Invincible VS Review – When Heroes Hit Hard

Invincible VS Review

From the panel to the screen, Invincible has had a meteoric rise thanks to the faithful adaptation of Kirkman’s fresh take on the superhero genre. A groundbreaking comic, the franchise twists familiar tropes to deliver a brutal tale that dismantles the comforting myths of superhero fiction. Although smaller releases linked to the series have surfaced, Invincible VS marks its first major release. Combining the brutal combat and gore that the series is renowned for with a slick presentation and tight mechanics, could this be the definitive way to experience the franchise?

Establishing a new fighter is no small feat. Not only must you compete with giants in the medium, but you must also create a system that can entice newcomers and include the level of depth to appeal to the fighting game community. Developed by Quarter Up, Skybound’s first in-house studio, featuring part of the team behind Killer Instinct (2013), the project steps into the ring with the confidence of a studio determined to make its mark.

Fierce Fighting Foundation

Fighting games hinge on the mechanics. The genre’s competitive nature forces developers to consider many factors to help the game succeed in a crowded space. Invincible VS confidently enters the scene with a combat system that includes many nuances that make a fighter that’s far more than just a flashy licensed tie‑in. Combat is centred around the Magic Series system. As seen in titles such as Marvel vs. Capcom and Guilty Gear Strive, this is a chain combo mechanic where you can escalate attacks from light to heavy to create devastating flurries. The ethos is applied universally, allowing you to have a base knowledge that you can apply to every character. Although this helps to create a more accessible experience, it does so without hindering the level of depth.

During attacks, you can send in either member of your team to unleash an attack or to tag. This adds more options to combat as it allows you to increase your combos to deliver massive damage. The tag mechanic is central to fights, requiring you to regularly switch to conserve health and extend punishment. Sending your opponent off-screen is a great way to finish off foes with low health, placing the odds in your favour. However, you can also recover health when opponents kick the crap out of you by escaping the action. If in the midst of a combo, performing a Counter Tag lets you escape but costs bars on your meter.

A New Era

You can perform special attacks with a single button press, and you trigger an EX version by holding the button, which consumes bars from your meter. A secondary meter sits at the bottom of the screen, allowing you to unleash a Super or Ultimate cinematic special on your opponent with a simple press of a couple of buttons. These systems will feel familiar to anyone who’s played a modern fighter.

Where Invincible VS really distinguishes itself is in its presentation. Supers are spectacular, giving each character a distinct personality through exaggerated and often brutally violent finishers. Certain round‑ending strikes can even decapitate opponents, leaving behind a bloody mess, and the progressive damage system communicates the escalating intensity of each exchange beautifully. But the real point of contention is the control scheme. Despite being layered over these traditional mechanics, the single‑button approach to special moves is a bold deviation that may prove divisive among fighting‑game purists.

Although the single-button approach may appear to place accessibility over complexity, it ultimately enhances usability for everyone. There are multiple layers within the gameplay, which lead to a deep competitive experience where you must use all of your skills and multiple characters to emerge victorious. If you rummage through the settings, you can alter the controls to a traditional, motion-based system. I play all fighters this way, but Invincible VS feels like the developers built it from the ground up for the single‑button control scheme, making it feel more natural than the classic method. Playing with motion does include a damage increase, but the fact that both styles are supported drives home that it’s built with gamers of varying preferences in mind.

Packed with Personality

The game features 18 beloved characters, each bringing unique abilities that make them a thrill to play. Each hero and villain leans into certain characteristics, making them prime for particular combat styles. Whereas Mark Grayson is an all-rounder, Omni-Man is a powerhouse and lethal in close-quarters combat. This extends with Atom Eve, who is a great zonal fighter and Dupli-Kate, who excels with rushdown tactics. The possibilities swell when you’re creating teams of three, using characters that complement one another and then switching characters and tactics depending on who you face.

A bespoke story mode featuring voice actors from the series is a great single-player experience. Similar to Mortal Kombat, cutscenes bookend the action to create a seamless adventure. While the story isn’t particularly groundbreaking, it’s an enjoyable tale that features the cast of iconic characters. The cinematic presentation bleeds into the entire experience as you can smash people into different areas, echoing the notion of fighting across the world.

In addition to this is a standard arcade mode, a handful of extras and a versus mode. The online component is what truly matters in a fighter, and the netcode is stable. I didn’t encounter any issues when playing online, making the experience seamless. This will massively support the growth of the game, providing a reliable foundation for competitive play. The tutorial provides you with foundational knowledge of the game’s systems and the practice mode lets you experiment with these. While you can level up each character to unlock items, including a challenge mode or more single-player options, would help round out the package.

A Total Knockout

Invincible VS is bloody brilliant. Accessible yet packed with depth, Quarter Up has crafted a fighter that welcomes newcomers while offering the nuance that will excite the fighting game community. While more modes and options for solo players would certainly round out the package, this is an incredible fighter worthy of its heroic name.

***PlayStation 5 code provided by the publisher for review***