Summary
The main reason anyone might want to play a Marvel video game is to experience what it feels like to be at the wheel behind their favorite superheroes. This is somethingMarvel Rivalscertainly excels at — with itsmassive roster of playable Marvel charactersand even more to come — but it manages to go much further with some characters than simply making playable versions of them. In some cases,Marvel Rivalstakes the tried-and-true gameplay formulas established by past Marvel games and innovates on them to offer players a fresh take and challenge their expectations. This is particularly true for its version of the Hulk, a character often limited to simplistic, smash-everything-in-sight gameplay.
InMarvel Rivals,Hulk’s rage-fueled power remains intact, but it’s paired with an unexpected twist that few — if any — Marvel games have dared to explore. Specifically,Marvel Rivalsdelves into the duality of the Hulk by focusing on his nature as both the Hulk and Bruce Banner, the normal, de-transformed version of himself. This gives players an increasingly rare opportunity to experience what it’s like to play as the brilliant scientist as opposed to the mindless, green destruction machine.
Marvel Rivals Innovates Hulk Gameplay
Most Marvel Games Featuring Hulk Take the Big Green Guy Approach
Almost anytime aMarvel game features Hulkas a playable character, it takes the “big green guy” approach, which essentially just limits Hulk to his rage-induced self and largely leaves the intelligence and deliberate thoughtfulness of Bruce Banner out of the picture. Ultimately, this makes sense, given the fact that playing as Bruce Banner could be considered mundane and far too “normal” to produce exciting, engaging gameplay. After all, it’s much more fun to see Hulk smashing his way through enemies and obstacles in a game, especially if players are in the driver’s seat of the iconic character.
Marvel Rivals Lets Players Swap Between Bruce Banner and Hulk
Marvel Rivalsdeviates from the big green guy approach in one of the most innovative iterations of a playable Hulk in gaming history. Specifically, players actually begin each match inMarvel Rivalsas “Puny Banner,“who is equipped with only a Gamma Ray Gun and a Gamma Grenade. That said, Bruce shouldn’t be underestimated, asMarvel Rivalshas proven that ranged characters a distinct advantage in the arena, and since Hulk has no ranged attacks, this makes playing in Puny Banner mode all the more worth it. Furthermore, Banner’s Gamma Grenade can knock enemies back, thereby assisting teammates and keeping foes away as long as possible until players can transform into Hulk.
Of course, for some, the ultimate goal of playing in Puny Banner mode is to build up his ultimate, which transforms him into the Hulk.
Hulk is one ofMarvel Rivals' more challenging charactersto control, simply because of his duality and the amount of thought players have to put into balancing Bruce Banner and Hulk effectively. The Hulk is indeed powerful, but his current limitations in the game make playing as Puny Banner all the more worth it. Rather than relying solely on the timed, heroic version of Banner’s character, players can also depend on Banner’s ranged abilities to take out foes from a distance, or assist in tearing down the enemy team one player at a time without ever taking damage.
SinceMarvel Rivalsis a live-service game, its various elements are undoubtedly going to change over time, and that includes Bruce Banner and the Hulk. It would be nice to see Puny Banner get a few more abilities, and for Hulk’s skills to either be changed or improved. However,Marvel Rivals' iteration of a playable Hulk should at least serve as inspiration for future Marvel games, to allow players to choose between either Bruce Banner or the Hulk, with gameplay features that complement both of the character’s natures. It just goes to show how muchMarvel Rivalsis doing to distinguish itself in an increasingly crowded genre.
