Marvel Games has had some huge hits in the last few years, with Insomniac’sSpider-Manseries selling well over 40 million copies and the recently releasedMarvel Rivalsmaintaining its high active player-count. But the unprecedented success of these games has inadvertently overshadowed some ofMarvel’s other video game releases, games that may not have been major financial successes but still deserve recognition.Marvel’s Midnight Sunsis one such game.
Released in December 2022,Marvel’s Midnight Sunsreceived favorable reviews across the board, but it failed to become a mainstream success, with Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick confirming in February 2023 that the game was a commercial flop. It’s unlikely, then, that fans will get a sequel toMidnight Sunsanytime soon. But there are a few features that deserve to live on, one of which would be a perfect fit for Insomniac’s rumored X-Men game.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns' Social Features Would Fit an X-Men Game Perfectly
Marvel’s Midnight Suns Put a Surprisingly Big Focus on Social Features
BetweenMarvel’s Midnight Sunsthrilling turn-based superhero battles, players find themselves exploring the grounds of the team’sAbbey headquarters. During the downtime, players are encouraged to speak with their teammates, exchange gifts, and increase their relationship score, which in turn grants them new card abilities and cosmetics.
Midnight Suns' relationship systemplays a surprisingly key role in the gameplay loop, and it evolves in a few key ways throughout the game’s 40-hour runtime. After each mission inMidnight Suns, players can choose from a handful of heroes to hang out with. Players can also find Havens dotted around the Abbey grounds, which they can invite heroes to.Midnight Sunseven lets players co-create a handful of social clubs, such as a book club that’s led by Blade. Participating in these events rewards the player with new cards, outfits, and plenty of engaging story beats that show just how well Firaxis understood these iconic Marvel characters.
Insomniac’s X-Men Should Borrow Midnight Suns' Social Features
Back in December 2023, Insomniac Games suffered a major hack that resulted in countless confidential files being leaked onto the internet. Some of these files suggested that Sony had made a deal with Marvel to gain theexclusive rights to create X-Men games, and that Insomniac was directly involved in its creation. This hasn’t been confirmed in any official capacity, but it’s still rumored that Insomniac is working on an X-Men game.
A core facet of the X-Men is the team’s interweaving relationships and ever-changing dynamic. Without theJean Grey/Scott Summers/Logan love triangle, Gambit and Rogue’s bittersweet relationship, and Xavier’s role as mentor (or intense dynamics like them), the X-Men wouldn’t be nearly as interesting as they are. This is something Insomniac’s rumored X-Men game needs to keep in mind.
It would be wise forInsomniac’s X-Mento implement a relationship system similar to the one inMarvel’s Midnight Suns, where players are encouraged to speak with teammates in the downtime between action sequences. Insomniac’s X-Men could even liftMidnight Suns' social club feature directly, with it making much more sense for an educational setting like Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
