Marvel’s Avengers review: Embarrassing glitch in new video game

The latest Avengers offering contains some weird glitches and bugs that have left users confronted with weird and ‘nightmarish’ images.

REVIEW

When the Marvel’s Avengers video game was teased in January 2017 and previewed at gaming convention E3 two years later, there was an explosion of both excitement and extreme trepidation.

Many of us grew up with the comics but we became obsessed with the characters thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting in 2008 with Iron Man to Spider-Man: Far From Home in 2019 and 21 films in between.

While fans continue to hold their breath for the second generation of stories from the MCU — most of which are facing delays due the pandemic — there is a palpable hunger for fresh content in the interim.

But the video game is full of glitches that has got Twitter talking about the Marvel’s Avengers video game for all of the wrong reasons.

The biggest complaint is that are still lots of bugs, the kind the beta release should’ve rectified.

I’m not alone in saying I had to restart missions several times because in sections where I had to eliminate all enemies to progress, one stupid foot solider had glitched through a wall or floor and all the fire/muscle power I had couldn’t reach it.

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Glitch 2 #AvengersGame #XboxOne #Gaming #Glich pic.twitter.com/3NahCOWkXc

— Jimi (@Psycojimi) September 7, 2020

Twitter is filled with these sorts of clips and screenshots, not to mention a nightmarish graphical error that leaves Captain America’s left eyeball protruding almost through his goggles.

Anybody else have this weird glitch with Steve Captain America coming back from a war room table his face gets all jacked up? #AvengersGame pic.twitter.com/ikv7w2Cm3z

— Steve Stark (@TonyRogers2099) September 6, 2020

Iron Man's floating head glitch. #AvengersGame pic.twitter.com/8I46uX1f39

— Joan of Snark (@LtimeOw) September 7, 2020

And then there are the microtransactions; in-game purchases bought with real life cash. In this instance, the only things you can purchase are purely aesthetic. They don’t allow you to become more powerful, but you can dress your Thor in a Sunday casual T-shirt and chinos (still waiting on Fat Thor, though).

Just the existence of microtransactions in an already expensive game —$79 retail and $99 on the PlayStation store — however, tends to leave a sour taste in your mouth and it never goes over well with the gaming community.

But does it scratch the Avengers itch overall? To that, I give you a resounding shrug. Don’t get me wrong, there are some really fun parts, but I can’t help but feel this is a game I’ll play through once, do the occasional co-op mission with friends, and then let it gather digital dust in my PlayStation library.

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Marvel’s Avengers see the return of some familiar characters such as Hulk. Picture: Supplied.

I will say the developers have done an excellent job scattering both comic book and MCU lore throughout. One of Hulk’s outfits refers to the Mr. Fixit era of the late ‘80s, while movie fans will appreciate the Shawarma stand in early game, referencing the post-credit scene from the first Avengers film. But curiously, these five heroes are not the stars of the show this time around.

Kamala Khan, aka Ms Marvel, is an extremely likeable protagonist; an Avengers superfan that, by way of an accident in the game’s prologue, is endowed with her own set of powers.

The decision to pick a woman, and a Muslim woman at that, as the central character of this story is worthy of applause.

Being the one driving the narrative forward, it would be more apt to name this game Kamala Khan featuring The Avengers. And in gaming, much like elsewhere in the entertainment industry, diverse representation has historically fallen short, so this was a commendable move.

Captain America in Marvel’s Avengers. Picture: Supplied.

As you progress through the campaign as Kamala, you will at some point play as all five Avengers: Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, and Black Widow. Combat between the six characters is not overly complicated, which suits a button-masher like myself just fine.

Playing as the Hulk is just as much fun as you’d expect it to be, flinging debris (or indeed fellow enemies) at enemies or body-slamming a ground to send them flying are some of the more satisfying moves. For the betrayal of omitting Spider-Man, rest assured you can achieve similar things with Ms. Khan’s rubber arms or Black Widow’s grappling hook to give you a web-like swing.

But the mission types and level design become monotonous pretty quickly. You’re either taking out bad guys or dodging them in a Raider’s of the Lost Ark-type sprint through narrow openings.

But some people are really, really loving this game. For me, Marvel’s Avengers is a bit like that Tupperware party your auntie’s friend invited you to; it’ll be a pretty good time if you just acknowledge from the beginning that they’re trying to get more money out of you.

Sophie Goulopoulos is a freelance writer and avid gamer | @Sophieglps