Invincible VS: Punching Through Plot Holes (With Glorious Gore, Mate!)
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Invincible VS delivers a spectacularly bloody and surprisingly deep fighting experience with a varied roster, but its story mode is a disappointingly shallow affair that fails to capture the emotional depth of its acclaimed source material.
Alright, mates, your resident digital wizard, Jeff, is here to conjure up some thoughts on *Invincible VS*. Now, if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably spent a good chunk of your life wondering what it'd be like to accidentally punch someone through a skyscraper... in a game, obviously. And let me tell you, Quarter Up and Skybound Games' new tag-team brawler absolutely delivers on that front. It’s like they bottled pure cartoon chaos and sprinkled it with enough gore to make a butcher blush. You want blood? You got it. Limbs? Probably. Overkill mechanics that turn foes into a fine red mist? Oh, you *bloody* betcha. The visual spectacle here is genuinely on par with the absolute carnage we’ve come to expect from the TV show and comics. Austin Manchester over at Polygon, who gave this a whirl, certainly reckoned the kinetic action was top-notch.
Before diving in, I’ll admit, I had a proper wizard's brew of skepticism bubbling. An *Invincible* fighter? With so many characters whose primary superpower is "punch really, really hard"? You’d expect them all to feel the same, right? Like an *Injustice* roster packed with nothing but Supermen. But fair dinkum, Quarter Up pulled a rabbit out of the hat here. Even the Viltrumites – those magnificent, mustachioed brawlers – have distinct styles. Cullen's a grappler, Anissa's a precise striker, and Thula's braid-blade is surprisingly versatile, letting her attack from a distance (which, let’s be honest, always looked a bit dodgy in the show but works a treat here!). Then you've got Atom Eve, Rex Splode, and the elemental newcomer Ella Mental mixing things up even further. It’s a genuinely varied roster, defying my initial fears like a forgotten spell backfiring in the best possible way.
And the fighting itself? *Chef's kiss*. It's a 3v3 tag-team affair that’s easy to pick up, but has enough depth to keep you conjuring up new strategies. Swapping teammates, extending combos, regaining health on the bench – it's all there. What really tickled my fancy, though, is how newcomer-friendly it is. You can genuinely button-mash your way to some spectacular, blood-soaked supers and feel like a proper fighting game legend. As Austin notes, "Stringing together a light attack combo can automatically trigger a super attack." And who doesn't love feeling like they're pulling off some sick sequence without needing a PhD in frame data, eh?
But, and here's where my gently skeptical wizard hat starts to tilt, while the combat is pure gold, the story mode... well, it’s a bit of a damp squib, isn't it? Quarter Up apparently had grand ambitions, aiming for a narrative on par with the animated series. They even roped in *Invincible* writer Helen Leigh and creator Robert Kirkman. That’s proper behind-the-scenes magic, right? You'd *expect* something special.
Yet, despite all that talent, the story feels... bloodless, ironically. The *Invincible* show itself dives deep into the emotional and physical toll of all that superheroic destruction. Mark Grayson’s whole journey is about grappling with the consequences of violence, even killing. He's constantly questioning his path. Then you jump into *Invincible VS*, and he's exploding enemies into "bloody chunks" without a second thought in a regular match. It's a jarring disconnect that made me wonder if someone forgot to install the 'emotional stakes' patch.
As Austin so eloquently puts it, "The story mode is fighting for the sake of fighting." You’re just hopping from one brawl to the next with minimal narrative momentum, no character arcs, and frankly, no real reason *why*. It's like a choose-your-own-adventure book where every page just says "FIGHT!" and then gives you no explanation for the fight or its outcome. Compared to the rich narratives of NetherRealm's *Mortal Kombat* or *Injustice* games – which set up proper stakes and character development before every punch-up – *Invincible VS*'s story feels more like an anime filler arc that you’ll promptly forget. It aims to be an episode of the show but lands closer to a side quest from a generic RPG that you skip the dialogue for.
So, what's the final verdict from this digital oracle? *Invincible VS* is a genuinely cracking fighting game. The combat is fluid, the roster is surprisingly deep, and it's an absolute blast to play, whether you're a seasoned pro or just want to button-mash your way to glorious, gory victory. It’s out now on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, for those curious adventurers out there.
But if you’re coming for that rich, nuanced narrative exploring the toll of violence that the source material is famed for, you might find yourself a tad disappointed. The story mode feels like a missed opportunity, a spell that fizzled out before it could truly ignite. Still, for sheer, unadulterated, ultraviolent fun, *Invincible VS* punches well above its weight. Just don't expect it to make you *think* too much about why you're doing all that punching, mate. It's an excellent brawler, but its story needs a bit more magical oomph, if you ask me. Original insights courtesy of Austin Manchester at Polygon.
Tags: Fighting Games, Invincible, Game Review, Superheroes, Console Gaming
Original article: Polygon