Crossover fighters have always occupied a niche in the world of video games, with Super Smash Bros. being the flagbearer that many other games have failed to emulate. After all, it is not easy to find IPs that work well with each other, but in Warner Bros. Games‘ upcoming MultiVersus, this could very well be a true competitor for the throne.

Following the arrival and departure of the game in beta, several rounds of testing, and a finalized release date of May 28, this represents the perfect period for Player First Games to give us a preview of what’s to come for MultiVersus, and things are shaping up quite nicely indeed.

MultiVersus’ Roster of Greats

Needless to say, a fighter like MultiVersus lives and dies by its roster, and this relaunch has plenty of worthy combatants for players to choose from. This includes the new additions of the Joker, Jason from Friday the 13th, and the Banana Guard from Adventure Time, forming a solid roster of 26.

Each fighter takes to the battlefield with their own bag of tricks, from the sheer power of Jason to the trickery of the Joker, requiring players to experiment to find their chosen champion. Playing with the three new characters delivers distinctly different experiences, which is what makes MultiVersus such a treat in the past, and hopefully, in the future as well.

For example, Joker utilizes an array of weapons when executing his different attacks and being able to blow up balloons as a means of recovery is just brilliant. Jason, on the other hand, is all about throwing his weight around, and who wouldn’t enjoy slamming your opponents around in a sleeping bag or teleporting to your target and making them regret leaving the safety of their camp cabin? As for the Banana Guard, this is perhaps the weakest of the newcomers, although the added reach of the spear can come in handy.

The Little Things

Those who played the game in the beta period will also find that MultiVersus has made plenty of changes to improve the overall gameplay. Now, defensive-minded players can count on the parry mechanic to negate attacks, and the new dash attack can easily close the distance if you are trying to keep up the pressure.

The jury’s still out on the more focused camera, as many would probably be more used to the drawn-out view to see everything happening all at once, and the adjusted sizes of the various characters will also take some getting used to.

Overall, however, the action is still very exciting, and the faster pace helps to move fights along quite nicely, never truly giving players the time to rest but keeping it all manageable.

PvE Distractions

If you are not looking to bash the heads of your friends and family, then the newly introduced Rifts mode (think PVE) should be where you will be spending most of your time. Themed scenarios that can bring about surprising character team-ups and crazy modifiers will help spice things up, with varying mini-games thrown in for good measure.

More notably, Rifts allows the characters more time to shine, taking part in the story and interacting with each other beyond the normal settings, often to hilarious effect. Combine that with the stellar animations and personalities infused into the fighters, and Player First Games continues to impress.

With the second coming of MultiVersus, the studio has yet another chance to make a strong first impression and a shot at redemption. At least at this stage, it appears to have all the right ingredients to compete against the might of Super Smash Bros. If the team can continue to keep the right content coming and keep the community on board, we could very well be looking at an up-and-coming contender to the Smash Brothers throne.

Multiversus will launch on May 28 for PS4, PS5, PC (Epic Games Store and Steam), Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.