Games about Marvel superheroes are on the rise. In recent years fans have seen Marvel's Spider-Man, followed by Marvel's Avengers and the upcoming Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Now there's another game accompanying them that's significantly different from the others. Marvel's Midnight Suns brings in tons of superheroes that other games haven't, then applies them to XCOM-esque turn-based tactical combat. Marvel's Midnight Suns sets it apart from its predecessors in another important way: It adds social elements. Players can use their custom protagonist called the Hunter as a means to explore the lives and relationships of many Marvel superheroes.
Midnight Suns isn't the only RPG to incorporate social elements. The Persona series has become incredibly successful thanks in-part to its Social Link and Confidant systems. The systems allow players to befriend NPCs and learn about their lives, gaining mechanical rewards for getting to know each character. Persona happens to be one of the best franchises for Midnight Suns to pull inspiration from when making its social elements. The way that Persona games handle the protagonist's relationships - and the ways in which Persona's social system has changed over time - tell Midnight Suns a lot about what it should or shouldn't do.
Persona's Strengths Should Inform Midnight Suns
Midnight Suns should use a system of time that works like Persona's. In Persona, it's up to the player to decide when to meet with their Social Links and Confidants. Players organize their own time in Persona games, choosing their own moments to check in with friends. Midnight Suns might be tempted to make social elements tied directly into the plot via small windows and limited time for realism's sake. Persona proves that player accessibility is more important than realism. It's better to make each Midnight Suns character's life story available at the player's convenience rather than monopolizing their time.
Midnight Suns should also make sure each individual character and relationship is mechanically meaningful. In Persona 5, the franchise expanded Social Links into Confidants, vastly improving the mechanical impact they have on the game. Confidants provide unique abilities that vary in power, but many of them have the potential to completely change the way that the JRPG side of Persona 5 is played. Ideally, Midnight Suns' characters are just as impactful. Midnight Suns has team attacks that sound like great rewards for befriending characters, but hopefully the social sim mechanics are a little deeper than just unlocking team attacks.
Social Elements Serve Midnight Suns Well
One last thing that Midnight Suns should learn from Persona is that it shouldn't punish players for making mistakes when trying to befriend characters. Persona used to come with a risk of Social Links losing trust in the player character, making their relationship collapse, but Persona 5 abandoned this. Players want to befriend colorful characters without fearing the sudden death of that relationship. Midnight Suns also offers a unique opportunity to Marvel fans, letting them hang out with famous superheroes.
Midnight Suns really is a unique premise specifically because of its decision to include a social sim side. Marvel fans have been watching their favorite characters live out their lives through the Marvel Cinematic Universe for years, but interacting with them directly is a different experience. Midnight Suns offers the rare chance to have conversations with them after fighting at their sides. Now its developer just has to deliver on the premise. Firaxis Games, the makers of XCOM, are responsible for making Midnight Suns, so the strategy side should be covered. Firaxis should consider looking to games like Persona 5 to help perfect its social side.
Marvel's Midnight Suns releases in March 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.