War For Wakanda is the latest expansion to Square Enix's Marvel's Avengers. In it, the titular country is being invaded by Ulysses Klaue, who intends to steal some Vibranium for Monica Rappaccini and AIM. Black Panther teams with the visiting Avengers to stop the attack and bring peace back to his homeworld.
The narrative is a compelling one, but it's not the only reason to play the expansion. War For Wakanda is a great overall package that is arguably better than the Taking Aim and Future Imperfect DLCs before it. Here are all of the best things about Marvel's Avengers' latest content release.
7 Playing As Black Panther
The last two major expansions to Marvel's Avengers added Clint Barton and Kate Bishop to the playable roster. Yet, War For Wakanda's Black Panther might be the best additional protagonist so far. His melee strikes and combos look great, and the speed in which he throws blades makes up for their lack of power.
As for his heroic abilities, it's a solid group. His Kimoyo Beads ability is particularly useful and unique as it stuns most of the enemies on the battlefield, leaving them vulnerable for a takedown. Overall, Black Panther might not be the most powerful playable character, but he's enjoyable to use.
6 The Beautiful Environment
Marvel's Avengers hasn't always excelled at providing visually impressive areas for players to roam around. The snowy tundras, cities, and many AIM facilities are fine, but they're nothing special. In this expansion, though, players get to visit the beautiful Wakanda.
Nearly all of the areas in the DLC look stunning, from the greenery in the jungle to the shiny walls of T'Challa's palace. The developers have added some impressive detail, too. Boxes and chests that players have seen time and again in the game have been altered to look like they fit in Wakanda.
5 Inclusion Of Puzzles And Platforming
Most missions in the base game and the two Hawkeye expansions involve taking out groups of enemies while perhaps trying to destroy or protect something. War For Wakanda still includes those gameplay sections, but the developers have added more variety by including puzzles. A few times in the expansion, everything will slow down, and players will have to solve something to gain access to another area. And some of these puzzles can be tricky, such as the one inside the Caves of Bashenga.
Alongside the puzzles are some platforming sections. While jumping around isn't a new concept to Marvel's Avengers, the platforming in War For Wakanda is a lot more robust and challenging, which is made possible because Black Panther can't fly, grapple, nor does he have stretchy arms.
4 New Enemy Types
Enemy variety has always been one of Marvel's Avengers' strong points as the heroes go against all sorts of enemies during the base game. War For Wakanda now adds a few more opponents for the Avengers to face.
First of all, there are Klaw's mercenaries. These troops look like typical people, but they often carry corrupted Vibranium-infused weapons not seen before in the game. Along with the mercs are some mechanical spider enemies, both small and large ones. While none of them are going to be listed among the best video game adversaries of all time, they're all enjoyable to fight.
3 The Overarching Story Is Not Forgotten
The previous Hawkeye expansions have made it very clear that the world of Marvel's Avengers is in danger. Sometime in the future, the Kree are going to invade, and it's unclear if the heroes can stop them.
War For Wakanda doesn't advance that overarching story too much, but it doesn't ignore it either. Several references are made to the potential doom, mainly regarding Monica Rappaccini and AIM. Plus, Black Panther might play a part in trying to stop the invasion, so his reunion with the Avengers could end up being an important moment in the story.
2 Final Boss Fight
*Warning, there are spoilers for War For Wakanda's final boss below.*
Most of Marvel's Avengers' boss fights, such as those against Taskmaster and Abomination, have consisted of players simply attacking the villain to widdle down their health. While there's fun to be had in beating on a recognizable villain, the battles lack creativity.
Thankfully, the final fight in War For Wakanda is different. For one, the Avengers are up against two foes in Crossbones and what remains of Klaue. Moreover, there are different stages to the battle, a time limit to manage, and Klaue has some interesting powers. It all makes for a challenging and enjoyable skirmish that forces players to make great use of Black Panther's abilities.
1 The Expansion Is Free
War For Wakanda's main story lasts three to four hours, and it includes new characters, environments, and abilities. So, it offers plenty of content for a free expansion. Of course, Marvel's Avengers is a live service game, so Square Enix is likely offering the expansion for free to get more people to join in on the experience.
For the players who already own the game, though, the reason doesn't matter. They get plenty of good content for nothing. And it's certainly worth loading up Marvel's Avengers again just to play the DLC.