When it comes to modern fighting games, there has been an unfortunate trend where most of them have failed to appeal to all types of gamers. We’ve either gotten some extremely challenging titles that scare players or a few accessible ones with a couple of underlying issues that damage the experience. But then, you have something like Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls. A welcome surprise in the genre that not only elevates it, but sets a new standard by delivering a compelling narrative, astonishing visuals, and a combat system that appeals to newcomers but also encourages veterans to spend hours until they can break the game’s high skill ceiling.
Saving the World, One Team at a Time
Normally, I don’t focus much on a fighting game’s story mode. The truth is that most of us don’t play any of them for that. Yet, as someone who’s always leaned toward the casual side, I appreciate when the developers take the time to craft a solid single-player narrative experience, and Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls delivered just that.
Instead of taking one character on a world-saving journey, you take all five teams, featuring some of the most iconic heroes and villains in the Marvel universe. The standout part here is that you can see the story through every team, which works as an excellent way to introduce you to each character’s moves. Furthermore, every team has its own art style, which makes all five stories more memorable than any story mode we’ve seen in recent fighting games.
Yet, what makes the Episode mode stay with you after completing all stories is its strong writing, which isn’t something you usually hear about in a fighting game. All of this is thanks to Kieron Gillen, who did a superb job of writing every single character in the game. Dialogue never feels out of place, and the pacing of each episode, despite being on the shorter side at times, feels like a proper comic book story—it is truly marvelous.
Lastly, I need to give props to the voice acting, which is stacked both in English and Japanese. I played mostly in the latter, as my main, Magik, is voiced by my all-time favorite voice actor, Fairouz Ai, who you may know from giving voice to Atsu in Ghost of Yotei. Yet, the whole cast is excellent at bringing these comic book characters to life. Be it Deadpool’s fourth-wall-breaking moments or Doom’s spine-chilling lines, everyone did a fantastic job of embodying these heroes and villains.
Modes for All
Another thing that usually has players on the fence about purchasing a fighting game is how much content it will have. Casuals usually tend to skip a title if it leans more toward the competitive side. Veterans, on the other hand, stick to what they already play if a new installment is too easy or doesn’t provide enough challenge. Then again, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls has modes for every type of player, and they are extremely compelling to play.
As I already said, the story mode, which will take you around 5 to 6 hours to complete in its entirety, is superbly written and a fantastic way to try out your characters, with each arc becoming a bit more challenging. But then, you also have other single-player modes, such as Arcade, which was a personal favorite. You pick your team and go through a gauntlet with different branches that require more than one run. I really liked how each bump in difficulty buffed enemies, further increasing the challenge.
Then, you also have survival, which, as the name implies, pits you against several characters in different fights, where your HP bar refills after specific points. You can get a few buffs for your character, too, which will help you go through all the waves of opponents this game mode throws at you.
And then, you have Arcadia Rumble, which is quite interesting, despite being a bit overwhelming at first. You play mostly as one of the lobby avatars, and need to grab power-ups from the arena and knock stars out of enemies until you reach the top spot. Between rounds, you’ll fight some opponents, be it CPU or other players, and keep progressing until the final match. At first, I wasn’t a big fan of it, but it gets extremely chaotic, in the good sense, once you play against other players.
And of course, you also have your usual versus and training modes, which I really encourage diving into, as Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls isn’t an easy game to master. So, unless you’ve stuck to ranked modes in other fighting titles and are confident of your skills, you should really test all of the PvE content before moving on to the big leagues.
The Highest Skill Ceiling Yet
And now, for the PvP part, which, I won’t lie, had me quite conflicted at first. At its core, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is certainly an easy game to grab and play. Combos are easy to pull off just by mashing a couple of buttons, with each chain culminating in a special move for your character or your team. However, there are so many systems behind it all that it will take time before you truly get the hang of just one character.
In terms of what Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is doing with the 4v4 formula, it is pretty interesting. Instead of having a health bar for each character, you have one that is shared among every member, regardless of who’s your active fighter. Then, you don’t start with all four active members. You need to activate them by doing the epic scene transitions, wall-splats, or losing a round. I found this approach balanced, as it both encouraged a more aggressive playstyle while not punishing the player who’s losing too much.
On top of that, every single fighter feels extremely unique to play with specific gimmicks. As I said, Magik is my main, so mastering her portals is a must for every match, especially when trying to hit enemies from behind with projectiles or pulling off some teleportation moves. Black Panther, another personal favorite, is all about mobility, using her skill to dash through the arena and weaving that move between combos. The list goes on, but Arc Systems Works did a fantastic job of making every fighter stand out on their own, with almost no balance issues, at least in my opinion.
Still, that doesn’t mean PvP isn’t challenging. Out of all the competitive fighting games I’ve played recently, I do think Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls has a higher entry barrier, at least in the casual and ranked scene. As I said back during my preview, I think the game needs more defensive options. Opponents can lock you into a combo with character-swapping moves and skills, and you won’t be able to even blink.
Before you all say that the best tactic is the “don’t get hit one,” which in a way is true. Given how accessible Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is at a first glance, it should also offer a few moves that would let players get back into the fight without seeing a Perfect K.O. every round. Street Fighter 6 did an excellent job of letting you counter combos and giving you a bit of a fighting chance, even if you were in a lost bout already.
Also, and this might be more of a personal experience, but matchmaking is still having some issues to this day. I ended up turning crossplay off and broadening my region search, but the system is all over the place. Sometimes I would get a match after just 10 seconds, while other times I would sit there for 10 minutes before restarting the matchmaking process.
Fortunately, that is just one minor issue, as the actual fighting process, at least in the online landscape, is as smooth as you can imagine. I played on PS5 and never had any connection issues. The netcode is fantastic, and Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls has really polished the experience, making it run without issues. Again, I just wish matchmaking wasn’t so unreliable, but we’ve already seen many patches that have fixed most of the issues.
One Marvelous Experience
Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is truly a once-in-a-lifetime fighting experience, and the culmination of everything Arc Systems Works has learned with every installment it has worked on. It boasts one of the best visual styles ever made for a fighting game, alongside a compelling narrative and an approachable yet extremely challenging to master combat system.
The truth is that, as a casual who’s usually hopping from one fighting game to another, I’ve finally found a place to call home. Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is unmatched when it comes to providing a complete package for the fighting genre, and it sets a new standard for every other 4v4 fighter out there. I only hope that this installment keeps growing because it is brimming with potential and an easy contender for Game of the Year.
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls (PS5 Reviewed)
Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is a superb 4v4 fighting game that sets a new standard for the genre. It provides many options for casual players who want to delve into this gorgeous, fast-paced experience, while also giving hardcore fans plenty of systems to master.
Pros
- A gorgeous art style
- An excellent story mode
- So many engaging systems that are both approachable and challenging
Cons
- A few matchmaking issues
