Little is known about Skydance’s Marvel game - even its title has yet to be revealed. But the premise of swapping between four playable protagonists is exciting, especially given the fact that two of those protagonists are Captain America and Black Panther. Captain America’s gameplay would seem predictable if he has his vibranium shield to toss around, but Black Panther’s gameplay would be much more unpredictable given so few iterations of him appear in games thus far. However, one hindrance may come as a result of its other two playable protagonists.
Many games suffer from pacing issues, whether a game is too long or bloated for its intended design mechanics, or it is unable to break up gameplay into digestible sequences. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End paces its narrative beats with exploration, stealth, and shootouts well, meanwhile Mary Jane Watson and Miles Morales are given their own sequences in Marvel’s Spider-Man as an alternate, powerless perspective on the world. The latter choice was unfavorable to many fans, though, and Skydance’s Marvel game may have to contend with a similar pacing issue given its cast size.
Marvel’s Spider-Man’s MJ and Miles Missions Are Divisive
Marvel’s Spider-Man’s Mary Jane and Miles missions have players move around stealthily, distracting enemies who are idly patrolling the area. In theory these sequences are great because they lend perspective to characters who do not have superpowers, but there are arguably too many of them that aren't engaging enough. It is exciting to maneuver around Grand Central Station as Mary Jane while ordering Spider-Man to string Demons up to the ceiling, but other sequences are far less of a spectacle.
Likewise, because playing as Spider-Man is so satisfying and fun, fans were understandably impatient after being whisked away from that open-world action to instead crawl through a tedious stealth level. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales forgoes this idea, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will hopefully omit such sequences as well, unless they are more intricate and immersive.
Skydance’s Marvel Game Needs to Balance Its Protagonists Well
Meanwhile, Skydance’s WW2 Marvel game features its own Mary Jane and Miles through Nanali and Gabriel Jones. While Nanali and Gabriel are formidable in their own right, they are not superheroes, which means that they will need to rely on other skills. Nanali and Gabriel have the potential to be fully captivating characters with a lot of mechanics to stand out, but they might inherently pale in comparison to the idea of playing as Captain America or Black Panther.
Nanali and Gabriel will seemingly not be used purely for stealth like Mary Jane and Miles, but they will need to be as - or more - fun than Captain America and Black Panther in order for fans to be excited about their sequences. Atreus ended up being incredibly fun to play as in God of War Ragnarok, though that was largely due to his mobility and unique abilities.
It is common now for games to feature multiple playable protagonists, and that usually is not a challenge in terms of balancing. Still, Skydance’s Marvel game will need to sell fans on the need to cycle between four different protagonists. If any one of its protagonists is less fun than the others, that character’s sequences may have players dread swapping to them again, like how fans were disappointed when another Mary Jane or Miles mission would crop up in Marvel’s Spider-Man.
Skydance’s Marvel game is in development.
