Multiversus — Great Game, Terrible Name

It’s like Smash Bros but with characters owned by Warner Bros

I swear, recently has been tough. Between my work and this project, I’m not sure what I’m considering more, as this is my first write-up in a week. I suppose they’re both important in their own ways, but I’ll probably cut down a bit on the article releases per week to focus more on the project until it is done, and when it is done, I can tell everyone of my conclusions with this project, especially during its anticipation. But enough of that; everyone knows of the Super Smash Bros franchise, right? Well, this is about a game that may or may not pose a threat to its unrivalled success.

Now, this game called “Multiversus,” and the first thing that I think of is “Jesus, what a terrible name.”. I was browsing the different wikis on the internet, looking for information on whatever I was interested in at the time. I see these annoying ads, the ones you can never get rid of, showing Bugs Bunny and Batman fighting. At a first glance, I just dismissed it as an ad for the next season of Fortnite, considering all the crossovers that happen in that game. But upon further inspection, I learned that this is actually a game on its own and not anything Fortnite-related. And then I found out you can get it for free from the Epic Games Store, and that’s exactly what I did.

Turns out the game is actually quite good, much to my surprise. I mean, I didn’t think it would work because people already tried to copy the ever-so-successful format of Super Smash Bros, and all those attempts have proven to be unsuccessful. This one, however, might have some potential. But what was it like?

Batman, Bugs Bunny and Shaggy, just to name a few

The first thing that you notice about the game is that it’s a crossover of multiple franchises owned by a single megacorporation. This is awfully familiar to something Nintendo did, so it doesn’t really seem fitting that Multiversus would succeed. But Multiversus has two clear advantages over Super Smash Bros: the first is that it is available on multiple platforms and not just limited to a single console, and the second is that it is free-to-play (I’m not sure about the accuracy of either statement, but I’m almost certain that they are true). But how is it in terms of gameplay?

Upon entering the game, I noticed that there is no story mode (there was a tutorial, though), which is typical of a free-to-play game. But here, you just enter a queue for a match, and you have a few minutes to brawl it out with a bunch of random people throughout the world (with the internet!) unless you’re playing with friends, of course. There are various different game modes to choose from, and matches actually feel satisfying. It’s been forever since I played any of the Super Smash Bros. Games, so I can’t compare them, but the matches in Multiversus are really enjoyable in how chaotic they feel, with everyone just running around and punching everything because that’s how it is with the Super Smash Bros format.

So yes, the game is definitely fun, but there’s just one aspect that I can’t help but criticise: the matches are too short. Seriously, they’re shorter than my articles. Each game only lasts something like two minutes. That’s hardly enough time to do anything, especially with my slow-ass computer. Now, if the matches could be longer, that would be really awesome and I can duke it out a little longer before moving on to the next match, because that’s what Multiversus is all about. You play one game and then you play another game; nothing too complicated. I do wish the combat had a bit more intricacy to it than just unique perks and a unique set of special attacks. If the characters had super attacks, now that would be really cool… kinda like Super Smash Bros, but if it’s like Super Smash Bros. then what does Multiversus do to differentiate itself from its competitor? I don’t know, because that task is not up to me; it’s up to Warner Bros. and how they fancy their game. I’ll probably still play it though… for now.

Who’s your favourite WB character?

The game has quite a roster of familiar characters to choose from, and it’s only growing. Did you already establish who your favourite character is? Is there anyone else you’re expecting to hit the roster? You know what this section is for, so get to it, and that is for you to give your say on the matter. Until then, I’ll be playing as Ultra Instinct Shaggy (seriously, they incorporated a meme into the game).

In Conclusion…

Multiversus is surprisingly a good game, but I already said that. There isn’t much to say about it besides the fact that it’s basically Super Smash Bros. with Warner Bros characters. Maybe the game should’ve been called “Super Warner Bros”, but that’s a bit on the nose, so I can’t imagine they would’ve gone with it.

In any case, the game is probably good for a month before you’ll supposedly get bored with it and move on to the next craze. That’s pretty much how I see the game going unless it becomes even more popular than Super Smash Bros, but that’s probably not going to happen.

At least Multiversus has Ultra Instinct Shaggy in it, so does that mean that Shaggy’s power level is canon?