The announcement that XCOM studio Firaxis was working on a Marvel-themed tactics game was a welcome surprise to fans of the studio's previous work. Marvel's Midnight Suns was an unfortunate case of a game that was critically loved but fell far short of sales expectations, partially owed to both the game's release window and the niche gameplay genre used for a mass appeal IP. While game director Jake Solomon has left Firaxis and is expected to be starting up his own studio, there is still a strong case for Firaxis to release a sequel that improves on what worked in Marvel's Midnight Suns while jettisoning the more controversial elements.
Some lamented the incorporation of deck-building into the XCOM formula due to an apparent addition of "chance" to the combat, but the truth is that strategy was more important than ever in Marvel's Midnight Suns. Unit positioning and movement took on greater importance and players could craft decks that catered to their play style. Marvel's Midnight Suns also has an incredible roster of heroes from across the Marvel universe for players to use in their squad, allowing for some "dream-team" compositions in combat. A Marvel's Midnight Suns sequel that iterates on these elements while removing the life sim activities between missions could be more of a success than the first title.
A Potential Midnight Suns 2 Should Expand the Roster and Cards
Marvel's Midnight Suns' ability to appeal to a wide range of Marvel fans via its roster is impressive considering the sheer number of potential characters the game could have included. Obviously, the inclusion of the members of the Midnight Suns was a given, but having famous teammates from the Avengers and the X-Men present in the game was a welcome surprise.
A potential sequel should greatly expand on not just the number of heroes, but the corners of Marvel fandom and history they come from. The game not including any members of the Fantastic Four or Guardians of the Galaxy as either the base game or DLC characters seemed like a missed opportunity. Additionally, the lack of other street-level heroes like Daredevil alongside Spider-Man's inclusion was a bit of a head-scratcher. In adding more heroes to the fold, the potential Marvel's Midnight Suns sequel also could greatly diversify the types of attack and support cards available to experiment with.
Life Sim Elements and Flow of Combat Need Shaking Up in Marvel's Midnight Suns 2
For every fan who enjoyed Marvel's Midnight Suns' unique spin on the XCOM formula, there are just as many that would have preferred to see the game adhere more closely to the template established by Enemy Within and XCOM 2. One of the more controversial aspects of Marvel's Midnight Suns' departure from those games was the life sim elements present in-between missions, with character conversations and interactions necessary to build up friendship levels that boosted stats and allowed for greater synergies in the field of combat.
Marvel's Midnight Suns' Abbey is a great location that would've been perfect for Enemy Within and XCOM 2's base-building, and the sequel should eschew the sim elements in favor of building out the Suns' base of operations. In the event that fans are granted a sequel to Marvel's Midnight Suns, the title would also benefit from mixing up the flow of combat compared to the first game. In order to make battles feel more dynamic, characters should have stats that determine their order in combat and swap back and forth between hero and enemy turns.
Not only would this make combat feel more exciting, but it could also allow players to skip certain characters' turns in order to have them execute more varied combo attacks at a later turn. Marvel's Midnight Suns was a great experiment using the Marvel license, and Firaxis deserves another shot at perfecting its formula in a sequel.
Marvel's Midnight Suns is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
