Let me get this straight: I play a lot of the best fighting games. I enjoy playing them. I am not good at the genre. Anything online requires me to adapt to players far beyond my skill level, and it’s almost pointless for me to attempt to reach that level. I just don’t have the time or patience to do it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t praise a game when it smashes it out of the park. After waiting for almost a decade for Injustice 3, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is keeping me occupied, and, to be honest, it may even be better than NetherRealm Studios’ take.
While they share the same core DNA, they’re fairly different takes on fighting games. Marvel Tokon is a tag-team-centric fighter, similar to Arc System Works’ Dragon Ball FighterZ, while Injustice 2 takes the familiar one-on-one approach that games like Mortal Kombat deliver. Same genre, different niche, and while I typically prefer the style that NetherRealm offers, Marvel Tokon has turned me into a tag-fighter player.
Playing as the various Marvel superheroes, each with a distinct style developed by Arc System Works, makes every match feel distinct. While the story modes are essentially fights with various teams, interspersed with cinematic and comic book-style storytelling, they do a good job of teaching you the game’s mechanics. I do prefer the Injustice or Mortal Kombat style of fighting game stories, but this gives you a way to play with all of the teams in the game.
However, I have spent most of my time (see: a ridiculous amount) playing the Arcadia Rumble mode. In it, you pick your characters, customize your avatar (I have an Anti-Venom-style Spider-Man holding Captain America’s Shield and Deadpool’s Katana), and compete against other players to collect shards and level up your perks. There are also Mario Kart-style power-ups that can unleash attacks on other players, earning you stars that you need to win. Each avatar-led round concludes with a fighting session, where you can earn more stars based on the KOs you get.
It’s easily the most energetic mode I’ve seen in a fighting game, and it’s an absolute chaos-fest that alone makes the admission price worth it. That’s not even taking into account the story mode, arcade modes, and general online matches that every fighting game should offer. With the recent PC fixes, it’s also in great shape, making it a solid purchase for those waiting on the next MCU films, or, if you’re like me, a coping mechanism as you hope for Injustice 3 to finally be revealed.
Fortunately, if you want to give it a try, you can buy Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls for just $53.99 / £53.99 at Fanatical, netting you a 10% discount on the retail price. For a fresh release, that’s a great way to get it cheaper, and you still get a Steam key to add the game to your library-no extra launcher downloads required. Thankfully!
Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both owned by Fandom. This story was created in collaboration with Fanatical’s deals team.
