Marvel’s Midnight Sunsreleases this October and has already revealed its cast of playable characters and offered in-depth information about its card-battler systems.Marvel’s Midnight Sunsis a fairly loose adaptation of the comic book run, replacing its original word “sons” with “suns,” and thus carves its own narrative path that fans will be unfamiliar with. The Hunter character is new to Marvel and can be customized, givingMarvel’s Midnight Sunsa unique perspective through which players can meet established Marvel characters and befriend them at the Abbey Grounds.
It is undetermined what kind ofsuccessMarvel’s Midnight Sunswill have as a tactical RPGwith card-battler elements.Marvel’s Midnight Sunsis not a deck-builder like some fans may presume, and much of the game’s content seems to revolve around social sim features outside its tactical gameplay. However, if successful, Firaxis should be afforded the opportunity to replicate the experience within a dedicated X-Men game. Therefore, an X-Men game with the same formula could be more refined and focused as the mutant family is already assembled.
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X-Men is Perfect to Follow in the Footsteps of Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Marvel’s Midnight Sunslays a wonderful foundation from which an X-Men game could thrive. Essentially any Marvel affiliate group could excel in such a formula, where players amass a small battle party to take into combat and have cards dictate which actions they can make.Marvel’s Midnight Sunsalso incorporates interesting environmental interactions into its tactical gameplay, which work in-and-around the parameters of its card system to inflict more damage. Further,Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ hero fantasyis depicted appropriately.
UnlikeXCOM, players cannot defend themselves in cover via these obstacles, and instead they are purely in place to deal damage when the player’s positioning is orchestrated perfectly. For example,Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ Spider-Man masters the environment, while Iron Man is more centered around the game’s redraw mechanic. Each character already seems to be oriented around a mechanic or feature inMarvel’s Midnight Suns, and the same formula could work in an X-Men game.Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ roster is eclectic, and each character’s abilities are showcased using cinematic animations while casting certain cards.
But X-Men in particular would be fascinating to play alongside due to how coherent the team already is.Marvel’s Midnight Sunseven features its own X-Men characters such as Wolverine and Magik, the latter of whom is Creative Director Jake Solomon’s favorite character. Likewise,X-Men antagonist Sabertooth is set to appear inMarvel’s Midnight Suns, and there is a high possibility that more may appear as well. It would make the most sense to translate everything Firaxis learned while developingMarvel’s Midnight Sunsto produce an unforgettable and seminal X-Men experience.
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Firaxis’ X-Men Could Replace the Abbey with Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters
Marvel’s Midnight Sunsemphasizes how important the player’s interactions with characters are, but there has not been any explicit mention of other characters having interactions with one another, and how that could affect their familial dynamic in the Abbey. Indeed, the Abbey’ssocial sim appears to be a large component inMarvel’s Midnight Suns, with exploration and optional activities players can engage in outside of battle.
In an X-Men game, however, the Abbey could logistically be replaced with Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters as its hub with third-person camera angles and activities.Players could assume the role of another custom character, perhaps one who is recently enrolled in the mutant academy after having learned of their newfound mutation. Then, players could explore the institute’s corridors and meet characters in their associable dormitories and even attend classes as a way to earn upgradeable passive abilities.
Many of the X-Men characters included could either be students themselves or professors, and when players are ready to embark on tactical combat missions, they could extract the Blackbird from beneath the school’s basketball court and take off.Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ Abbeyseems intriguing due to all the mystical mysteries it may hold, but Charles Xavier’s school would be a fantastic hub to explore due to its nostalgic iconography.
Firaxis Should Go All-In on Car Systems in Its Next Game
Even if X-Men is not in the cards for Firaxis followingMarvel’s Midnight Suns, the developer should be unafraid to implement deeper card systems into whichever original or licensed property it takes on next. InMarvel’s Midnight Suns, cards are only representative of different actions and attacks players can make in battle, using RNG to occupy the player’s hand with cards that regiment what they can and cannot do each turn, and basing their strategy around the cards they do have.
This system still seems fulfilling and comprehensive, but Firaxis’ next project should make its card system much more integral to the entire game itself. For example,Marvel’s Midnight Sunsallows players to upgrade cards through friendshipsachieved at the Abbey. But if Firaxis’ next game was a deck-builder, these friendships could also provide players with new cards to use for that particular befriended character and add them to their deck. That way, players who spend more time with one character over another will ultimately have more cards for that character in their deck.
Then, choosing what deck allotment players want to take into battle could be determined based on which cards they have collected, rather than each character’s standard pool of cards. Little changes like this could make deck-building more integral and satisfying from a card-battler perspective and demonstrate players’ adoration for certain characters. Either way,Marvel’s Midnight Sunswill hopefully be received positively enough that an X-Men game is offered to it in the future. Otherwise,Firaxis would surely knock any other Marvel ensemble out of the park, whether it was X-Men, Fantastic Four, the Avengers, or Guardians of the Galaxy.
Marvel’s Midnight Sunsreleases October 7 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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