Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics are sharing more and more information about Marvel's Avengers, despite the game being over half a year away from release. They're currently sharing information about each of the Avengers' unique abilities. Previously revealed is how abilities work in Marvel's Avengers, as well as Captain America's Heroic abilities. Now, the Marvel's Avengers team is ready to reveal the next hero's abilities: The Hulk.
Playable characters in Marvel's Avengers have three unique abilities, which are called Heroics. There's a Support Heroic, which seems to be built around supporting the player's supporting characters in creative ways. There's the Assault Heroic, which is all about offense and damage. And then there's the Ultimate Heroic, usually a devastating or overall powerful ability. These three abilities are all on cooldowns, so players can only use them tactically.
The Hulk's Heroics are fitting for the character, naturally. His Support Heroic, Boneshaker, appropriately assigns him a role as a "tank" character. He slams the ground, taunting nearby enemies and buffing his defense. Nearby allies will also be buffed. Gamma Rush is the Hulk's Assault Heroic. Hulk will charge forward for a specific distance, knocking enemies out of his way. He'll also grab the first enemy in his way and slam them into the ground at the end of the charge.
Hulk's Ultimate Heroic may be a topic of some discussion. His most powerful ability is the Thunderclap, shown in early Marvel's Avengers gameplay footage. The Hulk slaps his hands together to create a powerful shockwave, knocking back enemies and dealing significant damage to those in front of Hulk. While Hulk's definitely used the clap to great effect in comics through the years, it's not quite what many would call his "ultimate" ability, but it's probably necessary from a design perspective.
The challenge ahead of Marvel's Avengers isn't in creating interesting or cinematic abilities for each of the Avengers. Those kinds of things basically create themselves. The challenge will be creating gameplay conditions and level design so that the limit of just three abilities remains exciting and fresh, even with 4-player co-op. The Avengers' abilities are just the start of persuading fans to be excited for the upcoming action game.
Marvel's Avengers releases May 15, 2020 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.