Marvel Rivals is a great game, but has anybody truly enjoyed one of its game modes? In the four months since the game launched as a live-service hero shooter, NetEase has been hard at work diversifying the game modes rather than sticking to just 6v6 matches against other players.
Yet despite this influx of limited-time modes, none of them have made a lasting impact on me. I don’t particularly find these modes fun. They’re the kind of thing where the dopamine hit is maxed out after just one match, and there’s no real drive to play again, which is a bummer as it could’ve been more. What’s even worse is that the lack of any meaningful rewards turns off plenty of players, resulting in fewer people trying them out at all.
The first event was definitely a sign that Marvel Rivals and NetEase are trying to do something similar to what Overwatch did. The Jeff Winter Splash event felt like NetEase’s answer to Overwatch’s Mei’s Snowball Offensive—both game modes featuring the most annoying characters from their respective games. I had fun for a couple of matches just to get the Jeff skin, but once I earned it, I had no reason to come back.
Then the next few events rolled in, with NetEase offering hero skins for certain characters. The Chinese New Year event, Clash of Dancing Lions, was another attempt to mimic Overwatch’s Lucioball. I’ll admit, the Star Lord skin looked great, even though I don’t use him much. Yet as the days went by, I found myself more drawn to the actual Ranked matches rather than spending time goofing around in an extra mode. After that, I barely touched Marvel Rivals’ limited-time game modes, unless they featured a concept that actually excited me or offered a skin for a hero I main.
NetEase has the potential to create new and original game modes for Marvel Rivals. It doesn’t need to be a different variation of an Overwatch game mode, it just has to be fun and worthwhile, and with better rewards. They have decades of Marvel content waiting to be explored as a game mode, and merely regurgitating from Blizzard’s isn’t a good thing in the long run.
The game’s latest mode, Giant-Size Brain Blast, doesn’t really interest me much either. It’s just a goofy little side activity to kill time, though I might still give it a shot since it rewards you with a cosmetic that makes your hero’s head hilariously oversized.
Honestly, I can’t wait to see what they’re cooking up over the next few months. But right now, everything just feels so barebones. Unlocking a hero skin and participating in these events is starting to feel more like a chore than a fun distraction
Or maybe people did actually find these game modes fun and I’m just not their target audience? Either way, NetEase has made it clear that they’re working on improving these limited time game modes and events to better provide engaging content and rewards for players.