Marvel Cosmic Invasion (Demo)
Developer: Tribute Games
Publishers: DotEmu, Gamera Games
Demo Release Date: October 1st, 2025
Playtime As Of Writing: 5 Hours
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is an upcoming beat ’em up game developed by Tribute Games and published by Dotemu. The game is scheduled to be released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2 in 2025.
I just finished a marathon gaming session with Marvel’s Cosmic Invasion demo that dropped on Steam yesterday. What started at 1am turned into a full-blown addiction that didn’t let me go until around 6 in the morning. For a demo, this thing is surprisingly generous with content. You get a couple of levels to work through and nine playable characters, which is honestly pretty impressive for something that’s basically a free taste of what’s to come.
The character roster they gave us includes Captain America, Phyla-Vell, Richard Rider/ Nova, Rocket Raccoon, She-Hulk, Spider-Man, Storm, Venom, and Wolverine. The way the game works is you pick a main character and a secondary character who only jumps in after your main dies. I think there’s probably a way to switch between them during gameplay, but honestly the demo is short enough that I didn’t bother figuring it out. I just kept cycling through characters two at a time, finishing the demo over and over again until the sun started coming up.
What makes Cosmic Invasion so appealing to someone like me is that it’s an absolute love letter to those old coin-op beat-em-ups from the 80s and 90s. If you ever pumped quarters into Captain America and the Avengers, Spider-Man, Superman, The Punisher, or the X-Men arcade game, you know exactly what this feels like. It’s a side-scrolling brawler in the same vein as Altered Beast and Final Fight, games that basically defined an entire era of arcade culture. The demo is based on Marvel’s 2006 Annihilation comic series, which essentially laid the groundwork for the version of the Guardians of the Galaxy we got in James Gunn’s films. Throughout the levels, you’re fighting off Annihilus and his invading horde (although Annihilus isn’t in the demo) as they portal into the city, and you also get to throw down with villains like Beetle and Taskmaster. Thankfully, it’s not the watered-down MCU version of Taskmaster, so that’s a win right there.
The game is pretty easy and fun, which honestly made it that much harder to put down. Each character has your standard light attacks, heavy attacks, and super moves that require you to hold down the button to charge up before unleashing devastation on your enemies. After spending way too many hours with this demo, I’ve got some thoughts on how each character plays. Captain America is slow but strong. His moveset is all acrobatic punches, kicks, and throws, plus he can sling his shield which is actually really satisfying to use. The shield can hit multiple enemies at once, though it does feel a bit sluggish compared to other ranged options.
Nova is fun to play, but his flight feels limited and his powers seem surprisingly weak for someone who’s supposed to be a cosmic powerhouse. Both Nova and Storm work best as long-range attackers. Nova’s energy blasts are pretty wimpy, but they fire quickly. His melee attacks are similarly fast but don’t pack much punch, though his charged-up blast can clear out a group of enemies decently enough. She-Hulk falls into that slow but powerful category. Most of her moves are wrestling-based grapples and throws, so if you’re someone who mains Zangief in Street Fighter 2 or Big Bear from Fatal Fury and King of Fighters, She-Hulk is your girl.
Spider-Man plays exactly how you’d want him to. He’s quick, acrobatic, and powerful, which is perfect. My one complaint, and I know I’m being that guy who complains about comic book accuracy, is that he runs out of web fluid which actually does happen in the comic books but it annoys me in game play. Look, every character has some kind of power meter that depletes and you either have to find refills by smashing objects or wait for it to recharge, but something about Spider-Man running out of webs just really bugs me. I’ll shut up about it, but it’s annoying.
Storm has some cool weather-based moves like tornadoes and lightning bolts, plus a close-range throw that I think most characters have access to. But here’s my problem with her. Every single time Storm appears in a video game, she gets portrayed as weak and fragile compared to everyone else, and it’s happened again here. Her attacks look cool but don’t seem to do much damage, which is frustrating for such a powerful character in the comics.
Wolverine delivers exactly what you’d expect and want from him. Up close berserker rage, quick slashing attacks, tons of jumping around, and claw action everywhere. He’s genuinely fun to play and even has his classic video game catchphrases like “Berserker Barrage” or something close to it. All his moves are designed for close combat except for a couple of jumping attacks that give you some range.
The Martyr, Phyla-Vell, is okay but feels really sluggish because of that massive Quantum Sword she’s swinging around. Playing her reminds me of the old Berserk game on the SEGA Dreamcast. She’s slow and you miss a lot, but like She-Hulk and Captain America, she has solid defensive durability so she can take a beating and stick around.
Now for my two favorites. Rocket Raccoon and Venom are hands down the most fun characters in this lineup. Rocket is small, fast, and pulls out these huge weapons that stay hidden until you use them, kind of like how War Machine and Iron Man worked in Marvel Super Heroes and Marvel vs. Capcom. The only issue is all his weapons are short-range, so if you’re not close enough to your target, you’re hitting nothing but air. He also throws bombs that seem to be randomized. You don’t get to pick which type you’re using, they just change with each toss, which keeps things interesting.
Venom is fast and strong, and all his powers are symbiote-based like they should be. Everything from his punches and kicks to his lunges to using his tongue as a whip feels perfectly Venom. Both Rocket and Venom just feel more polished and enjoyable than the rest of the roster, at least to me.
Apparently there was a leak today that revealed the rest of the character roster, including Iron Man and Phoenix. The full game is supposed to have 15 playable characters total, so we’re getting six more beyond what’s in the demo. I’m definitely interested to see how those play, especially if they maintain the same level of variety we’re seeing here.
For a demo, Cosmic Invasion absolutely nailed what it set out to do. It scratched that nostalgic arcade itch I didn’t even realize I had, and kept me glued to my screen for five straight hours in the middle of the night. If you grew up feeding quarters into beat-em-up cabinets or you just love Marvel characters and want a straightforward brawler that doesn’t overcomplicate things, this is absolutely worth downloading. I’m already looking forward to the full release.
Five Hours With Marvel's Cosmic Invasion Demo Was Time Well Spent
Marvel's Cosmic Invasion demo is a nostalgic love letter to 90s arcade beat-em-ups. With nine playable characters and solid gameplay, this Annihilation-based brawler scratches that classic side-scrolling itch perfectly. Rocket Raccoon and Venom steal the show as the most enjoyable characters to play.
Beam Me Up Scotty
Born and raised in the city of Miami. Lifelong pro wrestling fan. Been deep in the 'zine scene since ’84, interviewing locals, Hardcore, Punk, and Metal bands. Spent 26 years in the comic book biz and still obsessed with all things pop culture—Mego, Micronauts, Shogun Warriors, Die-Cast Metal Super Robots, you name it. I can go on about comic books and bad movies all day.
