MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is the latest Dotemu Beat ‘Em Up and first game my partner and I have rolled credits on in 2026. We played through most of it in 2025, but I’m counting it as a 2026 game. It took us about five or six hours total to reach the end, but there’s still so much left to do with all the hero challenges and different game modes.

That first MARVEL Cosmic Invasion reveal trailer really got me ready for another Dotemu Beat ‘Em Up. Since this game came out after Absolum (the first original game from Dotemu), I was hoping MARVEL Cosmic Invasion would also throw in some kind of gameplay curveball. With Absolum introducing roguelike elements, I was hoping that MARVEL Cosmic Invasion would bring something new to the Beat ‘Em Up table.

Dotemu & Beat ‘Em Ups

MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is more a return to form, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge and Streets of Rage 4. I know different development teams worked alongside Dotemu on each of these projects. This is why these games all share a common combat style with slight variations on gameplay elements.

In MARVEL Cosmic Invasion each player gets to choose two heroes for each battle. This gives you an extra life and the ability to play two different combat styles. After some time you begin to learn which hero combos work best for you — I always enjoyed a ground brawler with a high flyer.

Each level also features hero-specific objectives. This pushes players to try out each and every hero. At least that’s what I got out of it. My partner stuck to her single combo the entire time — Nova and Storm. In her defense, those are my two highest leveled heroes.

Something I learned from Absolum that I carried into this game is that a Beat ‘Em Up doesn’t always mean spamming the strike buttons non-stop. I’ve now learned that attacks are more effective after successful blocks, dodges, or parries — this is something I’m trying to keep in mind in all action games. Boss fights might take a little longer, but you are actually dealing more damage with each strike.

As I said before we beat this game in about five to six hours. The game consists of small, quick levels. It allows for co-op play, both local and online. It’s also a great game to beat with someone (partner, roommate, children), and keep around to play with others. After beating TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge with my partner, I kept the game on my console to play again with my nephews.

Animations

Every Dotemu Beat ‘Em Up has had amazing animation teams working on them. I remember back when TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge came out, it had a beautiful opening sequence, which was basically a remake of the original cartoon opening sequence that I used to watch as a kid.

With MARVEL Cosmic Invasion they did the same sort of thing. They even dropped the opening sequence a few days before the game was released. The trailer is in the style of Saturday morning cartoons — it’s also like seeing older Marvel comics come to life.

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe is not at the level it was a couple of years ago, I still love my Marvel heroes and stories. I still need to watch every film when they come out. I watch most of the shows — there’s also too many shows right now and not enough time. I will give basically any Marvel video game a chance.

MARVEL Cosmic Invasion does have a great cast of characters from the big names we expect to see (Iron Man, Spider-Man, Captain America) to the more bizarre (Beta Ray Bill, Nova, Phyla-Vell). I’m now ready to conquer all of the hero quests, and I have a friend who’s been playing this game non-stop so I hope to get into some online co-op with him.

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*myVGBC.com was provided a review code for MARVEL Cosmic Invasion by the publisher.