Invincible VS Review (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, & PC)

The guys who developed the fighting game, Killer Instinct, have rounded up and formed Quarter Up. And their first game is Invincible VS, based on Amazon Prime Video’s Invincible animated TV series, which is, in turn, based on Image Comics’ Invincible comic book series. Obviously, fans of the series and comic will likely be the first in line to try out the new game. But the goal for adaptations is to also attract newcomers to the flock. A sort of getaway into the superhero world of Mark Grayson. And that’s the tough job, really. Creating a game so good that people with no interest at all in the source material find themselves hooked. 

While Invincible could have been adapted into lots of genres, Quarter Up chose to go with a fighting game. A wise choice, indeed, given their stellar job and experience in developing Killer Instinct. I had high hopes for this one, and it didn’t totally disappoint. There just are some few issues that could definitely use ironing out to truly create an exceptional, possibly next addiction for competitive gamers. Let’s look at the upside (and downside) of playing Invincible VS in our review below.

Launch Roster

I immediately get excited over the playable characters a fighting game has. Just how different they are from one another, and which one’ll become my favorite. At launch, Invincible VS rolled the carpet with 18 characters. Fans of the TV series and comic book will know those are barely enough pulls from the source material. Chances are, in fact, that you’ll find your favorite character missing at launch. It’s disappointing, really, because these aren’t characters that are created from scratch. Their personalities and abilities are already defined. 

Still, there will be more playable characters that Quarter Up plans to add via future DLCs. So, that’s encouraging. But what of the ones already available? Are they any good? Well, expectedly so. You’ll find their stark differences in personalities and abilities charming. Pretty authentic, too, to the source material. You’re even treated to different lines for different match-ups. And those add extra flair to the fights. I suppose some lines might feel corny. A little simplistic, especially in the arcade mode. The characters would say things you already know about them, when a little more depth could have gone a long way toward engagement. 

It’s a good enough roster to start. Not perfect, given the overlap in abilities as well. You might be a bit lost on the differences in the attacks of certain characters. But the abilities play out satisfingly enough for the similarities to be irksome.

Like a Bonus Episode

Invincible VS does have a story mode. Not that it’s a particularly profound one. It’ll take you an hour or so to wrap it up. Definitely rushed. Plus, it could use more depth. As is, it’s serviceable, giving you a reason for the rivalries you’ll be orchestrating between characters. It’s a fine line when trying to satisfy both staunch fans of the source material and newcomers. You can tell Quarter Up didn’t want to make it an overly deep story that newcomers will find tough to keep up with. But at the same time, it ends up hurting depth. Characters end up being surface-level when there’s so much more to their background and personalities that could use a little more unraveling. 

An hour or so of your time isn’t something to be mad about, though. Hardly time wasted, when it’s spruced up by fights between the characters. Here’s where you learn the attacks and inputs, though you’ll master the mechanics more in the training mode.

On the audio-visual front, though, Invincible VS outdoes itself. It looks ravishing in its stop-motion style. Expect some thrilling bloody bits when characters disintegrate at the might of your kicks and punches. Even the voicing is stellar, with some cast members reprising their roles, and others having excellent stand-ins. It’s only in the static, sort of cutscenes that come at the end of the ladder-style arcade mode that are a letdown. 

Chaining Combos

The actual fighting game is straightforward enough. When some serious fighting games will have you cramming confusing inputs, up, down, down, up, Invincible VS chooses to keep it simple. But that doesn’t make the fights particularly easy. As much as the inputs are simple enough, you do have to chain them into combos. And that needs quick reflexes and timing. Otherwise, you’d end up pinned down by an opponent with a better mastery of combos. And well, rage quitting has been a recurring notion this early into online rounds.

Oh, yes. You have solo plays against computer-controlled opponents. But you can also dabble in multiplayer. Just spend some time in the training mode first to learn and master the controls because the multiplayer rounds can be pretty intense. It’s a shame that Invincible VS doesn’t have a good variety of game modes. In addition to the story mode, an hour or so long, mind you, there’s the arcade and online mode. Arcade is your ladder-style challenge, similar to the actual arcade fighting games. You have a certain number of characters you need to beat. The higher you climb the ladder, the more character-specific endings you unlock.

Challenge Yourself

In the online modes, you can try out the casual, ranked, or custom matches. So far, the servers have been running without a hitch. Some brutal players out there will humble you. But that’s what the training mode is for, to get you polished up. In the casual matches, you don’t have to worry about scores/rank. Ranked, however, will display the best players on the leaderboards. If you want to catch your breath, because you can really get sucked into it, there’s the option to spectate. Crossplay is the cherry on top that will hopefully attract a steady stream of opponents to play against.

Down and Dirty

Characters have light, medium, heavy, and special attacks. Over time, you’ll learn to string together the one-button combinations of these to create devastating combos. And once you master combos, you’ll be untouchable, given how powerful they are. While you control one character at a time, Invincible VS has a 3v3 tag system. So, you can call in assists. And there’s depth to it that you can use to your advantage. You can use assists as a slick way of extending combos. Perhaps you’re stuck and can call in an assist to break the opponent’s combos. Or you might simply need a damage output or a health boost.

Special attacks work similarly to other fighting games, where successful hits charge up the respective meter. And you can cash in at the most opportune times. Movement is also similar, where quick dashes forward, backward, or mid-air, in the nick of time, can make all the difference in winning. The dashes are pretty fast and can even span across the entire screen. Overall, it’s an easy system to learn and relatively tough to master. It has a good level of challenge, but also lets you have fun with it.

I just wonder what would keep you coming back for more. The DLCs might bring in incentives and events with special rewards. But as is, there’s little incentive besides the fighting itself being fun. And perhaps that’s enough. Perhaps Invincible VS could have used more character customization or unlocking specialized weapons and rewards for specific characters. Something to track progress that feels rewarding.

Verdict

The combat in Invincible VS is so much fun. Throwing punches and drawing blood is so satisfying. And it’s all super fast, so that every match never wears out. While the inputs are simple enough, the tough part is in stringing them together to create devastating combos. And that journey of discovery and getting better is the reward. 

Because the characters barely have enough customization options. Some of their abilities overlap, and their lines can be a bit corny. But they do have distinct, fun personalities that add a touch of humor. Especially in the story mode, which, despite its short length, has its highs. Fans should enjoy the story mode, structured like a bonus episode to the TV series. Newcomers, however, may find the character depth lacking.

You also have an arcade mode that’s challenging to get through. But it also has its caveats of bland static character-specific “cutscenes.” And the character lines could have been more creative. It’s a juggle between some good parts and others that could use more depth. With the future DLCs, though, on the way, we just might enjoy more in-depth content and customization options.