#Multiversus shaggy pro#

White also said balance is important to the integrity and health of the game, and that the team at Player First Games was constantly balancing the game to make sure it doesn't feel stale and players don't end up in a situation where they feel like they have to pick one character in order to win.

It adds layers to the longtime fighting game strategy of 'What is my matchup against this character and how do I need to play as a result?' I've been transfixed with that strategic element of the game - how abilities and perks and team combinations all fit together. The ultimate answer is that it's situational, but every match gives me a little more information about those situations. The icons below character damage represent abilities on cooldown. Do I pop it at the start of the match, allowing my team to get aggressive? Do I use it to cleanse? Or do I save it for high-danger situations, like when my teammate is at the edge of the stage and at risk of getting knocked out? I've spent a dozen or so matches trying to determine the best use of Wonder Woman's Defense of the Gods ability, which cleanses debuffs and provides a shield to her and her ally at the cost of a fairly long cooldown. After my first day playing the game, I couldn't stop thinking about character abilities and teamwork.

#Multiversus shaggy pro#

White said the game was crafted with newcomers and experienced fighting gamers in mind by aiming for a product that was easy to pick up and difficult to master.įor experienced players, White said, 'I think the 2v2 experience if you're willing to give it a try is going to feel fresh and new,' offering a new way to engage in the genre while still providing 'tons of depth and tons of mastery.' (You can check out what the game looks like in the hands of pro players here.) For players that were newer to the fighting genre or players who hadn't been able to get into fighters previously, the team at Player First tried to put together a game that would make people invested by removing barriers to the game and giving people a reason to stick with things by learning something every match. When White talked to me about the ideas and process behind the game, I saw that most of my experience in MultiVersus had been carefully crafted by the game's developers. He spoke about the game with an earnest passion - the same kind of passion that you'll pick up on in the fine details of the game's art and sound design. I talked to Chris White, CTO and Co-Founder of MultiVersus' developer Player First Games, on a Discord call. Players can equip one signature perk and three perks from among offense, defense and utility categories.ĭeveloping for people from different universes

Players can use these perks to customize the way their characters play - more aggressive, more resilient, etc.Īll of these elements blend together to create a game that feels fun right out of the gate. MultiVersus also features character perks, small buffs that apply to you or your team. Players have to be strategic about when they pull out those powerful moves so they're not on cooldown when you need them most. Some character abilities also have cooldowns, meaning you have to wait a certain amount of time before you can use them again. You know exactly how far you need to toss someone for a KO, which encourages players to aggressively move off the stage to secure knockouts. For one, the boundaries of the map are clearly defined - if you touch the zig-zagging black outline, you're knocked out. The more damage you deal to a player, the easier it is to knock them around the stage.īut matches of MultiVersus feel distinct from other platform fighters. Fighters accumulate damage over the course of the match and the first team to knock opponents off the map four times wins. The core gameplay of MultiVersus will feel familiar to anyone who's played Super Smash Bros. MultiVersus gameplay: Familiar, but fresh Instead, in less than a week, MultiVersus has made me want to get more into fighting games. I'm a casual fighting game player at best, and I usually bounce off new fight games quickly because the mechanics and difficulty feel out of reach for me. (And if you want to dive head-first into that absurdity, just check out the game's first cinematic trailer.)Īfter a game, you'll be given the option to rematch with your opponent in a best-of-3. If you can get over the absurdity of Arya teaming up with Tom & Jerry, there's a lot to like about the game. properties, which include HBO originals classic and modern cartoons and the DC side of superhero comics. MultiVersus is a hallucinogenic stew of Warner Bros. I have no idea why these characters are fighting each other, but I want more of it. I spent several days playing an early build of MultiVersus, the upcoming platform fighting game with characters like Batman, Bugs Bunny, Arya Stark from Game of Thrones and Shaggy from Scooby-Doo.