Square Enix’s upcoming game Marvel’s Avengers just got even more hype–by confirming that they will be adding a sixth main character to the cast in Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel! She’ll be joining Iron Man, Black Widow, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America for their latest video game outing, to be released on May 15, 2020.
Talking with the dev team, we found out that Kamala will be the viewpoint character for most of Marvel's Avengers. After a disastrous “A-Day” in San Francisco, the heroes disband and Captain America is dead. With newly gained powers from the shattered Terrigen crystal and a lifelong adoration of all things superhero-y, Kamala begins to suspect a conspiracy. She takes it to Bruce Banner and then to Tony Stark himself. Of course, she has to help them get the band back together!
After talking with the devs and getting to see some footage of Kamala in a story trailer, I got to try out playing her for myself, having already played the same A-Day demo that my colleagues did at PAX West. Also, I will admit I’m a bit biased here, as Ms. Marvel is one of my favorite Marvel characters or series, and I do own all the trade paperbacks, thank you very much.
For my own playstyle, I found Ms Marvel far easier than any of the other Avengers, with the possible exception of Thor. She’s great at melee combat but has a decent range with her usual attacks, unlike Black Widow. I’m not great at aiming, so I also found her easier to use than Iron Man with his lasers or Cap throwing his shield.
The skillset, for those of you who don’t know, matches perfectly with what she is able to do in the comics. Kamala can “embiggen,” which is her way of saying she can go stretchy. Not full on Mr. Fantastic stretchy, but she can expand parts of her at will, and can also grow and shrink if the need arises. Since flexibility is the key to her powers, electricity is also her biggest weakness.
This translates well to the gameplay, as she is able to smash enemies with giant hands, take several out with a super extended leg kick, and use one of her heroic abilities to grow to roughly the same size as the house in Up. It looks fantastically fluid on the screen, and her dodging ability, while not quite as elegant as Black Widow’s, also takes full use of her powers.
Though I only got to play as Ms. Marvel in a training room simulation for a few rounds, I was pleased with what I got. Her powers stay true to the comics, and they’re easy to play with. They don’t replicate any of the other characters’ powers, so it feels like a fresh addition to the team rather than a re-skin. Speaking of skins, however, the level of detail on her model is absolutely astounding. Now Ms. Marvel has embroidery patterns on her outfit, there’s engraving details on her trademark bracelet, and, best of all, her pants have POCKETS.
Marvel’s Avengers will release May 15, 2020 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
