The first day of Gamescom 2021 gave the gaming world a lot of new reveals and announcements, and among them was Marvel's Midnight Suns. The next venture from XCOM developer Firaxis Games looks to be a fresh approach for the Marvel brand, as Midnight Suns will give players a tactical strategy game centered around the supernatural. To further add to the game's uniqueness, players will also be able to take control of a new, customizable superhero that will fit right into the story.
Out of the few features that have been divulged for Midnight Suns so far, this custom character approach seems to be the most intriguing, and a smart move on the part of Marvel and Firaxis. While the majority of Marvel games over the past few years have focused on letting players swing through New York as Spider-Man or save the world as the Avengers, there haven't really been any games that let players forge a story all their own. By making the protagonist of Midnight Suns a mostly open-ended character, the game will have a lot of unique opportunities that could help it stand out.
Building Unique Relationships In Marvel's Midnight Suns
When it comes to a Marvel team-up game, one of the most important aspects is the relationships between the player's character and the rest of the heroes. Marvel's Avengers demonstrated this with Kamala Khan, portraying her as a competent and charming character on her own, while also being the lynch pin that keeps the rest of the Avengers together. Midnight Suns will have a similar opportunity to let players forge their own relationships with heroes outside of the context of usual comic storylines. Overall, this should let players have a more personal connection with some of Marvel's biggest heroes.
Telling A Fresh Story In Marvel's Midnight Suns
Marvel's Midnight Suns is taking inspiration from an already existing comic storyline, but the game's custom character should help the narrative stand out significantly. The vast majority of Marvel games from the past few years have had stories that were dependent on characters many fans are already familiar with. Midnight Suns' approach of creating a new hero should keep the story from seeming too predictable, and it could also inject a healthy amount of RPG elements so players can better connect with their character. In a way, players will be able to create their own story with the help of Firaxis' narrative direction.
Giving Players A Greater Sense Of Agency In Marvel's Midnight Suns
While the custom character of Marvel's Midnight Suns should help with some of the smaller things in the game's overall experience, the player should ultimately feel like their role in the overall game has importance. For many, creating a personal character takes some level of care that helps build a connection, and that connection can motivate a sense of agency as the game progresses. Especially with Midnight Suns' XCOM style, if features like permadeath are included, players could feel more inclined to protect certain heroes if they forge strong relationships.
Marvel's Midnight Suns certainly looks like something new for the Marvel license, and a big part of that will be motivated by its custom character. It hasn't fully been revealed how this custom character will function in gameplay or the overall story, but Firaxis has promised a gameplay reveal that will hopefully provide more details. The game will be part of a stacked early 2022 line-up, so fans will just have to keep up their excitement until they can tackle the supernatural with some of the most iconic names in Marvel.
Marvel's Midnight Suns releases March 2022 on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.