Nintendo struck gold with Super Smash Bros., a fighting game series where the main draw is the deep roster of established characters pulled from other video game franchises. Various other developers have attempted to mimic the Super Smash Bros. formula over the years, but none of them have really managed to live up to the high bar set by Nintendo's crossover fighting game. The latest Super Smash Bros. clone, MultiVersus, comes closer than any game before it, and as long as the developers keep a steady flow of content coming, it should have a bright future.

MultiVersus is Super Smash Bros., but instead of video game characters making up the roster, it's mostly characters pulled from Warner Bros.-owned properties, as well as real-life basketball star LeBron James and original character Reindog. MultiVersus follows the Super Smash Bros. formula, with each character having their own distinct move set and quirks relevant to the franchise they come from. Like Smash, MultiVersus is tough to master, but easy to pick up and play, as players don't have to worry about memorizing complicated button combinations to perform impressive attacks.

Anyone familiar with Super Smash Bros. should immediately understand how to play MultiVersus, but those struggling can check out the game's many tutorials. Once players have a grasp on how it controls, they should have no issue jumping from playing an Assassin like Arya Stark to a Mage like Bugs Bunny, even if they won't understand the finer details about a character's abilities until they spend some time playing as them.

Instead of health bars like traditional fighting games, MultiVersus takes yet another page out of the Super Smash Bros. playbook. Every time a character is hit, their total damage grows, and that in turn makes it easier to send them flying off the map. The ultimate goal in MultiVersus is to get ringouts by knocking opponents out of bounds, which can be accomplished by hitting them with a strong attack after building up their damage, or otherwise figuring out a way to trick them into falling to a premature death.

MultiVersus has a lot in common with Super Smash Bros., and that's by design, but there are ways that it stands out from its inspiration as well. MultiVersus is much more focused on being a competitive fighting game, with almost none of the party game aspects found in Super Smash Bros.MultiVersus does not have items falling from the sky, and all the stages are fairly basic. They're all essentially slightly altered takes on Super Smash Bros.' Final Destination stage, which has long been a favorite for the competitive fighting game scene.

On one hand, this means that MultiVersus fights are more about skill than they are about whoever can grab the powerful item first or manipulate a level's gimmick to their advantage. On the other hand, this means that the game can sometimes feel empty and plain. Each MultiVersus stage has somewhat different geometry from the next, but they all feel like the same thing with a different coat of paint. One stage may be set in Batman's Bat Cave and another may be set in a Scooby-Doo haunted mansion. One might be smaller while another may be longer with floating platforms to stand on, but it's all just window dressing that doesn't change fights in any meaningful way. The current crop of stages lack personality, so hopefully that's something that's addressed with new ones that are added to the mix.

Even so, competitive MultiVersus players may prefer the blander stages, as it means that the focus stays on the core fighting as opposed to dealing with level gimmicks or environmental hazards. And to its credit, MultiVersus definitely captures the competitive fighting game spirit. The core MultiVersus experience is all about 2v2 online fights, with the option for Best 2 Out of 3 battles where players are free to swap characters between rounds. The online is infinitely more reliable than Smash, and while there are occasional problems like lag spikes, it generally works well. The only downside is that MultiVersus' official ranked mode is still missing in action, though there are plans to add it before Season 1 is over.

MultiVersus has successfully delivered a Super Smash Bros.-style game with easy to understand controls, reliable online, and an intense competitive set-up. But right now, it is suffering from a general lack of content. Even though MultiVersus Season 1 has officially started, the game is missing its arcade and ranked modes, and it's delayed the addition of new characters like Morty Smith of Rick and Morty fame. Eventually, MultiVersus will add new modes and characters, and it will be an even better game for it, but out of the gate, it's hard not to be disappointed by the slim pickings.

Of course, MultiVersus is free-to-play, so it's hard to complain too much about the lack of content, but some may be turned off by its monetization. MultiVersus sells cosmetics and a Battle Pass like most other free-to-play games do nowadays, though there's not a lot to choose from at the time of this writing. The game's official store isn't even available yet, and so most characters only have one or two alternate costumes and emotes to buy. The MultiVersus Season 1 Battle Pass also does offer any premium currency, which is counter to the standard that's been established by other free-to-play games and their Battle Passes.

The good news is that while the cosmetics cost real money, MultiVersus players should be able to unlock all the playable characters without ever breaking out their wallet. MultiVersus has a premium currency called Gleamium that's used to buy cosmetics and can be used to purchase characters, but it also has gold that players earn simply by playing the game. The characters in MultiVersus can be purchased with gold if players grind enough, and so far, no one seems to be priced ridiculously high to try to force players to get Gleamium instead.

MultiVersus players can unlock characters easily, and as long as they play regularly, they should be able to get everyone they want to play as before too long. MultiVersus also has a rotation of free characters that swap out every couple of weeks, so players can always try before they buy.

At launch, MultiVersus is a little more bare bones than some might have hoped, but the game has an incredibly bright future. Season 1 alone is set to add at least four new characters to the roster, and leaks have revealed more new MultiVersus characters that are likely on the way. Fans finally have a viable alternative to Super Smash Bros., and it will be exciting to see how it evolves from here.

MultiVersus is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Game ZXC reviewed the Xbox Series X version of the game.

MultiVersus

MultiVersus is a 2D side-scrolling platform fighter that includes a wide array of Warner Bros. characters. Players can choose between characters like Shaggy, Batman, Steven Universe, Jake the Dog, and more.