MultiVersus Critic Reviews

Even when stripping away the glossy licenses and arenas, Multiversus remains an excellent fighter that feels like a great barometer of how to do free-to-play right. That low barrier to entry makes it a great way to spend an evening with friends, and with more characters to come, it could grow into a true “Smash killer” over time.

MultiVersus from Player First Games is a good fighting game. It does a good job of competing against the likes of Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. series. While it may not yet have the longevity of Nintendo’s golden child, MultiVersus’ characters, maps, and welcoming atmosphere are enough to convince any future wannabe fighter to give it a try.

Even in open beta, MultiVersus is a worthy competitor to Super Smash Bros. While it may not be able to quite match the scope and production values of Nintendo’s flagship platform fighter, its gameplay goes toe-to-toe with its incredibly established rival – and its excellent netcode completely outshines it. The most exciting thing is that this release is guaranteed to grow over time, and with the Warner Bros vaults practically bursting with iconic IP, this is one live service that looks to have a lot of life in it.

MultiVersus, currently in Beta but already available, enters the ring with a gameplay accessible to all, a bit technical and immediately fun. It provides the show with its five-star cast and colorful artistic direction. The number of characters is still low and the clashes are sometimes rough, yet this does not prevent the title of Player First Games from doing well. The Free to Play economic model could well put off some fighting game aficionados while by being a ready-made gateway for neophytes wishing to discover the genre.

While it’s clear that some things need work on MultiVersus, it’s encouraging to see that the things that truly matter – the unlocking of characters and the core gameplay systems – are the things that have received the most attention. These are easily the two strongest tenets of MultiVersus’ offerings thus far. With time, I can only hope that the lack of variety in levels, lacklustre music, and slower cosmetic offerings can be remedied.

"Surreal" is actually a perfect word to describe MultiVersus, a game that brings together iconic characters and makes them fight. These characters are as authentic as they come, feeling as if they've been ripped straight from their source material thanks to excellent voice work. The team-based mechanics are truly beyond anything else offered in a platform fighter, while the classic 1v1 format also impresses. The roster offers plenty of variety, though unlocking all of the characters without having to dip into the real-world wallet will definitely be a chore. We don't know how much of its power MultiVersus has tapped into yet--the open beta will soon give way to Season 1--but as it stands now the game has smashed any and all expectations. Even if MultiVersus doesn't unseat the king, it is more than ready to rule its own little corner of the kingdom.

With a strong initial roster, great visual presence and focus on cooperative combat, MultiVersus carves out a distinct spot for itself in the platform brawler genre.

The current free and paid mini Battle Passes and daily quests kept me busy throughout my time with MultiVersus. While I enjoyed unlocking content, the need to grind out repetitive bot matches to hit some numbers in a reasonable amount of time can be a slog. Completed seasonal goals annoyingly didn’t clear out for me so I had to dig into the menus and turn past a page of grayed-out items to check my progress constantly. Living games have the potential to go in frustrating directions, but MultiVersus has a strong foundation. If it can meaningfully roll out content and smooth out its rough edges, this could become a new crossover obsession for years to come.

Even with the balancing issues and a clear rough start to its first season, MultiVersus’ incredibly solid and unique core mechanics, along with its clear love and respect for every character and series that it represents, let it stand close to the top of the genre. It still needs some fine-tuning, but I’m confident that in a year’s time, MultiVersus will be standing strong next to Smash.

Full of love for the characters, and crunchy to play, you owe it to yourself to give this a go – though the monetisation methods are off-putting.

MultiVersus is a solid Smash Bros. clone that's definitely promising, especially with its distinctly-playing characters and flexible gameplay. It may currently be slightly underwhelming in some regards but I'm looking forward to seeing how this project evolves over time.