If you haven’t quite let go of the Marvel Universe yet then you’ll be astounded by the Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order game brought to us by Team Ninja. Now on the Switch, friends and players alike can now all join up to create the ultimate alliance. Tangling with Thanos is definitely going to be the plan here but this new plot doesn’t follow any previous games in the series. Even if you’re not a huge fan, the game itself is a good adventure to get in to, plus all ages can play.
The long and short of the plot is this; Thanos wants the stones, and Starlord of the Guardians of the Galaxy has accidentally tipped Thanos off to where they are. Of course, there are so many moving parts and characters to the plot that will make your head spin that it’s better left untold here. Just know that this is not a repeat of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, although there are parallels.
Much like the two previous installments of the game, MUA3 is a lot like the top-down dungeon crawlers we have seen. The game is also a hack and slash and role playing of course. Whether you choose to play as a single-player or with friends, or even online by yourself, all options are available. Either play at home with four close friends by docking the Switch, play with four switches, or just jump online into a group and get started. There are 44 characters to choose from and 33 bosses to beat.
When choosing characters and skills to use, all of them have the same basic set. Jump, attack, dodge, block and so on. What you really should aim to do is get your team based on how well they sync up. By having at least three characters link up with a synergy boost or more, then a powerful attack can be used. New characters and missions become available with progression too.
The choice is always there to pay for in-game items, but by fighting and going through the standard paces, you’ll keep leveling up. Passive buffs can be crafter when you get ahold of ISO-8 crystals. This ties right into a skill tree as well where you can choose permanent stats as you go. So far, easy peasy.
The overall look of the game is nice without being tacky and the voice work is well done. For hardcore fans of comics will also like the ability to have the X-Men involved and more. Controls are pretty straightforward without much to complain about. This could be due to all of the chaos but I can’t really find anything to complain about on this one. Overall, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order is worth buying and sharing with the whole family.
8.5/10
Available on Switch
