Action · 2025 · Tribute Games · local · online
Marvel Cosmic Invasion
A Marvel beat ’em up in pixel art where each of you runs two heroes and swaps between them.
What it is about
A pixel-art beat ’em up in which Annihilus invades the universe and twenty Marvel characters hold the line. Each of you picks two of them and swaps between them mid-fight.
By Tribute Games, who previously made Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge — and you can tell from every movement.
Our verdict for couples
Two evenings and the story is done: start without learning anything, and after a good four hours the credits roll. Swapping between two heroes gives the whole thing more depth than a beat ’em up usually has, and it turns the pick beforehand into a joint decision: who takes the air, who takes the ground? That is also where the annoyance sits. Flying enemies are a chore with a ground-bound character, and the game says so nowhere. After that what remains is mostly repetition: the same stages with different characters, plus a levelling system that nudges you into replaying. If you do not want that, you have seen everything after two evenings, which is fine if you know it in advance.
Pros
- One copy covers you both at the television
- Each of you runs two heroes and swaps mid-fight — more depth than usual
- Dropping in and out works mid-stage
- Done across two evenings with nothing left hanging
Cons
- Flying enemies are a slog with a ground-bound character, and the game does not warn you
- The story is over in a good four hours for two
- After that what remains is replaying with other characters, plus a levelling system that pushes you into it
- A bug is reported on the final boss that makes the stage impassable
Suitable from
Casual–Hobby
- Conflict potential
- Harmonious
- Cosiness
- Mixed
- When you can stop
- After 15 minutes
- How long it lasts
- 5–15 hours
What other co-op fans say
Eighty-eight percent approval, and those who played as a pair often call it "perfect couch co-op". The pixel art gets praised, the swapping between two heroes, and how easily the online connection comes together. The objection that recurs most often is the length relative to the price: several reviews describe finishing the story in under four hours as a pair. On top of that comes criticism of the levelling system, which pushes you into replaying the same stages.
- “Amazing game! Perfect couch co-op beat’em up... they also make it really easy to connect via online multiplayer.”
- “Played through the entire game in one night with a friend, and honestly, it was one of the most fun co-op experiences I’ve had in a long time.”
- “This game has nostalgia in it from the good ole arcade days. And... it’s perfect for the Steam deck or couch play with friends!”
- “It took <4 hours to play through the story in two player online co-op, switching characters as we went through the different stages.”
Summarised by machine from 60 Steam reviews, not written by our editors. The quotes appear verbatim in those reviews.
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