Multiversus (2022) [PS5]

Of course, you realize this means war.
-Bugs Bunny

Multiversus is just another Super Smash Bros. clone. Right?

While Multiversus is the latest video game (its open beta launched August 15, 2022) to cash in on the platform fighter genre, it does more than any other platform fighter hoping to challenge Super Smash Bros. It earns its existence. And it does so by providing something to the genre that not even Super Smash Bros. can provide.

I know. I know. Sacrilege. But before I go over what leads me to speak such blasphemy let’s further separate Multiversus from other would-be Smash Bros. competitors.

Most Super Smash Bros. clones take a bunch of recognizable characters, slap their skins over generic fighter dummies with cookie-cutter move sets, and watch the cash roll in. I’m looking at you, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl. Multiversus is different. It has an identity. And each one of the characters within the game has an identity.

Hey, I Know That Voice

Developer Player First Games spared no expense. They have Warner Brothers’ stable of intellectual properties, and they aren’t afraid to use them. Or ask original actors to reprise their roles if possible.

Kevin Conroy (of Batman: The Animated Series fame) is the voice of Batman. And while Multiversus couldn’t coax Harley Quinn’s original voice actor, Arleen Sorkin, out of retirement, they have Tara Strong who’s been Harley’s voice for the past decade or so in DC Comics animated films.

Maisie Williams voices the character she made famous Arya Stark (from Game of Thrones). Matthew Lillard, who was the live-action Shaggy (Scooby Doo), lends his voice to this version.

Yeah. Voice acting matters. You’d be surprised how much character can be conveyed in someone’s voice, but the characters’ identities are more than voice deep.

Not Just a Pretty Voice

Tom and Jerry are one of my favorite characters because if you pay attention to them, they don’t attack their opponents. They’re attacking each other like they do in their cartoons, and other players are just getting in their way. Velma crawls on the ground looking for her glasses during her down attack. The screen gets fuzzy when she does this as if the player had just lost their glasses. And I could go on and on about how each character is unique, but in short, they’re more than just skins on a fighter. Each character in Multiversus IS that character.

So, what? This doesn’t sound any different than Super Smash Brothers. What could Multiversus provide that doesn’t yet exist in the platform fighter genre? Well, Multiversus is to Smash Bros what Bloodborne is to Dark Souls.

I Have the Need for Speed (Sonic in Smash Bros Ultimate)

Yep. Smash Bros, similar to Dark Souls, has a block and then counter meta to it, while Multiversus, similar to Bloodborne, says blocking and countering are boring, let’s duck, weave, dodge, and attack our way to victory. What results is beautiful and utter mayhem, and the platform fighter genre is better for having that sweet Multiversus energy.

I’d even say that Sonic the Hedgehog would be better served on Multiversus than he is in Smash Brothers. I don’t see Sonic blocking. And that brings me back to the impressive pool of Warner Brothers’ characters and the potential of the Multiversus playable fighters eclipsing the current king Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and its 89 fighters.

How Many Characters Could We See?

Multiversus plans to release a new character every two weeks (so that’s roughly 26 fighters a year), and they have a LOT of characters they can pull from, far more than even Nintendo. The DC Comics Universe alone could support at least 25 without going too far into the weeds. Looney Tunes, Animaniacs, Cartoon Network, and Hanna Barbera are either owned or have exclusive licensing deals with Warner Brothers, so that’s why you’ll see Adventure Time, Rick and Morty, Scooby Doo, Steven Universe, Ben 10, Powerpuff Girls, and many other familiar franchises enter the fray.

But the list of additional licensing is just as crazy. Warner Bros. also licenses Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Dune, Godzilla, and LEGO as in the LEGO Movie. Gandolf versus Dumbledore, anyone? Or perhaps Paul Atreides versus Jon Snow. And there are tons of Warner Brothers movies the game can and probably will pull from like Gremlins, Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), Goonies, every Stanley Kubrick film, and so many others.

Great. Now gamers will demand Alex from A Clockwork Orange to be included. I’m going to go out on a limb and say he won’t be in the game. But plenty of other characters will be so don’t be too mad if your favorite character doesn’t make the final cut. Multiversus could have more than 100 fighters by early 2026, so there should be a little fan service for everyone. And a F2P model with regular updates may be a great way to trickle in a large cast of characters.

But enough about the characters, let’s get into the review.

The 8-bit Review

Visuals: 8/10

Multiversus is yet another beautiful game. While it may not be as visually stunning as other free-to-play games like Apex Legends or Genshin Impact, it may do something even more impressive: offer an art style that integrates disparate characters into a singular game’s cohesive whole.

Lebron, Arya Stark, Harley Quinn, Shaggy Jones, and all the rest have a similar enough aesthetic, while also looking how they should look. I thought that different art styles and character backgrounds would take me out of the action, but Multiversus finds a way to make it work.

As of this write-up, Morty (from Rick and Morty) was just released and that’s yet another art style integrated in this chunky stew of a cast, and again, Morty fits right in with the rest. Even if he’s a little overpowered. Guess who’s a Morty main.

The stages themselves are well made with plenty of Easter eggs for fans of whichever intellectual property area originates. I have issues with the stages, or lack thereof, but that’ll be discussed more in the Gameplay section. Until then, Multiversus is easily a nine out of ten. I’m amazed they were able to incorporate these characters seamlessly.

Audio: 9/10

I already mentioned the famous voice actors, many of which who reprised the roles they made famous, but I’ll say it again, Kevin Conroy is the voice of Batman. Love it. And the aforementioned Morty is voiced by Justin Roiland. Multiversus spared no expense with their voice actors. And the music and sound effects are topnotch.

Unlike some other Super Smash Bros clone games, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl and Playstation All-Stars in particular, Multiversus uses realistic combat noises. You don’t think about that too much until you play something like Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl with no voice acting (believe they added some 6 months after its initial release) and limited to hollow combat noises. There’s a reason why it feels good to whoop up on some cartoon heavyweights. The production is excellent.

I always liked the Steven Universe theme song, and there’s a lovely instrumental version on that stage. In fact, there are some interesting variations on all the properties that received their own stage. The Adventure Time treehouse’s music builds from the cartoon’s soundtrack, as does the Batcave stage with Batman: The Animated Series. A touch of new alongside a dash of nostalgia.

About the only thing negative I can mention about the audio is its repetitiveness. Don’t say the line, Wonder Woman. Don’t say it.

“My mother told me that fighting does NOT make you a hero.”

No!!!

Gameplay: 8/10

As I mentioned above, Multiversus is the high-octane, dodge and attack variant to Super Smash Bros’ block and then counter. And each character has their own take on their gameplay archetypes: Bruiser, Tank, Assassin, Mage, and Support. I like this shift. It’s another departure from Multiversus’s biggest competitors.

Super Smash Bros doesn’t really have types, which may make understanding how to play a character and how they fit with another character (team synergy) difficult. Brawlhalla bases its character move sets on the weapon they wielded—that’s too limiting.

With character types, each character puts their unique spin on what it means to be a “fill-in-the-blank” style fighter, and players generally know what to expect, how to play a character, and whether two characters are a good fit. Bruisers are balanced melee fighters. Tanks have more health and less attack. Assassins are glass cannons (high attack but not as much health). Mages focus on long-range attacks and stink up-close. And Support characters buff, debuff, heal, and do most other things that can help their teammates. Team this up with easy-to-learn controls, and you get an accessible game screaming for competitive play.

And Multiversus zeroes in on 2v2, yet another divergence from Brawlhalla whose default game mode is free-for-all. Again, this focuses on spectator-friendly competitive play because 2v2 matches are easier to follow than free-for-all engagements. Sure, free-for-alls and 1v1s are other Multiversus options, but it’s clear that Player First Games targets 2v2 as tournament matches. All this sounds great. So, what makes Multiversus an eight instead of a nine or ten for gameplay? Stages.

Or lack of stage variety. Super Smash Bros has some amazing stages with moving set pieces and interactive elements sprinkled throughout. Multiversus has little to none of that. Sure, the stages are “well designed” in terms of being functional and aesthetically pleasing, but besides a few standouts like Scooby Doo’s mystery mansion and the Batcave, there’s little there except for platforms at different intervals and whether there’s a hole in the middle of a platform or not. Boring.

That is SO Brawlhalla. I never cared for Brawlhalla’s bland stages, and Multiversus follows suit. I also wish there were more off-line game modes (akin to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate), but these shortcomings drop the gameplay down a bit. But not any further than an eight. What’s here is a worthy challenger to Super Smash Bros’ throne, and Multiversus has regular updates, so I have hope for more interesting stages and content.

Uniqueness: 8/10

Multiversus can’t be any higher than an eight here because no matter how much it’s done to shake up a stagnant video game genre, it’s still a Super Smash Bros clone.

I believe that Multiversus has already done enough to separate itself from any other platform fighter not named Super Smash Bros, and it does things that even the king can’t or won’t, but it’s a platform fighter. If you’ve played Super Smash Bros or any of the other games I’ve mentioned up to this point, you know what to expect. But I like the individuality of each fighter. And that’s where Multiversus really stands out.

Some of the fighters have the most novel approaches. Tom and Jerry fighting each other and not their opponent. Velma’s vision blurs when she drops her glasses. Morty creates teleportation doors and rides his spaceship at random moments. Batman loves his smoke and goes ninja. Even Superman feels the closest to playing Superman in several video games. Multiversus finds what makes each character unique and lets that shine.

And the memes. There are SO many memes. Lebron’s NBA 2018 Finals meltdown gets a shoutout. Shaggy goes Super Saiyan. Velma turns full Karen and calls the cops on her opponents. And even how the characters fall sometimes; almost looks like Fall Guys. Oh, and Wonder Woman has a move where she’ll pull an enemy close to her with her lasso of truth and say, “Get over here.”

Priceless.

Accessibility: 9/10

Easy-to-learn controls, character classes (to know if characters vibe well at a glance), a thorough tutorial (with even an advanced tutorial), and the ability to test any character in “the lab” make Multiversus very accessible for new players. I don’t know if the game will add more layers to its combat—it’s possible—but until that happens, it’s one of those easy to pick up but difficult to master games. Perfect for a fighter game. Perfect for competitive play.

But if you’re less competitive, there is a Bot option in the menu select, so players can hone their skills and challenge others after they “git gud.” I’ve never been the best at fight games, even though I’ve played plenty and adore them, and even I picked up these controls quickly. So, there’s hope for anyone.

Online Play: 7/10

Multiversus tries to get players into matches as soon as it can. I seldom had to wait too long for a match. And while lag and connectivity aren’t common, they crept up more often than I’d like for an online game. This isn’t Super Smash Brothers. There isn’t an offline version for Mulitversus. So, I may be harsh with my grade here because the servers aren’t THAT bad, but when they’re down. Multiversus is down.

I played Multiversus on my Playstation 4 and Playstation 5. Obviously, the Playstation 5 was a smoother ride, but I didn’t see too many issues with my PS4. I was able to find my friends and queue up for a match quickly—another thing Multiversus does better than Super Smash Brothers. But I also enjoyed quick matches with randos. Who knows if they were cursing me out? I seldom played on comms.

But you can tell if you did something well with Multiversus’s toast system. Toast—and we’re talking about an actual piece of digital and fictitious toast—is an item players gain through the battle pass (more on that in a minute) and by leveling up characters. When a player “toasts” another player at the end of a match, the toasted player receives a small gold (in-game currency) reward.

So, of course I toasted my friends after each match we played, but I was also toasted by rando teammates and opponents. And I’ve toasted rando teammates and opponents. This is a nice, non-verbal way to show appreciation. And I experienced a lot of positivity.

Replayability: 9/10

Come on, folks. The platform fighter genre—when done well—is extremely addictive, and Multiversus is done well.

You start off by unlocking characters quickly and then the game slowly turns off that faucet (that’s part of the F2P model) and after that leveling up those characters and teaching characters new perks adds to the gameplay and the game’s replayability. I’d still like more game modes—both offline and online—so this score takes a small dip. But I’ve spent many hours playing Multiversus. And you can, too. Join us. Join the herd.

And speaking of herd. There’s going to be a herd of new characters. So, I’ve gotta catch ‘em all.

Is that phrase copyrighted?

Personal: 6/10

Multiversus doesn’t have as many avenues for getting someone’s money as a game like Genshin Impact, so this score comes solely from alternate character skin costs, the paid battle pass, and an absence of customizations like skins, emotes/taunts, and the like without microtransactions. I’m not paying $15+ for the classic Batman: The Animated Series Harley Quinn skin, but plenty of others will. I see what you’re doing, Multiversus. I see you.

Yes. Skin costs vary. The in-game currency you can purchase with real-world money (otherwise known as premium currency) is called Gleamium. You need 950 Gleamium (just shy of $10) to pay for a battle pass, and unlike Apex Legends, you don’t earn Gleamium for completing the paid battle pass. Players WILL have to pay $10 every three months if they want a premium battle pass’s content.

That should tell you that Multiversus is stingier with free content than an Electronic Arts game. Yikes!

And there’s a TON of content players miss out on for not purchasing a battle pass. Does it make you a better player? Not really. There are few if any pay-to-win with Gleamium items. But there are perks a character can learn, and they can change a character’s viability and ability, and not all perks are created equal.

True, new perks require gold, which players can earn over time, but new characters ALSO cost gold. Or Gleamium. Wink.

So, players are immediately confronted with a choice of do I spend gold for a new character, or do I pay gold to make a character I already own more competitive. Or, third option, do I spend money for that new character. It’s borderline pay-to-win. Because players who pay Gleamium to unlock new characters will have the gold to pay for new perks.

Unless they play the game non-stop. That’s always an option.

As of this write-up, the Founder’s Pack is still available. I’d imagine that Player First Games will continue something like this in the future, so it’s worth mentioning. The Founder’s Pack has three tiers: Standard, Deluxe, and Premium.

In the end, I came up with the following ratios for the various packs. The Standard Pack ($40) pays out at roughly $2.63 in in-game content for every dollar spent. Deluxe ($60) is $2.66. And the Premium ($100) is $2.65. They’re all fairly close, but the Deluxe is EVER so slightly more cost effective.

You could pay for the Deluxe at $60 (the price of a new video game) and then buy three more battle passes and pay $90 over the course of a year’s worth of battle passes. That’s $10 cheaper than the Premium and you don’t even get enough Battle Pass Tokens from the Premium Pack to cover a year’s worth of battle passes.

I’ve mentioned this with other F2P games and battle passes, and I’ll mention it again here. Don’t pay (or use a battle pass token if you have one) for a battle pass until you’ve finished a battle pass or have gotten really far. Any levels you earned in the free battle pass will be levels you unlock after you pay for the pass. So, if you’re level 45 on the free side of a battle pass and you pay for the premium battle pass, you’ll become level 45 on the premium battle pass. Save your money. There’s no sense in unlocking a battle pass at level 5 or 6.

I have one final financial tip. Players can EASILY earn 700-1000 gold per week by playing once a day. There’s a 100-gold bonus for your first win each day, and you get gold for playing games and sometimes leveling up. Most new characters cost 2000 to 3000 gold, so players can earn a new character every 2 to 3 weeks, depending on how often they play. And remember that Multiversus plans to release a new character every two weeks, so players can ALMOST keep up with the cost of new characters.

And who knows? You can try out a character—any character—in The Lab before you spend your gold. And there will be some characters that don’t fit your playstyle. At all! You can skip them. I have NO intention of unlocking Reindog. So, that 700-1000 gold per week goes a lot further.

Free to Play games are not going anywhere soon. I’ll do my best to keep you informed on a free-to-play game’s true cost, but in the end, the choice is yours. Buy what you like. You can totally make me jelly by flaunting your original Harley Quinn costume as you beat me to a pulp.

Multiversus takes the platform fighter to exciting new territory, but I wished it did a little more for the low spenders or F2P players.

Aggregated Score: 7.9

Kyra Kyle is a writer, poet, board game designer, and indie game fan. They play plenty of free-to-play games, trying to find the cheapest ways to get the most out of F2P business models. They love a good narrative, engaging characters, crafting supplies, and exploring strange worlds. Perfect for video gaming. When they aren’t gaming, they busy themselves with watching sunflowers and corn grow where the Platte and Missouri Rivers meet.