Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls was designed to be approachable without sacrificing the strategic depth expected of a competitive fighting game, according to producer Takeshi Yamanaka and director and designer Kazuto Sekine. In an interview, the Arc System Works developers discussed the challenge of balancing those goals in the 4v4 game, available on PlayStation 5 and PC.
The team put considerable effort into finding that balance, Yamanaka said, and was pleased that players found the game easy to pick up while still offering competitive depth. An optional, simplified control scheme lets players perform a character’s moves without requiring complex inputs.
Managing a team of four adds another layer of complexity, so the game includes tutorials for each fighter. Players can learn one character first and move on to a second or third when they are ready, Sekine explained. He said the straightforward controls still leave players with meaningful choices during fights, including how to respond to an opponent and which available actions to use.
Learning the whole team can help players adapt to an opponent or switch characters when a fight is going poorly. It can also unlock synergies between teammates. However, Sekine said players can also succeed by mastering a single fighter. The team shares one health bar, and players can focus on their chosen character while using the others for assists, or switch to another fighter when the option becomes available.
The game’s first-year character additions include Cyclops and Phoenix, with Thor (Jane Foster), Venom and Jubilee also confirmed for the season pass. The latter three are scheduled to arrive in winter, spring and summer, respectively.
Sources: Vandal.