chance to unlock a superpowered costume that grants them their most powerful ability. You can't romance them, though — they're just "very, very, very good friends," Solomon says.
Firaxis is planning to fully reveal Midnight Suns' gameplay for the first time on September 1. There fans will get a much better idea of how the classic XCOM strategy will be adapted to accommodate Marvel's superheroes.
Marvel's Midnight Suns is being developed for pretty much every major platform, including PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. It's currently slated for release in March 2022.
This announcement is part of IGN's ongoing coverage of Gamescom 2021. Check out IGN's Gamescom 2021 hub for lots more news as the show continues through the rest of the week.
Continue reading...
Officially revealed as part of the Opening Night Live presentation leading into Gamescom 2021, the game was first rumored ahead of E3, when 2K's plans seemingly leaked, including a mention that the game would be "XCOM with Marvel heroes" and would feature famous voice actors. Subsequent rumors said the game would feature customizable superheroes.
According to creative director Jake Solomon, Marvel: Midnight Suns will indeed feature a customizable superhero, and will also flip the script on the typical XCOM experience. Instead of a survival horror-like experience in which soldiers battle to stay alive against impossible odds, it will pit superpowered characters like Iron Man and Captain Marvel against large numbers of enemies, with the goal being to take out as many as possible. It will retain plenty of familiar features like destructible environments, but series staples like permadeath will be out, and many of the mechanics will be entirely new.
"The idea was to make the gameplay as fast as we could," Solomon says, explaining that superhero battles have a certain kinetic pace and energy to them that Firaxis hopes to reflect in Midnight Suns' gameplay.
A 2K representative describes Marvel's Midnight Suns as a "single-player focused experience."
Marvel's Midnight Suns casts you as The Hunter — a customizable character who is also the child of Lilith, the story's designated villain. The Hunter will be able to channel light powers or dark powers, the latter of which can be be very potent but can potentially come at a cost. They are joined by 12 heroes including Ghost Rider, Dr. Strange, Iron Man, Wolverine, Captain America, Magik, Nico, Captain Marvel, and Blade.
The choices reflects Firaxis' decision to adapt Marvel's Midnight Suns event from the early '90s — a somewhat obscure storyline that is nevertheless beloved by a certain segment of fans, including Solomon.
According to Solomon, Marvel approached Firaxis with the opportunity to make a game using its characters, offering the famed strategy developer carte blanche to create its own version of the Marvel universe. Solomon ultimately settled on the Midnight Suns storyline because it gave Marvel's lesser-known supernatural characters an opportunity to shine.
"It's a story that hasn't been told in 30 years now... since the comic came out," Solomon says. "It gave us two things, right? One, it gave us a new villain, which I love Lilith as a villain. It gave us all these new characters to talk about, some supernatural characters that I think players won't be as familiar with. And then of course the more popular characters we could pull down to this sort of darker side of the Marvel universe."
One of the major threads will be the inherent conflict between the Avengers — represented by familiar characters like Iron Man — and the lesser-known supernatural heroes, who will feel sidelined somewhat. Adding to this intriguing mix will be the X-Men, who have faced many hurdles to being part of Marvel stories in recent years. Wolverine and Magik will represent the X-Men, with Wolverine being his typical gruff self.
While many details of the gameplay remain under wraps for now, XCOM fans will feel right at home with some of the elements announced so far. They include the Abbey, which resembles the home base from the core series, and represents the other half of the gameplay. When The Hunter isn't out slaying demons, they can spend time with a hero, whether that means playing video games with Ghost Rider or getting to know Dr. Strange. Spending time with a hero has a chance to unlock a superpowered costume that grants them their most powerful ability. You can't romance them, though — they're just "very, very, very good friends," Solomon says.
Firaxis is planning to fully reveal Midnight Suns' gameplay for the first time on September 1. There fans will get a much better idea of how the classic XCOM strategy will be adapted to accommodate Marvel's superheroes.
Marvel's Midnight Suns is being developed for pretty much every major platform, including PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. It's currently slated for release in March 2022.
This announcement is part of IGN's ongoing coverage of Gamescom 2021. Check out IGN's Gamescom 2021 hub for lots more news as the show continues through the rest of the week.
Continue reading...