As Christopher Odd urges in Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ latest gameplay showcase, fans should not underestimate or overlook the game’s new Marvel protagonist, the Hunter. Marvel’s Midnight Suns encompasses many popular Marvel characters, and as such, it is easy for fans’ attention to be swept by the likes of Spider-Man, Iron Man, and/or Dr. Strange. Because these characters are receiving an original take, it is interesting to see how each character’s abilities will translate to Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ card-battler and social-RPG features.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ Hunter, however, has some unique traits in gameplay that fans will not find elsewhere. Playing into the narrative mystique of the Hunter’s character, players will be able to earn and upgrade cards from three separate branches: power, light, and dark. Each has its own merits, and it seems as if players will be able to mix and match from each or dedicate their Hunter to one branch entirely if they wish. Odd states that many other mechanics and features are available for the Hunter, but this showcase centers on their card branches exclusively.
The Hunter’s Power Branch is All About Dealing Damage
The first branch that Odd discusses is the power branch, and as its name suggests, it centers on making the Hunter a “potent damage dealer.” Each branch has 10 unique cards, and a few of them are shown in Odd’s Marvel’s Midnight Suns gameplay showcase. The Hunter’s Wrath skill card, for example, applies Critical to Hunter cards currently in the player’s hand, as well as all Hunter cards players receive for the next two turns. Critical is an effect that increases damage dealt to a target, giving the Hunter a considerable damage boost if their cards are drawn.
Upon upgrade, Wrath becomes Free and can even earn players a card draw. The Hunter’s Fury heroic card applies one Vulnerable, which increases damage taken by 50 percent. Upon upgrade, Fury introduces Final, which renders the Hunter incapable of acting afterward and applies two Marked, which refunds a card play when the Marked target is KO’d. Furthermore, another upgrade grants heroism on redraw, making Fury an exceptional card to upgrade due to its many subsequent abilities.
The Hunter’s Patience heroic card presents an interesting strategy where it costs six heroism initially, though after each turn with it in the player’s hand its heroism cost is reduced by one.
Patience’s damage is phenomenal, making it worth the wait, though it comes with Exhaust, and a late-game upgrade gives the player card draws on KO’s. Lastly, the Hunter’s Bladestorm heroic card administers a Forceful Knockback in an AoE.
The Hunter’s Light Branch is All About Providing Support
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The second branch that Odd discusses is the light branch, introducing more mysticism into the Hunter’s playstyle in Marvel’s Midnight Suns. Odd describes it as more of a support class, offering “heroism generation, heals, cures, and buffs.”
Interestingly, it seems that certain cards can be unlocked due to having played more of a certain branch or by playing a mix of cards from different branches. The light branch’s Legendary card is the Summon Charlie heroic, which summons the Abbey’s hellhound for three turns with her own cards. Odd teases that players may want to protect Charlie on the battlefield at all costs, but neglects to dive into that sentiment further. Rather, Odd goes on to demonstrate the Hunter’s Holy Burst heroic card, which has players select an area of effect to deal damage to any enemies and heal any allies within. The healing buff is increased by 50 percent upon upgrade and also increases the AoE range.
Lastly, Odd introduces the Hunter’s Holy Gift skill card and calls it “arguably one of the strongest cards in the entire game.” Holy Gift is fairly exceptional as it does not allow the next Hunter card played to be discarded, even if it is a card that has Exhaust. Upon upgrade, this ability applies to any hero card and not just the Hunter’s cards, giving it incredible potential for the player.
Many of the Hunter’s Marvel’s Midnight Suns cards can make effective use of this skill card, such as Summon Charlie, and can help to offset the weight of some of their dark branch cards as well. Odd predicts the light branch will be a “fan favorite” and it is easy to see why as it is the most distinct of the three branches, though a combination of all three may be recommended.
The Hunter’s Dark Branch is a Give-and-Take of Damage and Arena Control
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The third and final branch Odd discusses is the dark branch, which seems similar to the power branch but with more dark powers due to the Hunter's relationship with Lilith. For example, the Hunter’s Mindbender skill card allows players to target an enemy and have them attack their nearest ally before being Exhausted. Upon upgrade, the enemy will attack their ally twice and the last attack card played will be drawn again. Rather, the Hunter’s Mindbreaker heroic card causes a target to attack “nearby units at their next action,” and this applies to the player’s characters as well as enemies. This effect is called Berserk and seems inadvisable depending on what the arena control situation looks like.
If the target enemy is surrounded by the player’s Marvel’s Midnight Suns party, Mindbreaker would be a poor choice unless players capitalize on Berserk as a “pseudo-Taunt” mechanic. Lastly, the dark branch’s Legendary card is introduced as the Annihilation heroic, which consumes all heroism to damage each enemy in an area and Exhausts.
The dark branch seems riskier in terms of strategizing and with the power branch already giving the player access to so much damage, but it definitely has its unique implications for the Hunter. It is also unclear whether allotting into a specific branch will result in a unique ending, but it is possible that the dark branch could ensure a path to a darker ending. More will be shared about Marvel’s Midnight Suns at the Disney and Marvel Games Showcase, and with its appearance, fans hope a new release date is confirmed.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.