First revealed in State of Play, and just lately playable at Evo Las Vegas 2025, MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls, brings a elementary shift to the tag-fighting style. Arc System Works, Marvel Video games, and PlayStation Studios have assembled to create a vibrant, stylized world, and after an intense 30-minute play session this previous weekend, I’m counting down the days till I’m a Tōkon fighter once more.
Constructing a 4v4 staff
“The explanation we went with 4v4 is usually because it’s one thing that’s by no means been achieved earlier than in preventing video games the place gamers can swap characters,” says Kazuto Sekine, Recreation Director and Lead Battle Designer, Arc System Works. “We wished to problem ourselves to create a brand new tag fighter.”
Throughout my session, I had entry to a set of all-star Heroes to create my staff of 4:
● Physician Doom is sluggish however hits laborious with magical and difficult vary assaults.
● Ms. Marvel is fast with high-risk, high-reward assaults.
● Storm is an aerial risk with lethal crossovers.,
● Iron Man retains enemies at bay with anti-air and different punishing strikes.
● Star-Lord was the most technical with his capability to modify between firearms and insane juggles.
● Captain America is a flexible all-rounder and an amazing entry level for brand spanking new gamers.
After some experimentation, I prioritized taking part in Storm and Star-Lord. I beloved how their combos, character, and aptitude have been true to their characters (at one level, Storm sternly refers to Star-Lord as “Quill” when he’s goofing off, which I adored). Storm’s mild and medium assaults are beginner-friendly and combo nicely into her Fast Talent, which is a personality’s distinctive assault you activate by urgent R2. I additionally discovered success dashing in with Star-Lord, utilizing fast blaster and melee combos proper into his Final, activated just by urgent R1.
The management scheme is fairly simple. Sq., Triangle, and Circle are your mild, medium, and heavy assaults, respectively, whereas X is the assemble button. Your entire particular assaults and abilities are reserved for the triggers. L1 allows a fast sprint, L2 is a fast Assemble capability, and R1 and R2 present your distinctive assault and fast abilities.
How swapping between characters works
Historically, in a tag fighter, you must rotate by your whole staff earlier than the match is over, however in Tōkon your staff shares one well being bar. This implies you don’t need to grasp the complete roster to be efficient, and in that sense, can method the sport like a extra conventional fighter in the event you select to. At the begin of the match, you may solely management your lead character. As the skirmish progresses, you achieve the capability to modify into your help characters once you lose a spherical, performing a throw, or knocking your opponent into one other part of the stage. It creates an fascinating dance of being cautious to not give your opponents extra choices to make use of towards you whereas ensuring you entry your prolonged roster first, and who you’ll need as your first backup choice.
(*30*)
“Beforehand for all [tag fighters] so as to play them, you had to have the ability to management a number of characters,” says Sekine, “Nonetheless, for our sport, it was vital for us to design it so that you’d solely really need to have the ability to take management of 1 character. You solely must study to play as one character so as to take pleasure in the sport, and you’ll nonetheless see your different teammates coming out and in of the battlefield.”
The place you’ll historically have a devoted button to swap between your get together, right here you do it throughout assists. When you efficiently name in an help you could have a quick window to swap to them. This change creates a pure swap out in the chaos of battle and a few trendy moments between characters. Tōkon cares about what is occurring on display always, so switching between characters in the center of a combo, standing nonetheless, and even in the air creates distinctive animations, corresponding to characters giving one another daps or quipping about needing to step in.
Accommodating completely different gamers’ preventing kinds
As I used to be learning my opponent’s strikes, they took a special method, specializing in supers and attempting to carry out their staff for full-screen spectacles. The place every character performs a fast combo, sending your opponent airborne whereas smashing them to the floor, ending in what I can solely describe as a superhero pose-a-thon. The methodical vs manic method created a enjoyable back-and-forth between us, however the sport was accommodating of each approaches and supplied its personal sense of satisfaction.
“In terms of the sport’s design, it was crucial for us to make this one thing that’s straightforward to get into, however has depth past that preliminary entry,” says Sekine. “One factor that we have been very cautious about when designing the sport was to make sure that there’s no form of mechanic or assault that somebody who’s simply getting began wouldn’t be capable to carry out. It will impede on the expertise of recent gamers.”
“If you press the Assemble button, relying on the scenario and what’s happening in the match, the Help will come out and carry out a special motion that’s appropriate for that individual second,” says Sekine. “By designing it in that method that we’re in a position to clearly talk to the participant when they need to be calling of their assists, and make it simpler for them to play.”
Anime-inspired Heroes in motion
“At Marvel video games, it’s actually vital for us to permit builders to place their very own distinctive stamp on the Marvel Universe,” says Michael Francisco, Sr. Product Improvement Supervisor, Marvel Video games. “In the case of Arc, it’s that fusion of Marvel and American comics with Japanese anime and manga, and you’ll see that mirrored in the artwork fashion and the character designs.”
All the characters ooze allure, however the backgrounds additionally pack plenty of thrilling particulars. Eagle-eyed followers ought to preserve an eye fixed out for fascinating signage referencing heroes and occasions, pedestrians reacting to on-screen motion, and easter eggs scattered all through. It’s apparent plenty of care was put into constructing this world.
“It was crucial for us to have the ability to create the visible pleasure that needs to be entailed with [tag fighters],” says Takeshi Yamanaka, Producer, Arc System Works. “Since it is a 4v4 sport, that implies that we are able to have as much as eight characters out on the display at one time altogether, so we have been cautious when creating the visible composition of the display to make sure that we convey that pleasure.”
The 4v4 fights start subsequent yr
MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls is about to launch in 2026, and whereas I’m excited to see all the heroes, mixtures, and worlds the sport will take us to,o I requested the staff how they felt about creating one thing new that has by no means been achieved earlier than in the preventing style.
“It’s each scary and thrilling, exhilarating and terrifying, at the similar time,” says Francisco. “From the starting, all of us need to honor and respect the wealthy historical past and legacy of Marvel, whereas additionally forging our personal path ahead to create one thing new and modern. So, we simply hope followers are excited to see what we’ve come up with as a collaboration between all three events.”