Marvel's Midnight Suns creative director Jake Solomon has revealed new information about the upcoming tactical RPG. In a new interview, Solomon gives details about the game's length, some of its systems, and how it differs from Firaxis' flagship strategy franchise XCOM.
What new Marvel's Midnight Suns info has been revealed?
In an interview with gaming platform GamerBraves, Solomon acknowledged that many fans will make comparisons between Marvel's Midnight Suns and XCOM. However, the new game differs in a number of key ways. Solomon says Midnight Suns plays "faster than XCOM" both in terms of actions and mission structure, but that it doesn't sacrifice complexity or difficulty in order to achieve this. Given that faster pace, it sounds like Solomon and his team might have been learning some lessons from Gears Tactics. Marvel's Midnight Suns also won't feature a time limit; instead, it'll have a "different set of design goals". It's also a pretty long game, with a first playthrough apparently taking between 40 to 60 hours to finish.
Marvel's Midnight Suns differs from XCOM in a few other areas, too. We already knew the game doesn't feature permadeath; it doesn't fit the superhero fantasy, after all. However, in the new interview, Solomon clarifies that there will still be punishments for "losing" heroes - they just won't be as severe. When heroes take too much damage, they become Injured, which will afflict them with a debuff. You'll still be able to fight with these heroes, but they could start fights with less health or take a knock to their attack power, for example.
Combat works pretty differently to XCOM in Midnight Suns. Each hero has a deck of eight cards that you can switch out and customize. These decks will determine play style; for example, it's entirely possible to "make a Captain America who is very defensive" or who favors offense, according to Solomon. While the Hunter - the customizable player character - will have the greatest potential build diversity, most heroes can be tweaked. Solomon gives the examples of damage-dealer Ghost Rider and support character Nico Minoru, who can be changed to give them greater offense potential or to help them generate the Heroism ability resource.
How will Marvel's Midnight Suns reflect the Marvel universe?
If you're a Marvel fan, it sounds like you're going to love Marvel's Midnight Suns for its references and nods alone. Solomon says you can expect "callbacks...easter eggs...and new things too". We already knew Midnight Suns would feature lots of cosmetics - some of which will be microtransactions - but it's nice to see Solomon confirm that the game will have lots of references for fans. You'll also get the chance to meet lots of Marvel heroes. Some, like Magik, will be more obscure, while others, like Iron Man or Captain America, will be familiar.
While Solomon isn't giving too much away about the player's character, the Hunter, we did learn that you won't always need to take the Hunter on missions. If you're tackling a side mission, you'll be able to send three of your heroes to take it on, and you won't need the protagonist. The Hunter will, however, be required for story missions. You'll probably need to pick favorites, too; Solomon says it's "pretty unlikely" that you'll max out your friendship with every hero on offer, so you'll want to focus on a few to get the most out of your relationships. Hey, it's all material for a replay, right?
When is the Marvel's Midnight Suns release date?
Marvel's Midnight Suns was announced at the Gamescom 2021 opening night. It's a tactical RPG from Firaxis, the developers of XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM 2 (both of which Jake Solomon directed), that features lots of Marvel heroes alongside a brand new customizable protagonist known as the Hunter. When it launches, you'll be able to play it on PC, PlayStation platforms, Xbox consoles (both last-gen and current-gen in both cases), and Nintendo Switch.
We're currently expecting Marvel's Midnight Suns to launch in March 2022. We don't have an exact date yet, but we'll bring you more on this as soon as we get it. In the meantime, it's well worth reading the full GamerBraves interview with Jake Solomon to learn more about this promising new TRPG. Fingers crossed that Gambit finally gets the love he deserves in this game.
