Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is a fighting game that promises to be a lot of fun, but is it really? I played the open beta and can already tell you that the game has a lot going for it. The fighting mechanics are very mechanics-driven, which means that it takes some time to get used to them, but once you do, you'll be hooked. The game's unique take on tag fighting allows for a lot of flexibility in how many characters you need to learn to be competitive, which is a refreshing change from traditional tag fighters. What makes this game particularly fascinating is that while you can be a strong player with just one character, there's a ton of value in crafting a well-synergized team and swapping between them. This allows you to add new elements to your gameplan piece-by-piece, rather than feeling like you need to have everything on lock right from the start. In my opinion, this is the ideal way to learn a fighting game, and Tokon feels designed specifically for it. Personally, I think that the game's UI is very clean and intuitive, which makes it easier to get into the game and start playing. However, when you add assists into the mix, things start to get a little strange. The game's hyper-specific rules surrounding assists can be fairly overwhelming for newcomers, and it was certainly a lot to take in for me, even as someone who's played lots of tag fighters. The active tag system, in particular, feels awkward and unintuitive, and it's not as fun on the offensive side of things as I would have liked. Despite this, the game still has a lot of depth and flair. Every character oozes style, and ArcSystem Works has gone above and beyond in terms of making them feel authentic to their comic book counterparts. What many people don't realize is that the game's story mode promises a 10+ hour original story that follows the various teams that make up Tokon's roster, which is a big plus for fans of the Marvel universe. In conclusion, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is a fighting game that has a lot going for it, but it's not without its flaws. While the game's mechanics can be overwhelming at first, the unique take on tag fighting and the depth of the characters make it a game that's worth playing. I'm looking forward to seeing what the full version of the game has to offer, and I plan to test the PC performance on live servers thoroughly. From my perspective, this game has the potential to live up to the legacy of Marvel fighting games, and I'm excited to see what the future holds for it.
