Marvel Rivals released an action-packed new trailer at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024 where they revealed a bunch of new information. The Stars Aligned trailer revealed two new characters, the heroic Captain America and the infamous Winter Solider, a new map, teasers for upcoming characters, confirmation around one of the game’s most concerning monetisation pain points, and an official release date set for later this year.
Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, was the first new character and he’s a new Duelist – the Damage class in Rivals – with an interesting mix of close and long-ranged options. His normal attack is a handgun which he uses to pepper enemies from a distance with precision strikes but the real magic comes from his mechanical arm, which he can use to drag enemies towards himself or launch them into the air with a Spider-Man-esque uppercut. Bucky’s Ultimate is a massive leaping strike which gets completely refunded if you manage to kill an opponent with it. The Winter Solider appears to be a more balanced version of assassin characters like Spider-Man or Magick, especially with his added range.
The Winter Soldier From On High
Captain America is the second new character and he’s going to be a new Vanguard, the Tank class of Marvel Rivals. Cap has a lot baked into his kit, with the ability to throw out his shield to deal damage to ranged targets, increase his own speed and shields, and buff allies with his Ultimate. He can also deflect projectiles with his shield, including Ultimate attacks like Iron Man’s Pulse or Groot’s Ultimate, leading to some crazy hero-moment potential. Compared to Heroes currently in the game, Captain America seems to be a more mobile mixture of Thor and Venom, especially because he can dive down into the battlefield from the air like the Lethal Protector.
Alongside Cap and Bucky, the trailer also showed off a new map set in the vibrant land of Wakanda, home of the Black Panther and a region flush with vibranium. Similar to the Tokyo 2099 and Asgard maps, the Wakanda map has several different areas for players to battle in depending on the game mode, including an interior lab-like environment as well as an open arena by a tall waterfall. Interestingly, the trailer also seems to tease two more characters with Moon Knight and Hive; the symbol of Khnoshu, Moon Knight’s god, appears at the end of the trailer, as does a shot of the Hydra symbol which looks strikingly like Hive.
Charging in with Captain America
Last, but certainly not least, the trailer also reveals that Marvel Rivals officially launches on December 6th 2024, with the possibility of another Beta Test between now and then, possibly an Open Beta featuring Cap and Bucky, being likely. They also confirmed that all characters will be unlocked and free-to-play at “launch and beyond”, alleviating fears around Heroes being bought or unlocked through currency.
Marvel Rivals just held its first Closed Beta test earlier this month and you can find our impressions of Marvel Rivals here on KeenGamer.
All Heroes Will Be Free to Play and Unlocked Immediately
SOURCE: Marvel Rivals Stars Aligned – Official Release Date Trailer
