It only took a few seconds of playing MARVEL Cosmic Invasion before I felt like I’d stepped into a long-lost Marvel arcade game—except this one wasn’t pulled from the ’90s, it’s brand new, and it’s directly inspired by one of Marvel’s most beloved cosmic crossovers: Annihilation—an idea that originated directly from Marvel.
While the Annihilation storyline initially focused on Marvel’s cosmic heroes, Dotemu decided to go bigger. So, while characters like Nova and Phyla-Vell are front and center, the roster expands beyond space—bringing in fan-favorite X-Men, street-level heroes, and more. It’s a fun remix that opens the door to matchups you wouldn’t usually see in a strictly cosmic setting.
Tag-Team Chaos Across the Marvel Universe
Each mission lets you choose two heroes to bring into battle, and you can switch between them instantly to chain together flashy combos and special attacks. On my first run, I teamed up mullet-era Nova with Phyla-Vell—two characters who played significant roles in the Annihilation comics—and immediately started slamming enemies with laser barrages, spinning kicks, and tag-team finishers that would feel right at home in a modern remix of the X-Men arcade game.
Combat is fast, fluid, and surprisingly strategic. There’s an old-school rhythm to it—land a few hits, dodge, switch characters, unleash a screen-clearing move—but it’s elevated by all the little personality touches the devs have layered in. Also, with its drop-in/drop-out adaptive system, it’s easy to jump in and packed with potential for fans who want to see their favorite heroes in all of their retro glory.
Pixel Perfect Easter Eggs
Suppose you’re a Marvel fan who pays attention to the details. In that case, you’ll definitely appreciate what’s going on in the sprite work. I noticed more than a few combat animations that felt pulled straight from the comics—and as it turns out, that wasn’t a coincidence. Narrative designer Yannick Belzil told me he assembled a visual “mood board” filled with comic book panels, sending animators pages of iconic moves and poses that he thought would translate well into pixel art. It’s a small behind-the-scenes detail, but it really shows. Some of the animations looked almost frame-for-frame with moments I remembered from the comics—giving each hero their own distinct visual language.
Environments also feel rich with lore. You’ll travel from Earth to space (duh) and beyond, with stages that range from grounded (like the streets of NYC) to otherworldly (deep inside the Negative Zone). And while you’re cracking skulls along the way, your heroes are still talking. Literally.
One of my favorite surprises came during a New York stage playthrough. When Spider-Man entered the area, he dropped a line about having to get home in time to watch Secret Hospital—a trashy fictional soap opera in the Marvel universe that stars Mary Jane Watson. It’s that kind of dialogue that makes Cosmic Invasion feel like more than just another arcade throwback.
MARVEL Cosmic Invasion might not be the biggest Marvel title on the horizon, but it’s shaping up to be one of the most fun. Between the comic-accurate animations, the tag-team gameplay, and the sheer energy of its environments and character interactions, it already feels like a celebration of Marvel’s cosmic legacy—and a solid excuse to revisit the Annihilation storyline before launch.
