Marvel's Avengers Character Design Not Changing Despite Backlash

Game Rant

By Denny Connolly

Published Jun 14, 2019

Marvel's Avengers is getting some heat from fans for the direction of its character designs, but Crystal Dynamics does not intend to change the design decisions the team has made.

Although Final Fantasy 7 Remake may have ended up stealing the spotlight, Marvel's Avengers was likely the most highly-anticipated title heading into Square Enix's E3 2019 press conference. The upcoming action game got plenty of screen time, but most of it was spent on a cinematic trailer or chatting with the voice cast. In addition to a lack of gameplay (besides behind closed doors demos), Marvel's Avengers is also taking some heat for the character design direction.

Marvel's Avengers is trying to forge its own universe and perhaps borrow from the MCU, but certainly not adapt it directly. This has led to some character design decisions that look a bit like stunt doubles from the MCU films. The characters look enough like their MCU counterparts to force you to think about them, but not enough like them to be cited as the primary influence. Fans have been pretty vocal with their complaints about the design direction, but Crystal Dynamics seems to be sticking to its guns on this one.

According to a recent interview with lead creative director Shaun Escayg, although Square appreciates feedback and is definitely listening, the company does not plan to change the character designs.

"We are always listening to, and welcome feedback from our community. There are currently no plans to change our character designs... The level of detail and overall polish of the character models will absolutely continue to improve as we get closer to launch... We wanted to clearly show that this was our spin on the Avengers."

Although this may come as a disappointment to some potential players, hopefully another full year in development will help make the new character designs shine a bit more. It's also possible that players just need to spend some time in this world, playing as these characters to adjust to the new spin on them. We look forward to seeing how things like customizable suits, loot, and armor might change the look and feel of each character as well.

Be sure to check back for more news and updates on all things Marvel's Avengers and E3 2019 in the comings days.