Competitive gaming has been a rising trend throughout the years. So much so that it is considered a sport. Many teams host tournaments, with some having high stakes on the line. What is popular is that many schools, even Ayala, have their competitive gaming tournaments, or “esports.”
Lately, there’s a new competitive game in town, which was released in December 2024. Stage enter Marvel Rivals, a new team competitive game with a six-versus-six concept. This game features many characters from the various Marvel comics. Since the games average approximately 300,000 players, it’s no surprise that students here at Ayala will pick up on the game.
“Amazing game. One of the best games out right now because [it’s] so easy for everyone to play,” Calvin Villegas (11) said. “It [costs] nothing, and it’s a fun enjoyment with friends.”
The game features two types of game modes. One of the game modes follows a “capture the flag” aspect, while the other game mode focuses on one team pushing an item to the finish line as the other team tries to prevent it from reaching the end. In a competitively ranked match, it’s a first to two captures or whoever pushes the item to determine the winner.
Apart from those two game modes, there are also other fun things that come when a limited time event occurs. Due to the game being very young, there have only have been two events released, featuring a turf war-like game named “Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival” and “The Spring Festival: Fortune and Colours,” which has a soccer element to represent the Chinese New Year.
Furthermore, there are facilities to help practice and enhance your skills, such as a practice range, and even other game modes that make you go against robotic opponents, in which you are paired with real teammates to help collaborate.
Moving onto the playable characters, Marvel’s big cast of heroes and villains is the big attraction, with many of its famous icons from the comics implemented and ready to battle it out in the field, complete with voice acting and interactions with other characters. There are many characters on the game – from the very famous ones like Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk, to the obscure ones like Magik and Squirrel Girl.
“I am surprised to see lesser known characters like Luna Snow and Squirrel Girl,” said Zach Zheng (12). “I would like to see Deadpool, Cyclops, and Ultron in the game soon.”
According to many students here at Ayala, the game is a great creation. Many have enjoyed the game’s atmosphere and concept, as it is one of the biggest games out at the moment. Many have already chosen their favorite characters, and they will happily continue to play as them.
“[I like] Magneto because he’s a fun tank to play with high ‘survivability’ and his ultimate is very cool,” said Sean Walsh (12). “I think the range of characters, difficulty to play them, familiar faces, and the game being free [is what] made it so popular.”
The game’s popularity has even influenced many gamers worldwide to compete in national or international tournaments, with the best team winning a huge cash prize. The game connects a wide variety all around the globe as people connect from other continents and countries.
“The servers are open to not just U.S., but both Oceanic, Asian and European servers, which are global, and multiple people can play it,” said Villegas. “It’s a six man squad game, so it takes a lot of people to start a match.”
Being a newly released game, Marvel Rivals will be hailed as a fast growing game and will most likely reach the popularity that notable competitive video games have had in the past, such as Fortnite and Valorant. It’s definitely a game that students here will enjoy playing in their own leisure time, and it will most likely continue to be for a while.
