Role-Playing Games of the 2020s, Part 3 Codexery

Marvel's Midnight Suns

A tactical RPG mixing deck-building combat with superhero social simulation.

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Marvel's Midnight Suns is a tactical role-playing game where players control "The Hunter", child of Lilith, leading a team of heroes against her.[1] Combat combines turn-based strategy with deck-building, using cards to represent each hero's abilities.[2][3]

Making and release

The team quickly abandoned core XCOM mechanics like cover and permadeath, feeling they did not suit superheroes.[4][5] They experimented with a counter system for unpredictability but scrapped it because it discouraged attacking.[6][7] The card-drawing mechanic was chosen to randomize available actions while guaranteeing each ability works.[6][7] Firaxis announced the game at Gamescom in August 2021 with a March 2022 release date.[8]

After two delays, it launched on December 2, 2022, for Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.[8] After the 2017 release of XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, Marvel Games contacted Firaxis Games because they were impressed with their XCOM series work.[9][7] The initial concept for the game, led by creative director Jake Solomon who had directed the modern XCOM titles, focused on S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.[9] Throughout 2023, four downloadable content packs were released, adding Deadpool, Venom, Morbius, and Storm as playable characters.[10]

The version planned for Nintendo Switch was ultimately cancelled.[11]

What the cited sources add

The Abbey, the player's base of operations, is located in a pocket dimension of Salem, Massachusetts.[12] Solomon told GamesHub that the team started by trying to make XCOM with Marvel heroes but realized "none of those things made any sense."[5] The game has around 65,000 lines of voiced dialogue, according to the development team.[13] Anime served as inspiration for the developers; art director Dennis Moellers pointed to Dragon Ball FighterZ as a reference.[14][15]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Marvel's Midnight Suns" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McMullen, "What Type of Game Is Marvel's Midnight Suns?", The Escapist, December 7, 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Marvel's Midnight Suns" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hall, "Marvel's Midnight Suns is the next game from the XCOM team", Polygon, August 25, 2021; Kim, "Marvel's Midnight Suns Combat Uses a Card System", IGN, September 1, 2021; Weinhoffer, "Marvel's Midnight Suns: Super-heroic turn-based combat and card tactics explained", PlayStation Blog, October 26, 2022; Weinhoffer, "Marvel's Midnight Suns: Super-heroic turn-based combat and card tactics explained", PlayStation Blog, October 26, 2022; Hafer, "Marvel's Midnight Suns: The First Preview", IGN, June 17, 2022; Weinhoffer, "Marvel's en.wikipedia.org
  3. Weinhoffer, "Marvel's Midnight Suns: Super-heroic turn-based combat and card tactics explained", PlayStation Blog, October 26, 2022. facts only, no text reused. blog.playstation.com
  4. Wikipedia, "Marvel's Midnight Suns" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Higton, "How Firaxis made Marvel and XCOM mesh for Midnight Suns", Eurogamer, June 9, 2022; Tran, "Marvel's Midnight Suns: Firaxis talks ditching XCOM and adding swimsuits", GamesHub, November 29, 2022; Hornshaw, "Marvel's Midnight Suns Hands-on Preview: An XCOM Mutation", GameSpot, June 9, 2022 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Tran, "Marvel's Midnight Suns: Firaxis talks ditching XCOM and adding swimsuits", GamesHub, November 29, 2022. facts only, no text reused. gameshub.com
  6. Wikipedia, "Marvel's Midnight Suns" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fenlon, "Midnight Suns devs 'absolutely' knew cards would be a controversial choice, but they were also 'absolutely the right fit for this game and our design goals'", PC Gamer, March 27, 2024 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Fenlon, "Midnight Suns devs 'absolutely' knew cards would be a controversial choice, but they were also 'absolutely the right fit for this game and our design goals'", PC Gamer, March 27, 2024. facts only, no text reused. pcgamer.com
  8. Wikipedia, "Marvel's Midnight Suns" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bailey, "Marvel's Midnight Suns, Firaxis' Marvel XCOM Game, Officially Announced", IGN, August 25, 2021; Hall, "Marvel's Midnight Suns is the next game from the XCOM team", Polygon, August 25, 2021; Carr, "Marvel's Midnight Suns Delayed Again, Current-Gen Releasing Before The End Of March 2023", GameSpot, August 8, 2022; Takahashi, "Marvel Midnight Suns debuts on December 2", VentureBeat, September 9, 2022; Stewart, "Marvel's Midnight Suns Arrives in December, Animated Prequel Shorts Revealed", September 9, 2022; "Marvel’s Midnig en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Marvel's Midnight Suns" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Higton, "How Firaxis made Marvel and XCOM mesh for Midnight Suns", Eurogamer, June 9, 2022; Fenlon, "Midnight Suns devs 'absolutely' knew cards would be a controversial choice, but they were also 'absolutely the right fit for this game and our design goals'", PC Gamer, March 27, 2024 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Marvel's Midnight Suns" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Romano, "Marvel's Midnight Suns Season Pass detailed, including Deadpool, Venom, Morbius, and Storm", Gematsu, October 26, 2022; Wales, "Marvel's Midnight Suns' Deadpool DLC gets January release date, new trailer", Eurogamer, January 19, 2025; J. William, "Marvel's Midnight Suns: Venom DLC launches in February 2023", GamesHub, February 17, 2013; Wales, "Marvel's Midnight Suns adds Morbius in latest DLC instalment", Eurogamer, March 21, 2023 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Marvel's Midnight Suns" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Romano, "Marvel's Midnight Suns for PS4 and Xbox One launches May 11 alongside DLC 'Blood Storm'; Switch version canceled", Gematsu, May 2, 2023 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Yu, "Why it's worth exploring the Abbey in Marvel's Midnight Suns", Polygon, December 2, 2022. facts only, no text reused. polygon.com
  13. Wikipedia, "Marvel's Midnight Suns" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Castle, "How Marvel's Midnight Suns lost the race with the MCU, but came out all the better for it", Rock, Paper, Shotgun, June 9, 2022; Donnelly, "Jake Solomon says Marvel's Midnight Suns maintains XCOM's spontaneous storytelling", GamesRadar, November 11, 2022; Castle, "How Marvel's Midnight Suns lost the race with the MCU, but came out all the better for it", Rock, Paper, Shotgun, June 9, 2022; Higton, "How Firaxis made Marvel and XCOM mesh for Midnight Suns", Eurogamer, June 9, 2022; Dominguez, "How X-Men: The Animated Series en.wikipedia.org
  14. Wikipedia, "Marvel's Midnight Suns" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fenlon, "Midnight Suns devs 'absolutely' knew cards would be a controversial choice, but they were also 'absolutely the right fit for this game and our design goals'", PC Gamer, March 27, 2024; Wood, "How anime and JRPGs made Marvel's Midnight Suns a better strategy game", GamesRadar, June 10, 2022; Williams, "Firaxis Games talks about designing and developing the superhero tactical experience of Marvel's Midnight Suns", Unreal Engine, April 5, 2023 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  15. Wood, "How anime and JRPGs made Marvel's Midnight Suns a better strategy game", GamesRadar, June 10, 2022. facts only, no text reused. gamesradar.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Marvel's Midnight Suns (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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