Marvel Rivals has been an exclusively PvP game since launch, but now that’s about to change with the introduction of its first-ever PvE mode ahead of Halloween, Zombie Mode.
Zombie Mode will arrive on Friday, October 24, and you might be able to guess what it’s going to be like. Hordes of zombies infect the Midtown map, and you are tasked with stopping them with a specific crew of Marvel Rivals heroes with special, mode-specific powers. We have:
- Thor, with unlimited Awakened mode
- Magik, with unlimited Darkchylde mode
- Jeff, with a new charge move
- Punisher, with a separated turret
- Blade, with bouncing moon blades
This event was developed in conjunction with Marvel Animation, which just aired its own Zombies series. Drawn from that show will be two event bosses, Zombie Namor and “Queen of the Dead” Scarlet Witch.
This is called an “event,” and it seems very Halloween-themed. I do not imagine it’s permanent, although I cannot find an end date yet. This mode would echo things that Overwatch has done in the past, limited PvE modes within the PvP game. Overwatch famously planned to do a lot more PvE content, but after years of work, that was scrapped. I wonder if Marvel Rivals may have larger PvE plans going forward. Maybe this current event is a test run.
It does look really cool, and I like the idea of powered-up abilities across these characters. In the T-for-Teen game, however, it is a bit weird to have mass zombie slaughter that is entirely bloodless, as that’s not how zombie modes or games work really…ever. Even understanding why that’s the case with the game’s rating, it’s certainly a bummer.
There are some details still missing, like whether gameplay counts toward character progression (I’d be a little surprised) and what event rewards will be, which will no doubt include skins. I mean, zombie versions of any of these characters, including the already-for-sure-zombified Namor and Scarlet Witch, would be excellent.
While I’ve set down Marvel Rivals for a while (and I’m not alone), this will be something that will draw me back in, at least for a time. I hope it’s the first of a lot more PvE from the game, as while it’s obviously a fun PvP experience, it would be great if they could succeed where Overwatch badly failed years ago.
No doubt we will get more specific details soon, but for now, you can see the presentation and short trailer for the mode above.
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