At a time when the movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe arouse less and less enthusiasm, a video game has arrived that offers a kind of arcadian for anyone who has been lost between the pages of a comic. Midnight Sunslaunched last December without making too much noise, allows us to control spider-man, Captain Marvel, Wolverine either Blade not only in the combat arena but also when the fight is over and they all sleep under the same roof. It’s a ‘What if…’, but more of a ‘What if… The Avengers and the X-Men lived together and had to ally with the Midnight Suns, a group with supernatural powers.’ A bit long for a comic book cover, perhaps.
The main character of this adventure is Huntera new addition to the universe Marvel Who can we choose to be a man or a woman? In the promotional materials she appears as a woman, and it seems to us that it adds more value to the story that she is so. Hunter, a demon hunter and in a sort of suspended state for 300 years, is resurrected in a place called The Abbey to combat a powerful threat: Lilithhis own mother.
The Hunter character has been created specifically for the game 2K GAMES
Midnight Suns breathe respect for Marvel into every pixel. Some of the most powerful heroes in her history will take refuge in The Abbey, who will have to ally to fight Lilith and the forces of Hydra, who have brought her back. Hombre de Hierro, doctor strangeoy Captain Marvel They lead the few superheroes who can stand up to the threat, and they must enlist the help of the Midnight Suns, a magically-powered group that has often been left on the sidelines.
The Midnight Suns: Blade, Robbie Reyes (Ghost Rider), Nico Minoru and Magik 2K GAMES
The game mechanics is based on a curious scheme ‘morning-afternoon-night’ That gives you variety. In the morning the skills are improved in La Abadía of the heroes with the objects that have been obtained in the previous mission. In the afternoon they fight on a new mission and at night Hunter will socialize with the rest of the heroeswith activities that go from having a drink together to watching a movie. If the friendship with any character increases, this will be reflected in new combo abilities for both characters. The answers we give in conversations will make Hunter leans more towards the light or towards the darkand the techniques we use in combat will also have the same effect.
Although this cyclical mechanism may seem repetitive (and in a way it is), the truth is that in Midnight Suns there are hundreds of things to do and everything will influence the game. From helping other characters in personal matters to training our skills, collecting ingredients around The Abbey or chatting in a book club.
Use your cards well (and two or three streetlights)
At the time of action, the creators of Midnight Suns, Firaxis Gameshave transferred the formula of turn-based tactical combat from their saga XCOM to the world of superheroes, improving the formula by giving it greater flexibility. We will have to complete missions, some secondary and others that will advance the story, choosing a group of three heroes and fighting enemies in a static stage. The first turn will be for us and we will have to play three cards that can be attack, technique and hero. Attack cards will generate Heroism, a value that will be consumed when using Hero cards. At the end of our turn, the enemy will attack us and reinforcements will arrive to replace the casualties. We can also draw two cards per turn in case our hand doesn’t convince us.
In addition to playing our cards, we can use the environment to defeat enemies 2K GAMES
The great success of Midnight Suns is that combat is not limited to just playing cards wellwhich might put off those who don’t enjoy strategy card games, and it makes good use of the environment. We have one movement per turn, with which we can push one enemy against another or make them hit an element on the stage. What has improved compared to games of XCOM is that our movement is not limited to a number of squares because these do not exist. We can move to any part of the stage, but only the times that it is allowed.
Using the environment against enemies will be essential to win 2K GAMES
We can also spend heroism points in using those elements against our rivals. For example, make a lamppost fall on them or throw a rock that is on the ground at them. This means that matches require planning and are never boring in a game that need more than 60 hours to complete it. In addition, they are gaining in complexity as our heroes improve their skills.
A Marvel museum on your screen that exudes style
Another point where Midnight Suns wins over Marvel fans is in the hundreds of customization options that we have for our heroes and in the rewards that we get After each mission we will earn some Shine points that we can spend on aesthetic improvements, new clothing and combat suits and furniture for our room in La Abadía. We’ll also win a comic cover that will summarize the mission, like this one:
At the end of each mission we will obtain a comic cover with the characters involved 2K GAMES
The covers and photos we take we can turn them into paintings that hang on the walls of our room or that they are in a frame on the nightstand. In addition, we have the ability to edit those images changing the characters, adding phrases or applying filters. A toy for the frustrated comic artist in us.
The centenary of Stan Lee, the man who humanized superheroes
From the first minutes we we will feel that we are part of that family of superheroes and the game feels like a interactive comic. The animations in the combats each time we play a card are spectacular, and they are even more so when we play a card in which two of our characters are involved.
CONCLUSION
Midnight Suns is placed at the top of the ranking of the best amazing superhero games from a genre far from button-mashing action. Firaxis Games has transferred the spirit of the comics and the brilliance of those characters to a deep story, which offers continuous rewards to the player and in which we do not stop making our characters grow. A balance that becomes many hours of enjoyment for a single player title, without online games and without annoying micropayments. It’s you against the greatest threat in history.