Highlights

  • Marvel 1943's reveal trailer focuses on Captain America and Black Panther, showcasing stunning Unreal Engine 5.4 graphics but leaving little room for other protagonists.
  • The challenge lies in balancing the game's cinematic fidelity with gameplay mechanics to avoid disappointing players and meet high expectations set early on.
  • While Captain America and Black Panther take the spotlight, other playable characters like Gabriel and Nanali deserve equal attention to compete for player interest.

Skydance was finally ready to share a look at its now-titled Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra lately and did so with a stunning real-time story trailer. Peppered throughout it is the same grainy European set piece imagery laced with an undercurrent of Hydra’s insidious occupation, only this time it revealed its four protagonists in full as well as the actors who are portraying them. The reveal trailer for Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra didn’t spend much time focusing on Gabriel Jones and Nanali, though, and instead chose to cast a spotlight on Captain America and Black Panther’s budding animosity when they first meet in person.

It was smart to center Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra’s reveal trailer firmly around Captain America and Black Panther and how apparently and unfathomably gorgeous Unreal Engine 5.4’s fidelity will be for the game. That said, seeing how much cinematic emphasis is being put into Marvel 1943, especially toward its two larger-than-life superheroes, begs the question of whether two other playable protagonists being thrown into the mix was reasonable after all.

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Marvel 1943’s Cinematics Mean Its Gameplay Needs to Be Remarkable

Of course, one downside to Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra’s reveal trailer is the fact that it’s played its hand early and shown how extraordinary its graphics will be before a glimpse of gameplay could be revealed as well. It’s great that Skydance has been able to produce something that looks this lifelike and immaculate on Unreal Engine 5.4, creating more comparisons to a live-action movie than a game cutscene.

But unfortunately what this will achieve is creating a nearly impossible demand for legitimate gameplay sequences in Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra to meet that same standard of fidelity. Considering what’s been accomplished with current-gen hardware thus far, there only seem to be a couple of options Skydance will take from here: either Rise of Hydra’s gameplay fidelity matches that of its cinematic fidelity but gameplay itself is on-rails and restrictive to ensure that, or Rise of Hydra’s gameplay fidelity fails to match that of its cinematic fidelity and is lambasted for that.

Gameplay not being satisfying or at least on the esteemed level of an Amy Hennig title would surely be disappointing since Rise of Hydra is a game after all and crisp cutscene cinematics won’t always make up for gameplay that is seen as lacking in comparison—not to mention that each playable character is expected to have different gameplay mechanics.

Many games have put visuals forward over a ton of intricate mechanics and that could be perfectly fine for Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra , too, but if that’s the case it’s something Amy Hennig and Skydance must get out in front of to guarantee expectations aren’t blown out of proportion.

Marvel 1943 Can’t Undercut Gabriel and Nanali

With Captain America and Black Panther being as prolific and iconic as they are, it only makes sense that Skydance would structure a reveal around the household names that uphold its Marvel game. That’s how Skydance is going to sell the game aside from its frankly absurd photorealism—putting Captain America and Black Panther front and center.

But it’s not a ‘Captain America and Black Panther’ game; it’s a ‘Captain America, Black Panther, Gabriel Jones, and Nanali’ game, at least based on what’s been shared about it. Gabriel and Nanali weren’t omitted from the reveal trailer and yet if someone didn’t know there were four playable characters they couldn’t be scolded for thinking it was a standalone Captain America or Black Panther game, much less a two-protagonist Captain America and Black Panther game, with Gabriel and Nanali simply framed as side characters.

They aren’t NPCs, however, and while their gameplay sequences may be inherently less immediately interesting when Captain America and Black Panther are around, Gabriel and Nanali deserve equal attention. With any luck, Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra’s next trailer will offer an intimate look at its other two protagonists and hoist them up to the pedestals they need to be on in order to compete for players’ interest in the same way.