Marvel's Midnight Suns Review

Sometimes you come across a game that draws you in for absolutely no reason whatsoever – that’s how I felt about Marvel’s Midnight Suns when I saw its announcement trailer in 2021. Sure, I love card games and I’ve seen all the Avengers movies, but the game drew me in from the first trailer with a death grip harder than other announcements that year. Midnight Suns didn’t disappoint either, taking me on a wild journey with Marvel heroes I loved by the end. Between cohesive, larger-than-life battles and surprisingly touching off-the-field scenes, my mind was blown. 

At the beginning of the game, players take control of Dr. Strange, aka Dr. Spooky, and Iron Man through a tutorial battle as the threat of Lilith ending the world is introduced. The two Avengers meet the Midnight Suns, a ragtag group of younger heroes including Nico and Magik. Together, they raise the Hunter from the dead to stop Lilith, who happens to be the Hunter's mother. The player then controls the Hunter for the rest of the game with the exception of battle, where the player directs every character on the field. Through the game, the Hunter meets and befriends a plethora of characters in the Marvel multiverse while battling Hydra and Lilith’s goons in a card-type battling system. 

Card battles have never felt better

The battle system consists of three friendly characters and an assortment of enemies on a 3D field. Each friendly character has a deck of cards associated with them that can be edited as new cards are unlocked and upgraded through the game. Those cards hold the key to combat-they'll either deal damage, support teammates, or set up for bigger combinations later on. There are a few different energy resources that can be spent, such as card plays and hero points. Even redrawing cards has its benefits later in the game. The environment has resources as well, such as crates that can be used to hit enemies or even knock them off ledges. 

While battling things out with cards may not be the action everyone's seeking, it works surprisingly well. Each action is accompanied by a short cinematic, and the sharpness of it all itches a scratch the same way ASMR videos do. Stronger moves have bigger animations, making certain moves feel incredibly large; Ghost Rider’s Hell Ride is the perfect example of this as the Hell Charger is summoned to the scene and the game uses the contrast between colors, lights, and animation speeds to make the move feel like it's on another level. As players upgrade cards, the resources in each fight seem to expand and become more impactful despite being the exact same as in the beginning. This all comes to a head in the last Story Mission, ending the game with a sense of size and depth with both enemies and the team that matches the importance of saving the world. 

Midnight Suns expertly weaves in quips between characters that highlight the personality of each person, at times showing off witty one-liners and at others offering support through hard times. The characters each feel like they grow as the Hunter gets to know them, both in strength and character progression, while feeling organic. They also grow on the player. In the beginning, I chose my favorite Marvel names to befriend and learn about; by the end, I had a new respect for every member of the team. The characters made the game feel whole in a way that the battles alone couldn’t do. 

The team's growth on and off the field

The growth of the team and their relationship together is mimicked in battle as well. There are moments when chaining different characters’ cards speeds things up exponentially, especially in some of the Story Missions. The characters also felt as unique as their personalities, each of them adding a new style of play once unlocked. In order to get closer to the rest of the group, players are able to Hangout with them or attend club meetings with a few at a time. This progresses their relationship, which also unlocks cosmetic items and, occasionally, better cards for that character's deck. 

These hangouts were intriguing, and I looked forward to them after each battle. Getting to dig into Marvel characters and see how they view and are impacted by the events of the game was something I didn't expect to enjoy as much as I did. The writing is never repetitive or bland either as each character has plenty of valuable conversation waiting to be had. While wandering the Abbey, players also get the chance to talk to a few teammates at a time, all of whom speak more about the events going on, and even a social media forum exists for players to learn more about the characters. All of these things breathe life into a game that could've easily been missing something if the characters weren't as wonderful and personable as they are. 

The varying types of cards each character has make battles feel unique the majority of the time. Story Missions generally have one or two characters that are required to bring in the three-party team. This allows players to round out the team with their favorite characters while being forced to change things up every now and then. This system doesn’t allow characters to fall behind, either. The weakest characters are boosted even when they’re not being played, so players never enter a battle with an under-leveled trio. 

Just a few setbacks

While the characters and battle mechanics feel perfect, Midnight Suns isn’t without its flaws. I ran into several crashes while coming out of missions, and anything surrounding Limbo lagged significantly. However, those are small prices to pay when the autosaves are frequent enough to not worry about crashes and the rest of the gameplay is as immaculate as it is. Plus, I played the game on the bare minimum hardware specs, which could have been significant.

While the battling system felt great for me, it could come across as too easy for players that want a challenge. Upgrading cards is a feature of the game, but there's not much incentive to put thought behind what's being upgraded. Realistically, I auto-upgraded whatever I happened to have materials for if it was a card I had in my deck (which I spent very little time editing). I wasn't forced to really stop and think about what I was doing, especially when it came to characters that I rarely took to fight. The game does have eight difficulty levels, which may bring a challenge for those who want it. 

There are also a few small things that can be frustrating, such as having to angle the camera perfectly in order to talk to someone. Again, this is easy to overlook because of how interesting conversations are. 

Final Thoughts

Overall, Marvel’s Midnight Suns is an impressive, engaging story that mixes rewarding gameplay with lovable characters. There are a few flaws depending on the system you’re playing on, but they’re nowhere near enough to bring the enjoyment of the game down. Plus, the New Game+ Mode makes it easy to come back to the game again and again.

TechRaptor reviewed Marvel's Midnight Suns on PC with a copy provided by the publisher. The game is also available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.