Marvel’s Midnight Suns is an exciting new game and a fresh change of pace for the superhero genre. Instead of a beat-’em-up action game, Midnight Suns mixes elements from tactics games, card games, and RPGs. One of the best parts of the game is its roster of playable heroes.
Midnight Suns currently features 11 playable heroes. 10 are established Marvel superheroes, and one is a customizable hero that the player uses as a stand-in. Not all heroes are equally powerful or useful. The best of them are the ones that are useful in more situations and make big contributions to combat.
10/10 Iron Man Is Here For Some Reason
Fans of the Midnight Suns were probably ecstatic to see that a game starring the team was coming out. However, when the roster was revealed, there were a few head-scratchers. With popular characters like Moon Knight absent from the list, it is weird that Iron Man is in the game at all.
Tony also just isn’t the most exciting character to play as. His abilities aren’t all that flashy, and there are definitely better options for the roster. It feels like he was stuck into the game to add more popular characters to a game that might have been a hard sell otherwise.
9/10 Scarlet Witch Joins The Party Too Late
Players won’t unlock the ability to use Scarlet Witch until later in the game. By the time they do, she will be so far behind on levels and upgrades that catching her up almost feels like a waste of resources.
Apart from her late entry to the team, Wanda isn’t as malleable as other heroes. She only works well in certain groups, meaning she can’t be as easily mixed and matched as other characters. This gives players even less incentive to level her up when they can stick with the heroes they’ve already learned to use.
8/10 Doctor Strange Has Cool Abilities But At A High Cost
Doctor Strange has a lot of cool abilities that revolve around the game’s heroism mechanic. Unfortunately, heroism is also the currency players will use to use environmental attacks or play more powerful cards. This means it’s hard to both have enough heroism to fuel Strange’s abilities and utilize other heroes to their full potential.
If players are willing to build a team with the intent of using Strange, he can be powerful and fun to play with. However, one of the best parts of Midnight Sunsis the ability to mix up teams at will, so the best heroes are the more versatile ones.
7/10 The Hunter Doesn’t Have A Strong Identity
The Hunter represents a first for Marvel games. No other game has ever allowed players to customize their own character and interact with some of Marvel’s greatest heroes. This is a very exciting aspect of Midnight Suns‘ gameplay, but it might, unfortunately, be the most exciting part about The Hunter.
The Hunter uses two swords and very generic-looking magic. While they might not feel out of place in a generic fantasy game, they don’t have the same strong identity as other Marvel heroes. That being said, it is still exciting to play as a self-insert character and hang out with the rest of the team.
6/10 Captain Marvel Is Straight-Forward And Strong
Captain Marvel feels appropriately powerful for how strong she is in the comics. Carol can take a lot of hits, and when she goes Binary Mode, she gets even more powerful. She might not be the most exciting hero on the field, but she is still good on offense and defense.
Captain Marvel is also probably one of the easiest characters to use. Her abilities don’t require much thought; point them where damage needs to be dealt. Carol does lose some points for being another Avenger taking roster spots away from actual Midnight Suns.
5/10 Ghost Rider Is Strong But Squishy
Ghost Rider is what’s known as a glass canon. He hits hard, but he goes down easy. This is only accelerated by the fact that some of his attacks also damage him. However, Ghost Rider’s abilities make him worth the risk.
If players are up for the challenge of keeping Ghost Rider alive, he will be able to contribute to fights in a big way. Ghost Rider’s Hell Ride attack can take out a field of enemies at once, and he can also summon portals that allow players to knock opponents into Hell, killing them instantly.
4/10 Spider-Man Is Always A Welcome Addition
Everybody loves Spider-Man. As much as he feels completely out of place in a game about The Midnight Sons, most fans probably won’t complain that he’s here. Interacting with him in The Abbey is fun, and he has classic awkward Peter Parker energy.
Spider-Man is a great hero to add to the mission team if players are looking to be more mobile. He makes environmental effects easier and can even grant additional movement. He can also web up enemies, which can be great for crowd-controlling more powerful foes.
3/10 Blade Makes The Enemy Bleed
True to his half-vampire nature, many of Blade’s abilities revolve around blood. Blade can inflict stacks of bleed on enemies that will cause them to lose damage over time. This makes him a great choice for going up against fallen supervillains.
Blade also has attacks that will deal massive damage, like Stake and Reaper. He’s not necessarily a team player, but that’s not a big drawback if he’s paired with the right support heroes to heal him and the other heroes.
2/10 Wolverine Can Keep The Team Safe
Wolverine’s healing factor plays a big role in his combat style. He has several cards that allow him to give his attacks life steal, so he’s continuously healing and dealing damage. This makes him a great tank for the team.
Coupling Wolverine’s life steal with his taunt abilities can keep heroes with less health safe by soaking up a lot of damage. This also makes playing with Wolverine feel like a very authentic experience of his powers from the comics.
1/10 Magik Is Fun On And Off The Battlefield
Magik is one of the most useful characters on the battlefield. Her ability to move the enemy around makes it easier to set up environmental effects or unleash massive area-of-effect attacks. A well-timed Gather attack can also take out many smaller enemies, preventing the player from taking too many attacks the following turn.
Back at The Abbey, Magik is one of the more interesting characters to interact with. She isn’t as popular or well-known a character as Spider-Man, so fans will enjoy learning more about her backstory.