MultiVersus is an electric mash-up of platform fighter, corporate IP crossover and character customization, somehow blended into a smooth final product. It aims to appeal to fighting game enthusiasts and people like me who struggled to get into fighters that didn’t have the word “Smash” in their titles. MultiVersus brings together characters from across Warner Bros. properties like DC Comics, Game of Thrones, Looney Tunes and some original characters.
The game brings a mix of new and familiar elements to the genre, but at its core, it fits the developer’s “easy to pick up, difficult to master” ambitions. Whether you’re an experienced fighter looking for a new challenge or you just want Rick and Morty to battle Arya Stark and Velma, MultiVersus is worth checking out.
The cross-platform game is free to play, and available on most major platforms: PS4 and PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X and on PC through Steam or the Epic Games Store. You can also get a Founder’s Pack (in Standard, Deluxe or Premium editions) for $40 to $100 if you want immediate character unlocks, in-game currency and cosmetics.
Here’s everything you need to know to get started.
Gameplay: A 2v2 frenzy with perks
The core gameplay of MultiVersus is two teams of two players facing off. The first team to get four total knockouts wins the round. That could mean knocking out both opponents twice, or it could mean absolutely bullying one of your opponents until you’ve knocked them out four times. After the fourth KO within a team, you’ll move to a results screen where you’re asked if you want to go again. If everyone agrees, you’ll play a best-of-three with the same partner and opponents, but if anyone declines, you’ll head back to the main menu. You can also play free-for-all matches for more chaos or 1v1s for more traditional fighting game showdowns.
Rounds in MultiVersus follow a frenetic pace, and if you’re not quick to react, skilled opponents can quickly combo you off the map. Each character falls into one of five classes, which determine their style of fighting: assassin, bruiser, mage, support and tank. You can try strategic combinations of classes or just one-trick your favorite character. Live your best life.
MultiVersus also features a mechanic called perks, allowing you to customize your character’s gameplay. Perks fit into three categories — offense, defense and utility — and they modify your character’s game mechanics. Each character has three signature perks they can unlock by playing games with that character. Signature perks change that character’s moves, like adding a knockback effect to Wonder Woman’s lasso. Standard perks have effects like reducing cooldown times, adding a shield upon respawn or giving players a third jump.
WB Games/Screenshot by Adam Benjamin/CNET
MultiVersus characters: An ever-growing roster
After the release of Morty on Tuesday, Aug. 23, MultiVersus features 18 playable characters, with three more characters announced, and many more likely waiting in the wings. Here’s who’s in the game so far:
- Morty (Rick and Morty) — Bruiser
- Lebron (Space Jam) — Bruiser
- The Iron Giant (The Iron Giant) — Tank
- Taz (Looney Tunes) — Bruiser
- Velma (Scooby-Doo) — Support
- Arya Stark (Game of Thrones) — Assassin
- Batman (DC Comics) — Bruiser
- Bugs Bunny (Looney Tunes) — Mage/Ranged
- Finn the Human (Adventure Time) — Assassin
- Garnet (Steven Universe) — Bruiser
- Harley Quinn (DC Comics) — Assassin
- Jake the Dog (Adventure Time) — Bruiser
- Reindog (original character) — support
- Shaggy (Scooby-Doo) — Bruiser
- Steven Universe (Steven Universe) — Support
- Superman (DC Comics) — Tank
- Tom and Jerry (Looney Tunes) — Mage/Ranged
- Wonder Woman (DC Comics) — Tank
And here are the characters who have been announced as future additions:
- Rick (Rick and Morty) — Mage/Ranged
- Stripe (Gremlins) — Unknown
- Black Adam (DC Comics) — Unknown
The internet is full of speculation about which other characters from Warner Bros. properties (including more superheroes, kaiju, and some very famous wizards) might show up, but the characters listed here are the only confirmed playable characters.
Wonder Woman is unlocked through the tutorial, and a rotating selection of fighters are made free-to-play each week. You can permanently unlock characters by paying gold (which you earn by playing), gleamium (which you can pay for) or by using character unlock tokens from Founder’s Packs.
Getting started
You can download MultiVersus for free and go through the tutorial to get a sense of how things play. The more you play one character, the more you’ll progress their abilities, unlocking standard and signature perks as well as cosmetics related to that character.
If you’ve played any Smash Bros. you’ll find the gameplay familiar, with a few differences. For instance, you can chain jumps, dodges and moves together in a way that gives MultiVersus characters more map traversal than the average Smash fighter. Stage boundaries are also illustrated, meaning you know exactly how close someone is to getting knocked out.
If you find yourself getting into the game, you can pay gleamium to unlock a battle pass, which will award you with even more cosmetics like unique character skins, knockout effects and player banners. The only non-cosmetic element you can unlock from cash transactions (via gleamium) is access to other characters. But you can still unlock characters for free by earning gold through matches played. The battle pass system works much the same as games like Fortnite, Apex Legends and, well… most games these days.
Still, the overall experience of MultiVersus is unique and inviting. And with it being free to play, there’s no reason not to try it out.
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