Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics' Marvel's Avengers got off to a rocky start after its launch was met with some bugs within the game and a number of issues in terms of the title's depth. Something fans really want more of was better choices when it came to the characters and their costumes.
There have been plenty of superhero games in the past that have allowed for a greater range of available skins, attires, and indeed customization in terms of their gear. Injustice 2 has a great system for building a unique hero, while Spider-Man Ps4 allows players to gain access to a huge array of costumes. Ultimately, changes may need to be made in order to increase interest in Marvel's Avengers.
Color Customization
A great way to give players more choice is through color customization. The heroes within the pages of Marvel Comics might have a few well-known color schemes, but these can shift depending on the title or story.
For instance, Black Widow is about to debut her white suit on the big screen and it would be great if players were able to change the existing costumes in the game to reflect this. It would open up the range of options, with things like Iron Man's armory expanding significantly thanks to this one shift.
Combination Suits
Another interesting option would be to break up the different costumes into components and allow fans to combine them in order to create their own special attire. This would mean players could forge a new costume out of all of their favorite aspects of the default options.
It would be fun to expand the customization suite, again much as Injustice 2 has done. Combining together various Asgardian relics and pieces of armor forged in the mythological halls of Thor's home would give the character a unique visual twist and further engross players into the narrative.
Swapping Attire
While it's unclear what new heroes will be brought into the game moving forward, there's certainly a case to be made for allowing players to actually swap out some of the suits between different characters. This would offer up a totally different gameplay experience.
Allowing Thor to wear some of Iron Man's armors, or perhaps giving Kate Bishops gear to Ms. Marvel would be a lot of fun to play through. It might even alter gameplay options or special abilities, perhaps combining various powers — for instance, Thor electrifying Captain America's shield.
Genuine Differences Between Choices
Marvel's Avengers has tried extremely hard to create characters that match what fans know from the comics and the big screen, from their memorable quotes in the script to the visual designs of the heroes. However, their attire doesn't really feel linked to the characters themselves.
What these heroes wear should intrinsically impact the way in which they play. A gladiator Hulk should see him with more attack abilities, while a stealth Hawkeye ought to increase defense. The costumes currently contain no differences in terms of their capabilities; they are simply for the sake of visual alterations.
Duplicate Heroes
Recently, as part of the larger road map for the game, Marvel's Avengers allowed multiple versions of the same hero to team up in multiplayer missions. Alas, this was quickly removed and was not available offline, which many felt was a mistake.
The game should certainly consider bringing this back so that some kind of multiversal series of events would see Ronin and Hawkeye team up, while Hulk and Maestro fight alongside one another. There are countless fun options as to how this gameplay choice could make the experience more exciting.
Alternate Characters
Another option that is slowly being introduced into the game is the ability to shift the identity of a hero through the use of costume. For instance, the ability to have the Maestro skin for the Hulk essentially results in multiple playable characters. The same can be said for the Ronin costume for Hawkeye.
By combining some of the other elements including color changes, there's a possibility that each hero could allow for a shift in appearance to accommodate other characters. Shuri, Yelena Belova, War Machine, and Rescue are all examples of characters who could be created from in-game heroes.
More MCU Inspiration
It was recently revealed that the game would be bringing in a number of costumes inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Black Widow was first up, considering her own film will be hitting cinemas very soon. There's likely a long-term plan to wheel these updates out.
However, the game could go a lot further a lot faster. There are so many onscreen costumes for every hero in the game. What's more, it would be fun to see nods in the costumes to non-MCU Marvel films, or perhaps even previous video game titles from the company's history.
Weapon Changes
Marvel characters have been known to cycle through a great deal of weaponry. Why shouldn't players be able to have the same range of selections as well? For instance, Thor hasn't always wielded Mjolnir, with Stormbreaker being another great option to play around with. And a Gladiator Hulk without the use of a sword and shield seems almost pointless.
There are lots of ways that this can be shifted in a new direction so that the range of weapons available allows for a more diverse series of options.
Team Bonuses
There really should be a bonus-point system for collecting a series of matching costumes. In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, players would get various bonuses from having matching heroes; all of the Fantastic Four together in a team for instance.
This title could certainly do something similar. Matching the costumes to the New Avengers run of the comics, or Asgardian-inspired attire, or perhaps a team of Ultimate Marvel variations, would give players a great incentive to collect all of these different outfits.
Linked To The Narrative
Most of the costumes are currently available to purchase in the Marketplace and unavailable when playing through the campaign. What's more, they have nothing to do with the larger narrative but are simply Easter eggs to the source material.
What would be fantastic is if the changes in attire would actually be linked to the story in some way. The shifting in reality from the Cosmic Cube, the use of the Multiverse and different timelines, or maybe even the introduction of further characters, could all be ways to switch up the looks of these heroes and make them part of the story.