Before we start, I would like to begin by thanking Warner Bros. Games for allowing us to participate in this MultiVersus Hands-on, which enabled us to have access to the new content from the official release and produce this content.

A heavyweight crossover

Arya Stark, Batman, Bugs Bunny, Harley Quinn, LeBron James – yes, the King James himself – Scooby Doo's Shaggy, the wonderful duos of Tom & Jerry and Rick & Morty, Adventure Time's Finn, and a few more... If there's any character you like on this list, know that you'll be able to choose any of them to brawl with another iconic personality from the Warner universes.

Furthermore, the characters received the rich voice acting from the original actors of the animated series, making everything more immersive, fun, and, of course, raising the quality of the work. I'll talk more about the game's art later, but I wanted to give a preview of my opinion: the audio is one of the highest quality aspects of the game. By saying this, I don't mean that the other aspects are bad, or anything like that, but the quality of the sound effects, some soundtracks, and the dubbing is really good – you can really feel the Warner Bros touch on this point –.

Taking advantage that we are already talking about the iconic characters available in MultiVersus, I'll segue to address the new characters and villains that will be released on May 28. They are: none other than Joker, Jason Voorhees – yes, from Friday the 13th –, Agent Smith from The Matrix, and the Banana Guards from Adventure Time. 

I would like to delve into the combat mechanics a bit about what I thought of each new character, but first I'll cover some of the changes for the official release.

Even during the beta version, the game received several updates and a lot of new content, including characters. Now, in the official release, the developers announced that MultiVersus will have even more new content: a new seasonal pass system – which, in my opinion, has a similar system to Fortnite, where it brings in-game coins in the free and paid passes, allowing you to buy a new pass in the future only with in-game coins; in other words, I believe it's a good pass economy for players –, new characters and environments, such as Dexter's laboratory and Townsville (from The Powerpuff Girls) – where Mojo Jojo interacts with the scenario to disrupt your game –, an improvement in gameplay, a PvE mode, and more updates to come. Anyway, I'll try to address these points more in-depth later on.

Okay, but what about the fight?

Hold on, okay, we've talked about updates, new content, and even the most artistic part that initially captivates and seduces us to play MultiVersus. But what about the fight? The gameplay? What keeps you hooked inside the game?

So, going back to the beta version, there was an issue with the game's hitbox, where some characters ended up being much stronger than others, as it was much easier to hit their attacks. But now, in the official release, Player First Games announces not only several new contents but also a smoother gameplay, more tactical with more impactful moves.

To be honest, while I felt that the characters were more balanced and it was really possible to duel against almost all of them, it was difficult to perceive how much, as I initially only had access to the game through the North American server and this compromised my latency, so the lag ended up hindering me from evaluating this concretely. Therefore, I will avoid criticizing or judging the combat in a technical way. In general, what matters is that, even with the latency, I had a lot of fun with the game and it got me very excited to play the official version on a South American server.

Another important detail to add is that even before, in the MultiVersus beta version, where there were still complaints about the game's combat, I already found the game quite fun, although frustrating at times, and had spent dozens of hours playing. So, if some refinements come in terms of combat and the developers continue to pay attention to the community, I'm sure the game will be very good and I will definitely be there to play.

Finally, as promised, I would like to talk about the new characters released in MultiVersus. Among all of them, I only couldn't play with Agent Smith and I can tell you that both the art and the combat mechanics of all of them are pretty cool. My favorite by far is Joker, even though he is considered a 'mage' fighter, which I have some difficulty playing, the character's animations and combos are very fun and captivate me to want to master the character – I confess that I have a great fondness for characters with playful attacks and animations, and Joker definitely brings me that vibe –.

Jason is very strong and I found his mechanics easy to learn – I even got beaten a few times in multiplayer by some Jasons – but, being a tank character, it wasn't the one I identified with the most, as I prefer mobility. Finally, I also tested the Banana Guards and I think they are very strong, because their attacks have a great impact and their mechanics are extremely simple, I would even say that they are one of the easiest characters to play with. It can't be said that they are overpower because everything that is very simple to use is easy to understand and counter.

The PvE system

One of the great novelties announced by Player First Games for the release of MultiVersus was the PvE system, which will have new maps and universes, containing puzzles, boss fights, mini-games, and providing unique rewards.

I have criticisms and praises for the system... I would like to start with the negative point: the puzzles and mini-games within the PvE maps really didn't appeal to me. They are such simple and uninnovative gameplay that I feel they don't make much sense to have them there, as a mandatory part to advance in the levels. Most of the time, I just wanted to complete the mini-game as quickly as possible with the highest score to get my reward, unlock the next stage, and move on to the next fight. I would even say it was boring for me.

However, when it comes to combat against the machine, it's a different story. I feel it's a great way for you to get a little more comfortable with the game's fundamental mechanics, for newcomers, as well as to train new characters and learn their combos. Besides, there is a lore that makes the different characters from different universes interact, providing us with some really beautiful cinematics from time to time.

Another point to mention is the different AI difficulties (which are many). I couldn't play beyond the second difficulty, as I hadn't unlocked it yet – apparently you need to level up your character with gems to make it stronger in order to unlock the more difficult levels –, but I confess that the second level was enough to make me repeat some stages and be a good challenge. With that, I reinforce my point about how it can be functional for you to train and get used to new heroes.

The art

To wrap up the text, I would like to talk a bit more about the game's art. Overall, the graphics are simple, as they lean towards a more cartoonish side. The characters are very well drawn and colorful, really pleasant to look at. However, I feel that the environments and stages don't match the quality of the characters, being too simple. This doesn't apply to all backgrounds, such as what seems to be Batman's mansion, where the background is very detailed and beautiful. But there are others that are really bland and uninspiring. I miss some more elaborated and beautiful backgrounds.

Another artistic aspect that I think brings fun and liveliness to MultiVersus is how the developers managed to be creative and bring the characters' personalities to their attacks and combos. In this sense, when I played with Bugs Bunny or with the Tom & Jerry duo, I feel a certain playfulness and a comedic tone in their attacks, just like you see happening all the time in the animated series. In characters like Superman, it's a different perception and you feel the character's imposing and tougher personality. Overall, I understand that the animations are of good quality and very creative, as I feel that this liveliness that each character has comes from them.

Regarding the characters, I've already talked about their animations and how they bring life to the game and identity to the heroes. We've also discussed the fact that they are dubbed by the original actors from the animated series, and of course, this only enhances and adds more to the characters' identity and liveliness. Lastly, we have very pleasant character designs as well. That said, I feel that the characters together with the game's sound end up bringing a very rich artistic quality, being, for me, the best quality of MultiVersus.

In summary, MultiVersus is a game that brings a very large, rich, and quality artistic aspect due to its relationship with Warner Bros and its characters. But more than that, it is a very fun fighting game that captivates us to master the combat with those characters we cherish the most. MultiVersus is a game that you definitely should give a chance if you like combat and/or competitive games, or the different fictional universes of Warner.

For the construction of this review, MultiVersus was played on the Microsoft Windows (PC) platform, through Steam. It is also important to remember that this text was built based on the game in the pre-release version in the Hands-On.

Finally, we would like to thank Warner Bros. Games again for providing us with the access key and allowing this content to be created.