Marvel’s Midnight Suns review – It’s a kind of Magik

Who would have thought that in 2022, there would be not one but two great Marvel games in which players could wield a deck of cards to unleash the power of Earth’s mightiest mortals? While Marvel Snap hogged headlines with its deft mix of compact decks and sensational gameplay on mobile, XCOM developer Firaxis played its hand in December with Marvel’s Midnight Suns, a supernatural shuffle of mystic mayhem and surprisingly tender storytelling, playable on all consoles and PC.

A surprisingly deep turn-based tactical combat card system is enhanced by a roster of characters who all feel unique and bring their signature flavor to every battlefield. And while the banter might get frequently annoying thanks to rampant Jossification, there’s still a fun story to be told here that uses Marvel’s most bankable faces. Evil is, of course, on the loose, as ancient adversary Lilith is running around New York, corrupting friends and foes alike.

Enter the Hunter, or you, a custom character who stopped Lilith centuries ago and has been resurrected to take down their mother once again. With heroes such as Blade, Dr Strange, Iron Man, Captain Marvel, and plenty more, it’s a race against time to halt Lilith’s plot before it’s too late and save the day. Pretty standard stuff for a Marvel universe adventure, but one that feels different to any other game in the House of Ideas library thanks to that mystic theme that’s woven into every pixel of this grand odyssey. It’s a side of the Marvel Universe that has barely been touched on in films and games, but with Firaxis shining a light into this dark corner and taking plenty of inspiration from the 90s run of comics set here, the end result is magical.

The other big component working in Midnight Suns’ favour is that it’s definitely a Firaxis game. While the XCOM developer isn’t resting on its laurels and hitting the copy-paste buttons for the strategic action that it throws you headfirst into, there is an unmistakable flavour here that only this studio is capable of producing. Translation: that sensation of making every move count, fine-tuning your arsenal of cards before you head out into the field, and thinking several turns ahead before you unleash some blockbuster damage on Hydra goons or corrupted supervillains.

With each team consisting of three characters and eight cards per hero, the strategic possibilities open up when you start experimenting with the cast. Feel like going all in on damage-dealing tanks? You can throw the likes of Wolverine, Blade, and Captain Marvel into a mission and watch them tear through cannon fodder troops. Or, if you’re dealing with a particularly tricky foe, a combination of Ghost Rider’s self-harm retribution, Dr Strange’s cunning spells, and Magik’s portals can help you run magical circles around the opposition.

Even with a limited number of cards per hero, there’s a wealth of opportunity in each battle if you apply your mind, and you’ll seldom find yourself going through the motions as the hours tick by. Firaxis has cleverly added some small but substantial tweaks to its tactical-RPG formulas, resulting in each scenario always having a healthy number of options for you to act on. Each hero has a combination of action and movement skills to draw from, losing one hero won’t spell the end of a run–although the battle will be more challenging until you revive them!–and you’ll soon learn how useful it is to redirect enemy attacks while keeping your more fragile glass cannons in play.

Midnight Suns takes all of these ideas and manages to create an experience that’s consistently challenging but never unfair. There’s a certain thrill to knocking out trash mob soldiers who pour into a fight every round like disposable stormtroopers, storing your heroic momentum as you smash through them, and then unleashing that power on more challenging villains. Building up Heroism Points and watching a thrilling ultimate attack unfold is a treat for the eyes, and seeing a well-executed plan come together never gets old.

There are some quirks that can be annoying with this system, though, such as the random nature of positioning that you’ll encounter after burning through a card. And, for a game where placement is incredibly crucial, that randomness is difficult to properly take measure of.  The opening hours can also be a bit of a drag, but once you’ve really sunk some time into the nuances of how the game plays – after it drops a proverbial sack of exposition and system mechanics bricks on your head – don’t be surprised to lose dozens of hours of your time as the game finds its footing.

Combat and card-dealing is only half of the Midnight Suns experience, and when you’re not introducing Hydra goons to asphalt, you’re spending time in the Abbey, the headquarters for your motley gang. Similar to Fire Emblem, the Abbey is a location where you can relax, unwind, and dig deeper into the lore of the Marvel Universe while also making upgrades and strengthening your relationships. It’s standard RPG stuff, as spending time with each character will in turn make them stronger for the battles that lie ahead. Plus, a few mysteries inside of the Abbey grounds makes for some great exploration and satisfying pay-offs that I won’t spoil here.

While the Midnight Suns are a great cast at their core, the same can’t be said for how their personalities are expressed when you interact with them. Make no mistake, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe being the ludicrously profitable pop culture empire that it is, this is a game that takes plenty of cues from those silver screen superheroes and injects them into its roster. Tony Stark is a blabbering smartass, Dr Strange is mystically verbose, and the younger heroes unload a regular supply of cringeworthy dialogue as they fawn over you and your legendary status. It’s not the worst banter you’ll ever encounter, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself skipping through dialogue options when the stream of text becomes a bit much.

Add a complete lack of romance options to the table as well, and it’s kind of sad that there’s no option whatsoever to hook up with any of these heroes who regularly tease you with lines about how they’d like to be more than just friends. Maybe if I journey down to Limbo and bring back the freshly severed head of Belasco to Magik, I’ll have a shot with my favorite mutant.

Small gripes aside, Midnight Suns is exactly what the Marvel video game universe needs right now. It’s a fresh and different idea that feels innovative with its turn-based combat once you invest a solid number of hours into understanding the intricacies of its systems. Its cast might spout goofy one-liners incessantly, but they’re still a great gang to hang out with and the entire adventure is an entertaining spectacle that’s longer than the entire MCU Infinity saga. Friendships are rewarding on and off the battlefield, the ending wonderfully capitalizes on these relationship goals, and there’s no shortage of memorable moments in this mighty Marvel adventure.