MultiVersus Preview - That's Not All Folks (2024)

To say I have a complicated relationship with MultiVersus would be the understatement of the century. As a big platform fighter fan and an unashamed enjoyer of IP soup, I was on board from the moment I saw Shaggy sucker punch Bugs Bunny in the face while Batman and Arya Stark looked on with the same bewilderment we all shared.

That love only grew when MultiVersus launched its open beta in 2022. I poured nearly a hundred hours into it across its excellent first season and played it nearly every day during its peak. I fell so head over heels, in fact, that MultiVersus ended up being my Game of the Year. It had its flaws and was clearly incomplete but I truly believed that, given enough time, it could end up being the platform fighter that finally stands toe-to-toe with Smash Bros.

And then, disaster struck. After a painfully slow Season 2 that only added Marvin the Martian alongside a new map, MultiVersus was taken offline for a whole year despite having sold skins and founder’s packs for up to $99. As much as I wanted the best for MultiVersus and knew a break was needed considering how clogged the content pipeline was, it was a move that was, and still is, hard to defend. For most of 2023, I felt burned and unsure whether I’d even let myself get excited and give it another go.

All of that context is important to know where I stood with MultiVersus before its second go at Season 1. After being sure for so long that I’d approach the relaunch with scepticism and as critically as possible, a few hours with the new and improved MultiVersus has dragged me right back to where I was in 2022. With noticeable improvements in nearly every regard and some exciting new characters, I’m running into its arms with hearts in my eyes like Harley Quinn to the Joker. We are so back, MultiVersus gang.

A Weird But Exciting New Roster

What better place to start when talking about MultiVersus than its roster? The Season 1 relaunch includes three new fighters, the Joker, Jason from Friday the 13th, and, controversially, Banana Guard from Adventure Time. It’s a slimmer number of new characters than I was expecting after a year away, and two of them are certainly surprising, but playing as them was enough for me to smell what Player First Games was stepping in.

Out of the three, Joker is easily my favourite because of how tricky and unique his moveset is. Every move he has draws out a unique weapon, from his crowbar as a launching attack to chattering teeth as his guard break. His best move, though, is his recovery, which lets him blow up balloons to float around which you can ride for a powerful follow-up attack. Anyone who likes complicated characters like Bugs and Morty is going to have a new main.

Then there’s Jason Voorhees, who seems to have got a lot of players excited about MultiVersus again. After playing him, I can see why, as he’s an absolute unit with a wide range of powerful attacks that can easily send fighters flying out of the ring. Even though he doesn’t have a voice, Player First Games has given him a lot of personality and shows a rich passion for the series with every one of his moves, such as one that has him using a sleeping bag to cover his opponents and slam them around. He also has a powerful teleport move that includes the infamous “ch ch ha ha” noise, so that’s cute.

Even though I didn’t get angry about Banana Guard like the rest of the internet, he still stands out as the weakest of the Season 1 fighters. He’s got plenty of personality and I love the character in Adventure Time, but his abilities just aren’t that interesting. His spear moves are powerful and have a lot of reach but, aside from his down special making him cry to hit opponents on either side of him, he’s not that unique.

Dash’s All Folks

Although the new characters are the highlight of MultiVersus’ relaunch, a ton of changes have been made to the gameplay. The most noticeable are the new moves that characters have, with each fighter getting a parry that lets them knock away attacks and a dash attack that, just like in Smash, propels a fighter forward with a powerful strike.

Parries take a little bit of time to get used to, but once you’re up to speed, they’re a great addition to the core mechanics, especially since most characters don’t have a way to block. Dash attacks are even better and feel like a natural fit for the game that I almost can’t believe they haven’t been there all along, as they naturally speed up MultiVersus' gameplay and give players another trick to pull out their bag without relying on specials.

While the dash attacks and parries are an instant win for me and something that MultiVersus desperately needed, I’m less sold on the new camera and character sizes. While it does let you see more of the action in 1v1 matches, it does end up looking a little goofy in some cases, especially when Steven Universe looks beefier than most of the roster.

Something Outside Of Multiplayer At Last

The final piece of the new MultiVersus puzzle is its new single-player PvE mode called Rifts, which will be instantly familiar to anyone that played Mortal Kombat 1’s Invasions mode. Don’t worry, though, as it’s a lot less convoluted and fast-paced than that.

In Rifts, you jump into a unique scenario focused around one character or theme (such as The Joker) and then fight your way through a series of battles. Some of them have unique modifiers attached, like having turkey hands that transform enemies if you hit them enough, and there are even some events that have unique scenarios, like a break-the-target stage or a shooting gallery.

Even though it’s basically just an arcade mode like we’ve seen in platform fighters for some time, I enjoyed Rifts and think it’s an essential addition that finally gives players something to do in MultiVersus that isn’t online matches. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it does add something that was sorely missing from the original release. And yes, it does let you grind out your character levels.

In an industry that’s as fast-paced and unforgiving as ours, second chances don’t come often, especially not for live-service games, but I think MultiVersus might be the one to break that trend. It’ll be up to Player First Games and Warner Bros. to keep the momentum up, release enough new content to keep players engaged, and not fizzle out like it did the first time around. Despite the game’s previous stumbles, I have high hopes for the return of my favourite platform fighter.