Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite review: A Marvel-ously mixed bag

The fourth game in the Marvel vs. Capcom series has some gameplay substance, but without the familiar flash and fanservice to back things up.

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platform: PlayStation 4 (Version reviewed), Xbox One, PC
Release Date: September 19, 2017

Fighting games are a fickle beast. They’re always changing, always adding new things to spice up the gameplay and are generally one of, if not the most, unpredictable genres in gaming. Helping lead that charge in recent years has been the highly-touted Marvel vs. Capcom series, which has brought fighting game fans and comic book fanatics together since the mid-1990’s. Infinite marks the first game in the series since 2011’s Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and might feel familiar on the sticks to those who enjoyed that title.

The build-up to Infinite‘s release has been a rocky one since last December, filled with bad facial animations on iconic characters, poor explanations as to why certain fan-favorite characters from the X-Men and Fantastic Four mythoses aren’t in the game and, most recently, underwhelming DLC announcements that have made Capcom feel the ire of longtime fans. Even when stepping back a bit and removing a preconceived bias, Infinite just doesn’t stack up when compared to the other blockbuster fighters that have released this year, and even some that aren’t releasing for another few months.

A big part of the reason why this is the case is the presentation. Instead of the cel-shaded look of UMvC 3, Infinite shoots for a bit more of a traditional art style and is fairly inconsistent at best. From a distance, things look fine, as it’s much easier on the eyes than its predecessor. It’s when the game zooms in, however, that things begin to fall apart with almost unfinished-looking textures and strange choices in character design; it almost seems like this game came out without Capcom’s signature polish and care.

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Some characters like Captain Marvel, Strider and Chun-Li (whose face is fixed as opposed to her initial reveal) look perfectly fine and are well-represented in this new version. However, there’s an issue of some male characters looking way bulkier than they should and some even looking like they have no necks whatsoever. Spider-Man, Captain America, Resident Evil‘s Chris Redfield and Doctor Strange are just a few that come to mind when thinking about this. Gamora’s face also doesn’t look right either, as she just has the same blank expression that conveys no sort of emotion throughout story cutscenes and in-game action. Devil May Cry’s Dante also goes back to his old look here rather than the recent rebooted version, but his face is just so poorly done that it’s almost a nightmare to even look at. What’s worse is that the game’s story mode shows off these flaws as much as it can, with plenty of zoomed-in shots of some of the weirdest faces you’ll ever see.

Speaking of which, the series’s first cinematic story mode definitely shows where most of the budget went. The four-to-five-hour campaign cycles through an assortment of various Marvel and Capcom characters in an attempt to save both universes that have come together. Essentially, both have collided at the hands of the newly-formed Ultron Sigma equipped with the Infinity Stones of space and reality, and it’s up to our heroes to team up and gather the other four stones in order to defeat him. The plot is told through a mix of some occasionally decent-looking CG cutscenes along with in-game parts that occur just before a battle. Completing the story does have a benefit, in that it unlocks the remainder of the stages in the game that are neat mashups of Marvel and Capcom properties, such as the mix of Black Panther’s kingdom of Wakanda and Monster Hunter 4‘s Val Habar.

The gameplay can sometimes create some fantastic and out-of-control moments

Thankfully, Infinite has plenty of ways to play as opposed to the story mode. Practice and mission modes are both around to help with learning each of the game’s 30 characters along with a local versus mode for two players or an AI opponent. In addition, and unlike a certain other huge Capcom fighter, Infinite ships with a traditional arcade mode out of the box. The arcade mode is exactly what it should be, fighting through a ladder of a few fights before getting to an admittedly cool-looking final boss. Still, it’s strange to think that this mode is something that seems so difficult to ask for in a Capcom fighting game in 2017, but here we are.

Playing through the mode can also help unlock the third and fourth color options for characters, and other little customizable goodies for a player card that’s seen in online play. Online ranked and player matches are also here with netcode that is actually very good. Games felt almost like playing locally with strong connections, and matchmaking seemed pretty fair from what could be told. There’s also a beginner’s league for those just starting out that gives out a free promotion match for players at Rank 14 or lower. It’s a nice option for newer players to get their feet wet against other newer players once experienced players have ascended to higher levels. Unlike Street Fighter V, there’s no in-game currency that has to be used to buy things, which is a much-welcomed change.

The biggest similarity between Infinite and UMvC 3 is the gameplay. The name of the game here is just stringing together regular, super and hyper combos to throw an opponent in the air and being as flashy as possible. The biggest difference is the move back to a pair of old concepts such as the 2v2 system (like in the original MvC) and the return of the infinity stones (like in Marvel Super Heroes) that actually add more strategic depth. The infinity stone system is probably the most straightforward and simple thing about the gameplay as a whole and provides another good layer of depth when choosing teams that can take advantage of their abilities.

For newer players, there’s also an auto combo system that can string together normals with just a repeated press of the light punch button. It’s good for admittedly stupid fun, but this feature can be turned off for those who want to dive deeper into learning. Unfortunately, mission mode isn’t as intuitive as it probably should be; but it does teach the basics of the game and some starting combos for each character. Getting those combos down pat and executing them can be really satisfying considering how robust the system is. The gameplay can sometimes create some fantastic and out-of-control moments, but the other collective faults make it difficult to transcend beyond them.

As for the selection of those fighters to choose from, it’s pretty lackluster. Infinite‘s base roster of 30 has been the biggest point of contention for many fans, with the aforementioned X-Men and Fantastic Four characters being the most glaring omissions here. It’s pretty obvious why, given Fox’s hold on the movie rights of those universes and Marvel’s focus going toward their own film franchises that they do totally control.  Even the Capcom side is lacking a bit, despite the long-awaited debuts of Mega Man X and Darkstalkers’ Jedah. Getting Leon Kennedy instead of Chris would have been a nice touch though, along with maybe a Power Stone character or even, dare I say it, Asura from Asura’s Wrath.

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Marvel and Capcom really could have taken some risks here with some fresh blood into the series with Infinite, but instead just opted for the conservative route. Even if you couldn’t get X-Men or Fantastic Four characters, there are still plenty of obscure heroes and villains from the MCU that could have been picked. Many returnees also play almost a little too similar to how they did in UMvC 3, and even some animations look the same as they did back then. The roster isn’t absolutely terrible, but having to wait for new and interesting things via DLC is a huge bummer and is likely to keep more people away rather than bring them in. In a way, it really just sums the experience up as a whole; underwhelming.

A copy of this game was provided to App Trigger for the purpose of this review. All scores are ranked out of 10, with .5 increments. Click here to learn more about our Review Policy.