Marvel Rivals: New 6v6 multiplayer game is like Overwatch with ...

Get ready to blast, dodge and smash a litany of powerful superheroes, because Marvel is releasing a new game that looks like Overwatch for comic book fans.

Marvel Rivals, an upcoming squad-based shooter, is coming to PC this May, and its explosive first trailer has just arrived. The clip shows off the game’s 6v6 battles in iconic environments, including Thor’s homeland of Asgard, that you can lay waste to. Like Overwatch, it looks like a colourful rumble featuring a line-up of quippy superheroes and brooding supervillains.

The clip shows off the game’s cartoonish visuals, frenetic action, gameplay quirks, and roster of iconic and lesser-known characters, each with their own unique special abilities. We see Iron Man blast his opponents with a destructive laser beam. Loki then pops up to steal Black Panther’s powers, before fly-kicking Spider-Man, and then transforming into a giant purple panther.

In terms of tactics, players will be able to team up in pairs to unleash combined skills that can give your mates the advantage. At one point, Rocket Racoon jumps on Groot’s back as the Guardians of the Galaxy duo gun down their opponents. Later, Hulk charges up Iron Man with a wave of gamma energy.

We’re told that beneath all the thrilling action is an actual story. It involves the Fantastic Four’s arch-nemesis Doctor Doom, and his future self from the year 2099, causing universes to collide in something called the Timestream Entanglement. Of course, this cataclysmic event sets off a series of new crises that only Marvel’s superheroes can fix. Along the way, enemies become allies and heroes turn out to be villains.

Wondering if your fave character has made the cut? Marvel says players will be able to choose from more than a dozen heroes when the alpha test kicks off in May, including familiar faces from the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and X-Men stables. Stalwarts like Spider-Man, Magneto, and Black Panther will all be present, along with lesser-known heroes and baddies like Luna Snow, Magik, and Namor.

Marvel Rivals is a free-to-play game, meaning you can take part in the fun at no cost, but you may have to fork out for cosmetic items like new suits. Marvel is also promising to drop seasonal content including new characters and maps, as is the norm for live service shooters.

It comes from Chinese gaming giant Netease Games, which has produced a series of hit mobile battle royale games that have taken its domestic market by storm.

The launch will see Marvel enter a highly competitive arena where one false move, like overcharging for an item, can lead to player scorn. The multiplayer shooter genre is already home to several behemoths in Fortnite, Warzone, and Apex Legends, so Marvel Rivals will have its work cut out.