Marvel's Midnight Suns (Firaxis)

Mr Crispy

Might as well start the thread for this seeing as boards could be dead at any moment the first gameplay reveal is in a couple of days' time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz8Vw5tOf5M

Marvel's Midnight Suns is a new tactical RPG set in the darker side of the Marvel Universe, putting you face-to-face against demonic forces of the underworld as you team up with and live among the Midnight Suns, Earth's last line of defense.

So it's not the XCOM Marvel game some of us were hoping for. In fact project lead Jake Solomon (designer of XCOM Enemy Unknown and XCOM 2) says, "There are zero mechanics shared between XCOM and the Midnight Suns." That obviously excludes permadeath too, although that's to be expected. Another potential disappointment for some will be the fact that you don't play as an established Marvel hero, but rather a character created especially for the game. The story itself is somewhat based on a real Marvel arc (Midnight Sons) that first appeared in Ghost Rider, although the presence of Cap, Ironman, and Wolverine seems kinda shoehorned in to appease more mainstream fans.

Anyway, I'll reserve judgement for now. The first gameplay trailer is supposed to be on Wednesday (September 1st). Watch this space.

quokula

Nothing I've read or seen of the game looks particularly appealing right now, but Firaxis have very strong pedigree so I'll reserve judgement until we see some gameplay.

Zero-Cool

It can't be worse than than the Avengers game right? Riiiiigggghhhhhtttt????

Gameplay on Wednesday anyway, really looking forward to seeing how it plays. One aspect I'm not liking the sound of is spending time with the characters to build a relationship XCom 2 had you develop bonds through the battlefield where as with this, "you can decide to read a book by the fire with Dr. Strange or do some weights with Wolverine to build relationships with characters doing things they like. I hope it's just a case of been giving a certain amount of time to manage your day and clicking what how you want to spend instead of actually doing those activities.

The building a new character sounds great and it will be class to team up with Blade, Wolverine and hopefully Spiderman. They've nailed their look anyway.

Mr Crispy

Yeah, I really don't fancy Super Friends simulator.

EoinMcLovin

https://youtu.be/_CiOR0Z5AoU

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Potential-Monke

Shame this is turn based... Looks good otherwise.

EoinMcLovin

https://youtu.be/VRieHP1b7Gs

Game starts with attack on the Sanctum

- 3 team mates

- 10-15min average battles

- Multiple card times (basic, attack, support) that are in a deck that gets shuffled at the start of a battle

- Players will be able to play 3 cards each round (some cards will allow you to get more cards out in a round if you kill an enemy with it)

- Every hero has their own set of cards

- Blade is DPS (has bleed, life leech cards), Ghost Rider is a wild card ( his attacks can dmg himself and his teammates), Captain America is dps/tank, Strange is support (power to draw a different cards and boost card effects)

- Mission types: Protection missions, rescue targets, Capture VIP

- Hunter has light and dark powers (light is support/heal)

- You can change up your deck before each fight

- There are overpowered cards called "Heroics cards" that do deal massive dmg and offer bonus effects (iron man has aoe for everyone on screen (small dmg), Strange has massive dmg to one enemy plus applying debuff) these use currency resource called "heroism"

- You can use the environment to deal dmg

- The Abbey is your HQ located inside a pocket dimension. Here you can talk to Tony to make new weapons for you that unlock new cards, Train with Blade to upgrade cards

- if you have duplicate of a card you can mix them to make an upgraded version

- Talking to characters in the hub unlocks passive abilities and combos with that character

- Each hero has a legendary ability called "The Midnight Sun" only once you built that character's midnight suit which require you to max your friendship with a character

Mr Crispy

Not feeling this just yet.

At least one of my concerns has been proved unfounded though - I was worried we'd only be fighting Lilith's forces and Hydra goons, and not facing off against iconic Marvel villains. But there'll be a gameplay stream next week showing Hunter and Wolverine take on Sabretooth.

Zero-Cool

Yeah, I'm not all the way there yet. The reasons i loved xcom 2 was that there was perma death for your squad and you were against the odds where as with this, you are made to feel all powerful, as you should be really but don't know how it will feel to play through like this. I definitely want to play it though.

Mr Crispy

I think it might be the card system that doesn't sit well with me. It essentially makes super powers a random ability which seems at odds with playing as powerful heroes.

The roster of heroes itself is odd* as well. "We have this cool story from our darker, weirder back catalogue... But we're not confident enough in all of its lesser known protagonists so we want you to include Ironman, Captains America and Marvel, and have them fight demons and such". There are still two characters (by my count) to be revealed though. Morbius and Moon Knight would make sense from the viewpoint of the original story, but also with their respective movie and Disney+ show on the way.

*obviously makes sense from a financial standpoint.

ERG89

If this game wasn't made by Firaxis alarm bells would be ringing looking at the gameplay; it looks a bit flat which is why I can see why they have the card mechanics in there. XCOM style games lose something when you remove the need to use cover & do extensive research. I kinda wish they just did X-Men as the Xavier Institute would make much more sense in terms of building bonds with fellow heroes (all of that feels more Persona like than what they usually do) and you can always justify an X-Men team them up with Blade Ironman or Ghost Rider too. But the Avengers are still a bigger priority to Marvel right now.

Mr Crispy

Game Informer had a couple of hours play time. Their chat might answer some of your questions about the game, although I wouldn't take their positive views too seriously. The video should play at the relevant time stamp.

https://youtu.be/aXvnJazQknc?t=1550

Mr Crispy

Another of my concerns quashed.

https://twitter.com/midnightsuns/status/1433146431171227648?s=20

Zero-Cool

Yeah i actually like the sound of building a deck to keep things fresh and interesting, reminds of Gwent a bit. I still need to see a level played start to finish to get a proper feel of it.

Mr Crispy

Agreed! Hopefully this stream with Wolverine vs Sabretooth on Wednesday will give us a better idea.

This content has been removed.

quokula

I'm all for turn based combat and intricate systems, but when literal cards show up I always find that's just a step too far and breaks immersion for me. Maybe because it makes it feel too much like a free to play or mobile game, I'm not sure.

If it wasn't Firaxis I don't think I'd have any hope for it, but if anyone can pull it off and make it compelling then they can.

EoinMcLovin

https://youtu.be/znmPbSh3WlY

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Mr Crispy

The audio was terrible! Could they not have sprung for more than the one lavalier mic between them? 😂

Gameplay-wise, I'm still not sure but I'm willing to keep an open mind based on what we've seen so far.

EoinMcLovin

https://twitter.com/midnightsuns/status/1455989461309820931?t=1MMrJga5MZ-jF6kVyBk5UQ&s=19

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Zero-Cool

Spring is packed anyway, no harm if more time needed. Stupid though how they mention what they are going to do with the extra time but loads of comments still saying they hope the card system will be removed.

Mr Crispy

Not too far off now. Maybe.

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/marvels-midnight-suns-has-been-rated-in-south-korea-suggesting-it-may-release-soon/

EoinMcLovin

https://twitter.com/_Tom_Henderson_/status/1528759163261689856?t=dK7R2gO9FBMZTJLqZDfruA&s=19

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Zero-Cool

Very interesting, i either what the revamp consists of. People saying the card system could be gone but i doubt they would take out something so big in the space of a few months.

Mr Crispy

Yeah, that was a core mechanic! Can't see them ditching it because of fan backlash either.

If they're saying June for the reveal, then likely during SGF or the XB showcase. I don't think 2K will be having their own event.

Mr Crispy

They're surely shaping up for an announcement next week.

https://twitter.com/NilsAhrDE/status/1532510438532993024?s=20&t=DfUktKkprgs1olw3nG-9IA

EoinMcLovin

https://youtu.be/L9ZMhFLst1w

https://youtu.be/xJhNAVCXMog

https://twitter.com/Nibellion/status/1534973693620801571?t=CpUUjEOpUE2dMTZCiWlPVA&s=19

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Mr Crispy

So did they talk about the supposed revamp?

EoinMcLovin

https://youtu.be/QZrKZInJ9nk

https://youtu.be/ryPiuPeOTuA

https://youtu.be/hpBL5LD181s

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Shiminay

Is this still card based? If so, no thanks. Here's hoping some clever sausages mod it into a proper turn based game:D

Zero-Cool

Watching the Spiderman deep dive, i still have no idea if i will like this or not, i would really need to try it. The card system looks very complex, not just each character uses a card a turn, it's the cards can set off different bonuses and moves. Definitely put xcom out of your head.

Shiminay

Yea therein lies the rub. I'd have broken my own rules and pre-ordered this if it was a proper turn-based game, especially one from Firaxis, now I'll almost certainly not give it another look. Shame.

Mr Crispy

Delayed again, with only a "later this fiscal year" as ETA.

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/marvels-midnight-suns-has-been-delayed-with-no-new-date-issued/

EoinMcLovin

https://twitter.com/IGN/status/1568330851347472384?t=S27WjswTaLh-O5WMf1pBQg&s=19

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Mr Crispy

They also announced there'll be a series of animated shorts that will act as a prequel to the game's story. The first will be released on Halloween, on Marvel's YouTube channel.

Mr Crispy

Completely forgot about this until the launch trailer popped up;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTHMbNo4-n8

Kiith

Actually getting some pretty good reviews. XCom mixed with a dating sim apparently 🤣

Zero-Cool

Some saying it's a 50/50 game, combat side is great, forming relationships with characters not so much. I'm mad to try it but might wait for sale.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119943498#Comment_119943498

I was totally against dating sim elements until I played Persona 3. When done well in games they can be excellent.

Zero-Cool

Reading up on this today, i really want to try it. Just saw the season pass is 50 quid for a bunch of skins and 4 dlc characters. That seems mental paying that much for what sounds like a small portion of the game.

Anyway, this is topping my Christmas list at the moment, anyone here get it?

Mr Crispy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119951158#Comment_119951158

Not yet, but I think it'll be the game I gift to myself to play over the Christmas period. A colleague has been enjoying it, and we have similar taste in games. If I hate it, I'll blame her!

Penn

Played about 2 hours so far. It's certainly a game of two halves. The actual card combat is very well done. I tried Xcom 2 a bunch but it always got to the point of hugely frustrating me. This seems a lot more forgiving, but also a bit deeper and varied. Looking forward to getting further into it.

The other half of the game I'm a bit mixed on. I don't mind it so far, but a lot of it does seem like pointless busywork. It's not very well written or performed (the voice for Tony Stark is atrocious), but it seems easy enough to plow through so far anyway.

Penn

Another few hours into it last night. I find myself skipping through most of the dialogue when talking to people outside of actual cutscenes, just scanning the subtitles for relevant words and then jumping to the next line. It's all just pretty vacuous and bland, and just amounts to busywork.

There are also too many upgrade systems, materials, items, restrictions etc. It feels like every time I return from a mission or research certain projects there's a new mechanic being introduced, which usually just results in taking more of your resources for little gain.

But the combat still works really well. Characters are varied with unique abilities which can really affect your choice on who to take on missions. It also doesn't have that Xcom thing where if one of your best soldiers dies on a mission they're gone forever. If Iron Man gets knocked out, he'll be injured for a few days then back to normal. It means doing poorly in a mission isn't as frustrating. It does do the thing of a mission objective forcing you to focus on one enemy/objective while it just throws more and more goons or even high-level enemies at you because you're not thinning the herd, but it's usually manageable. It also hasn't done the Xcom thing I hated where you're trying to do small missions for supplies/resources while the game keeps screaming at you that you have to do main missions because the aliens took control of another region.

I did like Xcom overall, but the frustrations eventually outweighed the fun. The side stuff in this game is annoying and distracting, but it's also easy enough to skip through.

Zero-Cool

That busy body abbey stuff is such a red flag for me but I'm still finding it intriguing. Plus, at 65 euro, it's tempting to try it over some of the 75 and 80 euro titles out lately.

As for Xcom 2, i rarely play games on easy but so glad i read a tip about playing that on easy (rookie?). Game was an absolute blast to play, still tough but minus the frustrations with strict moves/timers. Fully recommend trying Xcom 2 on easy for those who haven't yet.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119962994#Comment_119962994

Yeah that's what I should have done. Though one of my biggest annoyances with the game were the missions where you have to save civilians. Every turn, one of the civilians would be killed. Even at the start, when half the civilans who are about 6 full moves away from you start being killed, never mind the fact you have to fight enemies to get there, plus usually one of the civilians was a giant shape-shifting alien... yet the guy on the radio had the sheer unmitigated gall to give out to me for failing to save them....

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119963505#Comment_119963505

You just have to accept that you can't save everyone. Usually have plenty of time to more than reach the quota required to save them and I never failed any of these missions in my playthrough. Even if you don't hit the quota you can finish the mission with a minor penalty. There's worse that can happen than having a Civvie die, like having a crysalid kill one.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119963697#Comment_119963697

Oh I didn't mind the civilians dying in and of itself. What bothered me was being screamed at for not saving them when the game gives absolutely zero chance at saving most of them to begin with. If the max you can move is 20 spaces and after your first turn a civilian 250 spaces away is killed and the radio man says you failed to save them, maybe that's on whoever chose the landing spot.... eh, radio man? Maybe blame them?

Instead of 12, where half of them are basically impossible to save anyway, just have 6-8 where they start being killed once you get to a certain point.

But anyway, that was more emblematic of some of my issues with the game (triggering unseen enemy groups while trying to flank even though flanking is absolutely what you're supposed to do, random reinforcement drops of high-level enemies right after you've expended your grenades etc on other enemies thinking that was the end). Like I said, I enjoyed the game, but it always got to the point of being too frustrating and annoying me. Maybe should have went for easy mode, but at this stage I doubt I'll ever go back to it.

Penn

Looks like my game might be borked. Spiderman is required for the next mission, but I sent him on a Hero Op (where you send a hero on a mission in the background for resources). However, every time I try to acknowledge completion of the hero op, the game crashes, meaning Spiderman is unavailable for the next story mission.

Tried doing a few side missions with other heroes and then trying to complete the hero op with Spiderman the next day, but still keeps crashing.

Zero-Cool

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119980805#Comment_119980805

Looks like a patch is releasing next week to fix the crashing bug. Someone on reddit found a work around, not sure if it applies to your situation?

https://www.reddit.com/r/midnightsuns/comments/zc0yeo/game_breaking_ps5_bug_hero_ops/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://twitter.com/midnightsuns/status/1601387553961218050?t=I0P_bKOXw7vxruu_w4YZRw&s=19

Penn

Yeah I read that alright. Tried hammering X a few times but always crashes. It's fine, I can keep doing side missions for a while until it's patched.

Penn

Big 5.7gb patch on PS5. Supposedly fixes the bug I got.