Now that the open beta of MultiVersus has finally been released, the long-awaited smash clone is finally in the hands of the general public. While still remaining in the beta stage of its development, Warner Brothers has already managed to garner an extreme amount of anticipation with its debut.
Seemingly arriving just in time to fill the void that has been felt in the platform fighting community, its diverse cast of characters and combative hijinx is undoubtedly welcomed. However, MultiVersus now faces its toughest battle yet: comparisons to Smash Bros. For as much as it seems to get right, there are just seemingly some things that only Super Smash Bros has managed to perfect so far.
Damage Dealt Is Too Low In MultiVersus
While many fans of the gaming genre have already managed to find similarities between the attack animations used in MultiVersus and the ones originating in Smash Bros, one thing is for certain: the blows dealt in Smash deliver a much greater deal of damage. A perfect example can be found in the comparison of Captain Falcon's knee smash and Shaggy's flying knee. While it may be canonically acceptable to say that Falcon's knee is much more powerful than Shaggy's, this kind of disparity in damage is something that can be felt throughout MultiVersus' entire gameplay experience.
Where players deal 30% damage in Smash Bros, they'll deal around 15 damage in MultiVersus. This changes the pacing and sense of urgency within Warner Brother's game dramatically, as blows may feel much less punishing than intended. Whether fans of the game will take to MultiVersus' tempered down power scale kindly or not, it's safe to say that Smash Bros definitely found the correct formula for allowing their fighter's blows to feel as devastating as possible.
The Number Of Lives Feels Better In Smash Bros.
Smash Bros manages to offset its character's daunting hits and abilities with plenty of stocks, giving players more than enough time to register their opponent's strategies and develop a counter tactic. Where competitive Smash Bros provides its audience with four lives, MultiVersus limits its players to only two.
While the aforementioned cushioning of shots thrown in MultiVersus can coincide with its reasoning for only providing players with two lives, it still appears to lead to fewer chances for its community to develop in-game strategies and recognize patterns in real-time. Should players slip up and mistakingly lose their first life early on into the matchup, they'll find themselves immediately at match point, whereas the forgiveness of error, or comeback potential, still remains greater in Smash Bros.
There Aren't Enough Stage Options In MultiVersus
One immediately glaring issue with Warner Brother's platform fighter is the lack of stages, a problem that the most recent entry in the Smash Bros series certainly doesn't deal with. Where MultiVersus currently sits with a total of 11 stages for players to use, Super Smash Bros Ultimate currently offers a whopping 108 arenas to choose from. This, however, is clearly a result of Smash having a nearly 25-year head start.
The bright spot for MultiVersus, though, is that it is still in the beta stages of development and thus will have plenty of time to flesh out a more complete collection of maps to choose from. Their current maps are also accompanied by original and recognizable soundtracks that will surely get players' blood pumping. Unfortunately for its developers, however, there will be no catching up to Smash Bros anytime soon.
MultiVersus Doesn't Have Collectibles
A rather minor yet still encompassing aspect of Smash that is missing from several platform fighters, not just MultiVersus, is the addition of in-game trophies and collectibles. While this is an aspect of gaming that has seemed to have faltered more and more over the years, collectibles in fighting games are simply something that adds that extra little crinkle to the immersive fold.
It has always felt gratifying to secure a collectible in a video game. From golf clapping crowds at tournaments to silently satisfied fans sitting in their chair at home, unlocking a new trophy in Smash Bros has always meant something to its community members. While it may not be the biggest issue with the newest addition to the genre, it's definitely becoming a lost art in the world of platform fighters.
MultiVersus Has No Story Mode
An aspect that has been missing from the last several entries in the genre, the story mode is yet another feature that only Smash Bros has managed to handle when it comes to integrating numerous intellectual properties into one overarching narrative. Whether it's battling Rayquaza as Mario or defeating the master hand, Smash Bros has always delivered in regards to its storytelling. With so many characters and narrative arches at their disposal, it's truly a mystery as to why Warner Brothers opted out of creating their own adventuristic tale.
Whether it's the dimension-hopping abilities of Rick & Morty, the multiversal potential of Batman and Superman, or the Time Room from Adventure Time, there are more than enough ways to create a scenario in which these characters' worlds could clash! Unfortunately for fans, it appears as if the short route was taken here. It's truly a shame that players will never get to experience a world in which some of pop culture's most recognizable icons cross paths.
Smash Bros. Has Fun Mini Games
Yet another seemingly forgotten feature in the platform fighting genre is the addition of mini-games. Wherever MultiVersus lacks, Smash Bros seems to compensate. While some aspects of Smash Bros may be unpopular, a seemingly yet silently loved feature was their collection of mini-games.
Regardless of popularity, these games actually allow players to become much more familiarized with a character's movement, abilities, and power. While it does provide fans with The Lab, MultiVersus still missed an opportunity to help its player base transition smoothly into its combative world. Punching a motionless AI offers nowhere near the same level of engagement or skill development as Smash's mini-games.
MultiVersus Lacks Recovery Moves
MultiVersus' recovery move pool, or lack thereof, is nearly nonexistent when compared to Smash Bros. Where smash offers unique up attacks such as Link's sword spin, MultiVersus' seemingly best recovery option for getting back on the stage is through using the character's dodge animation. This creates yet another offensive disparity between the two games.
Where many of the up attacks in Smash Bros act as double-fold abilities, offering both recovery options and offensive capabilities, MultiVersus seems to have many of their character's abilities opt for offense rather than utility. While this is good for chaining combos in MultiVersus, it can feel incredibly limiting to those used to having more options. Simply put, players need to be aware of their relationship with the edge of the stage!
Smash Bros. Has Ledge Grabbing
One of the more readily apparent defensive differences between the two games is the option to ledge grab. The Smash Bros competitive scene is littered with historical plays that are based around this mechanic, something that will definitely punish those who favor that habit. While the arenas in MultiVersus do offer longer walls to play off of on their lower sides, it's simply not the same.
This is yet another dynamic of the game that developers seemed to have overlooked when attempting to create the latest addition to what is essentially the Smash Bros genre. With the aforementioned lack of lives and recovery options, the absence of the ledge-grabbing mechanic just adds to the already growing list of concerns for those on the backfoot. MultiVersus is clearly favoring aggression over tactical gameplay with this move.
MultiVersus Has No Team Attack Option
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the game, MultiVersus does not include a team attack feature. Players need not concern themselves with the positioning of their allies as they are free to do whatever their please in regards to attacking in the 2v2 game mode. It's safe to say that the die-hard fans of the genre are already disgruntled, to say the least.
What Smash developers seemed to understand was that this was a crucial aspect of the game mode. Upon realizing this was missing from MultiVersus, the competitive community immediately realized the potential and subsequently the power that is held in projectile-based characters. Where Smash Bros developers realized that there needed to be consequences to blindly spamming projectiles, the developers of MultiVersus were seemingly shortsighted in their approach to the competitive experience. The game is still in its beta stage, though, so given the feedback that they've received already, there is still hope for the future!
Sudden Death
The lack of a sudden death mode after running out of exhibition time appears to be yet another mechanic that the MultiVersus creators seemed to skip over. Smash Bros' sudden death option creates an immense amount of urgency within the game as it forces players to immediately consider their positioning prior to attacking. The consequences that it presents players with are simply unparalleled.
Where smash creates excitement, MultiVersus creates anticlimactic results. Were players to run out of time while attempting to chase down an opponent, the combatant with the most stocks or health is immediately declared the winner. With the game appearing to favor offense over defense, it seems weird for it to favor those who may choose to coward away in a bout's closing moments.