Marvel's Midnight Suns is a brand new tactical RPG from X-COM studio Firaxis games. We'll be setting off on an adventure that - as always - is about saving the world as we know it. Firaxis Games' Midnight Suns gameplay footage has finally been revealed and wasn't quite what we expected, but not in a bad way.
UPDATE - Surprising mechanic unveiled during Gameplay trailer
Marvel's Midnight Suns were always advertised as a tactical RPG but it's got a little something extra to it. As opposed to being a straight-up tactics game, it will actually have card mechanics.
These cards appear to dictate the actions any given character can carry out. While this certainly isn't a negative, it's not a mechanic often used by AAA titles. We can't wait to dive deeper into the mechanics and see how everything works in more detail.
First Gameplay Screenshots Emerge
You'll be pleased to know that it looks like Marvel's Midnight Suns will look incredible - graphically speaking, anyway. We're still a few hours away from the Gameplay Reveal stream from Firaxis Games, but we're starting to see a few screenshots emerge online from retailers with exclusive access.
As you can see below, Robbie Reyes is a little hot-headed...
Jake Solomon, the Creative Director from Firaxis Games, also sat down with IGN during Gamescom 2021 to discuss some basic aspects of how Midnight Suns are going to work. We don't know how similar the actual gameplay is going to be to XCOM titles, but we'll find out soon.
The Hunter, who will be a focal point for the narrative of Marvel's Midnight Suns, is going to be customisable in both appearance and gameplay. This is something XCOM players might be more familiar with, but combining this with the set "movesets" of pre-established heroes should open up exciting new avenues of combat we haven't seen in Marvel games before.
REVEAL - Hours away from gameplay footage
Marvel's Midnight Suns is being developed by Firaxis Games and 2K - while also being described as a tactical RPG. This all leads us to believe that it's going to play very much like an XCOM game. Is this a bad thing? Well...
The lacklustre performance of Marvel's Avengers - from Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics - has clearly proven that not every genre of game is suited to adapting Marvel's roster of heroes. That being said, you do expect free movement and action-packed gameplay from a superhero title.
Insomniac's Spider-Man games and the Arkham Series - if you're into Batman - are some of the best superhero games out there. They both feature free movement and action-packed hand-to-hand combat. Can Firaxis Games and 2K Games really match their intensity with methodical strategy?
Part of XCOM's charm, too, is the expendable nature of your units. We can't imagine Marvel's Midnight Suns is going to start killing off Captain America and Wolverine, right?
When is the Midnight Suns gameplay reveal?
Marvel's Midnight Suns is getting a gameplay reveal from Firaxis games at the following times:
- 03:30 September 1st - PST
- 06:30 September 1st - EST
- 11:30 September 1st - BST
There's a useful countdown timer on the Midnight Suns website with the following statement:
Marvel's Midnight Suns is a new tactical RPG set in the darker side of the Marvel Universe, putting you face-to-face against demonic forces of the underworld as you team up with and live among the Midnight Suns, Earth's last line of defense.
This leads us to believe Midnight Suns is going to feature XCOM-like turn-based gameplay. However, only time will tell... It would be an interesting take on the action-packed heroics you expect from a Marvel game - however... If done right, it might sit better than Marvel's Avengers has done with a lot of people.
When does Midnight Suns actually come out?
Marvel's Midnight Suns is due to release in March 2022. We don't have anything more specific than that at the moment and we can't imagine that we will find out anything more about the release date during next week's Midnight Suns gameplay reveal.
The Cinematic Trailer - that was revealed at Opening Night Live - is exciting, though. Check it out below:
Ghost Rider, Wolverine, Blade, Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Captian America... There's a lot of big names in Marvel's Midnight Suns. There are reports that you can personalise the protagonist, though - the daughter of Lilith, Mother of Demons - which is exciting.