So, I should probably get this out of the way first: I’m not great at fighting games. I mean, I like them. I can have a good time with them. However, am I the kind of player who can walk up to a setup, learn three systems in five minutes, and start embarrassing people? Not even close. That said, I’m a huge Marvel fan, so when Arc System Works, Marvel, and PlayStation announced Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, I was in. Luckily, at Anime Expo this year, I got to try my hand at the game to see if this would be my next fighting game obsession.

The first thing that stands out is the look. This is Marvel, but not quite the Marvel most people are used to. The game is not trying to copy the MCU or feel like another comic book adaptation. It takes familiar characters and locations, then pushes them through a very specific anime lens.

Still, the real question was always going to be the gameplay. Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is a 4v4 fighter, but not exactly in the way I expected. Your team of four shares one life bar, so this isn’t like Marvel vs. Capcom. You can’t tag someone out, let them recover, and keep rotating through your roster. Here, your team feels more like one connected unit. Another interesting wrinkle is that only the first two characters are available right away. The other two have to be brought in through certain in-match conditions.

I can already see different kinds of players approaching this in completely creative ways. Some people are probably going to lean hard on one or two characters and treat the rest of the team almost like backup tools. Others will probably build around flexibility, picking characters who can cover a range of setups and matchups. It’s hard to say how deep that rabbit hole goes after only a short demo. However, the system already feels like it has room for players to experiment.

My biggest concern going in was whether the controls would be too complex. Arc System Works makes incredible fighting games, but they are not always the easiest things to pick up casually. Thankfully, Tōkon felt much easier to understand than I expected.

The inputs are familiar, with classic quarter-circle motions and shared special move commands across most of the roster. When you’re making a fighting game with characters as popular as Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Wolverine, you need people to feel like they can actually play it without needing a study guide open next to them (yes, Tekken, I’m talking to you). Tōkon seems to understand that.

There is also a simplified control option that lets players use specials and supers with a single button press. It was mapped to the right trigger in the build I played, and I can see how that would be a huge help for newer players.

As for the characters, I got to try a solid group, even though the full roster was not available. I spent time with Dr. Doom, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Wolverine, and a few others. I wanted Iron Man to be my favorite because, well, he’s my favorite character of all time. But Wolverine connected with me almost immediately.

He was fast, aggressive, and exactly the kind of character I like when I want to stay on top of my opponent. Once I got them pinned against the wall, Wolverine let me keep the pressure up. I was winning comfortably with him, while with other characters, I was either barely scraping by or getting myself into trouble. That probably says more about my playstyle than the game’s balance. However, Wolverine was still easily my early favorite.

My time with Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls was far too short to call it a sure thing. There is still a lot I want to know, especially about the single-player content and how online matches will feel once real players start tearing the game apart. Fighting games live and die by that stuff.

But as a first impression, this was extremely promising. It looks incredible, the controls feel more approachable than I expected, and the 4v4 structure gives it a different identity from the Marvel fighters people already know. It is easy enough to welcome casual players. Still, there seems to be enough depth here for competitive players to dig into as well.

For someone who loves Marvel but is only decent at fighting games on a good day, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls made a very strong first impression. If Arc System Works and PlayStation can nail the online experience and give players enough to do outside of versus matches, this could easily become one of my most-played fighters in 2026.