Multiversus: That thing we all already knew about is real

 I am the night

What do you call a leak when it deposits so much about a project that we know it's name, it's weight, what it looks like, how it wants to present itself and even a greater list of it's participants than their initial reveal wants to put out? Well I think at that point we're looking more at a flood than a leak, but thus is the circumstance we face when considering Multiversus, Warner Bros. latest eye-rolling attempt to shove all of it's disparate properties into one almighty super project as though they've got themselves their own cinematic universe on their hands. Space Jam 2 was the first attempt to this end, and it earned a recoil in disgust at how ham-fisted and ungraceful the whole thing was, but then Space Jam 1 could also be fitted with those attributors, so no one was too taken aback. But a whole video game? Well that's something else entirely, and it leads to strange questions such as: how the heck will this all work together? How are they going to artistically envision this and- are they really going to make Ultra Instinct Shaggy a real thing more than a year after the meme petered out? Well wonder no more.

I genuinely wasn't expecting to see Multiversus revealed so soon, but in hindsight I suppose none of the leakers really specified how far along any of their materials were so I really should have been waiting with a Google alert out for the past few weeks. Then again, this was dropped randomly in the middle of November, and that's just a weird looking time to throw down games for anyone, but I guess with this new idea in their stable: weird is what Warner Bros. are going for. Yes, with the prolonged break that Super Smash Bros has decided to go on, it only makes sense that the void needs to be filled with something just as... explosive. Who could have figured that so many were rubbing their hands, eager for the moment the king put down their crown, so that they could seize the prize? And you know what? I don't mind it so much. I mean, it's better than everyone jumping aboard the 'battle royale' train. (Are you still on that, Battlefield? Give it up, please!)

My first biggest question has been sated right off the bat, and it's one I have only because I didn't go seeking out those leaked screenshots during the early reveal process. I just wanted to know how all these characters would be bought into the same artistic space, and I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they chose a cartoon-aesthetic close to the human proportions of modern Scooby-Doo and matched everyone else to that standard. Makes sense, although I would have been really excited for a game like this which smashed totally distinct and wild art styles together to highlight the diversity of the cast being gathered. Or heck, they could have done an old school Mortal Kombat stop frame live action set-up. (Nah, they never would have gone for anything as cool as that, unfortunately.) And as much as I hate to say it, given my icy perception of this entire project from the start, it actually doesn't look that bad. Both in artistic direction and in action, this thing is really eye popping.

Right away I think the people involved knew how to reveal a game like this in a satisfying manner, recognizing that this is the sort of title that fans are familiar with, and how a basic CGI fest wasn't going to swoon anyone from that crowd, they instead opted for a spoken walkthrough with lofty promises, but a least a bit of humanity to it. This also allowed the team to hone in on, off the bat, how this is a game catering towards cooperative play, which other fighters of this type have always had, but none have ever lauded this aspect as a key 'focus'. Already we're seeing how characters like Steven Universe are being fitted with abilities exclusively catered for team play, and (god how are these words coming out of my mouth) that sort of design decision is a major step towards distinguishing this game from it's competitors. They also mentioned how they wouldn't just be throwing solo play to the side (that's me) but I think it's pretty obvious where priorities will lie, and that makes it quite interesting to consider questions like; how will a cooperative infrastructure change the face of E-sports in this genre? (Rather considerably, I would think.)

Now of course this wasn't the first game to jump into the void left vacant by the departure of Smash, there was the Nickelodeon game that did the rounds and satisfied people to a degree, but that game has one huge downside that most people voiced, or rather didn't; the voices. All of these iconic characters had been bought to life in gameplay, but not in voice, which is insane when considering that these were voice actors who defined many of our childhoods, why not get their talents in on the action? Seems Warner Bros had the same thoughts, because Multiversus features a wide array of original voice talent including Kevin Conroy as Batman (I love Anson Mount, but Kevin is the original) and Tara Strong as Harley Quinn. (After watching The Suicide Squad, it's refreshing to hear that accent not feel so forced) Some may call this a small step, but it lends a legitimacy to the project, with just the names attached alone, so that this doesn't feel like the licence holders running rampant with their power but a genuine collaboration across their franchises. My god, I'm batting for a Warner Bros. video game; how did this happen?

But a multiverse is only as good as how multi it is, and for the characters we've had shown off to us so far... well I am already a bit disappointed. We haven't seen anyone truly wild or out there that makes us start to question our lucidity. There's Batman, as mentioned before via Kevin Conroy, Superman and Wonder Woman, who's voice actors are a mystery, Tara Strong's Harley Quinn, Garnet and Steven from Steven universe, Finn and Jake from Adventure time, Tom and Jerry (that's actually pretty cool, I like them getting in on the action) Bugs Bunny, Ayra Stark with a sword that looks a lot thicker than Needle should be, Reindog (wait, what the hell is Reindog? No seriously, what the hell is that thing?) and, of course, Ultra Instinct Shaggy. (Why won't your memes die!) You know, actually laying them all out like that makes the line-up seem wilder than I suggested, but I still stand by my assertion that Mutliversus is still missing it's big hitters. Where's Gandalf, Rick and Morty and the Pennywise? We need Pennywise! They could throw in character's from Shadow of Mordor, deep cuts DC picks like John Constantine or, and I love this idea, they could resurrect Terl from 'Battlefield Earth'! (I'm sure you could call up John Travolta to drop a few lines, what else has he really got going on these days, huh?)

Smashing all these names together into a Smash-type fighter is going to be very interesting, especially when it comes to grounding moves in actions that character's have displayed in their various pieces of media. (Terl could have a 'chew scenery' down-special, it would be so good!) Although it does seem a little, how do we say, hypocritical for a Warner Bros. backed game to be jumping on someone else's archetype for the fighting game genre. I mean, for any other game's company in the world this is a normal part of the creative process, but let's not forget how Warner Bros. are the guys who jealously copyrighted the innovative Nemesis system from 'Shadow of Mordor' in order to cut off the rest of the industry from one of the most interesting modern mechanics to be introduced to this long0stale gaming genre. Where exactly would you be with Multiversus had Nintendo done the same with their stock-based fighting concept all those years ago? Seems like a little bit of 'rules for thee are not for me', doesn't it?

There's no doubting that I was against this very concept from the getgo. There's something inherently icky about these crossover concepts that so quickly turns corporate and sterile once the dollar signs start to glaze over management. But I can't help myself and admit when my prejudices have been beaten, and for Multiversus that is exactly the case, they managed to worm into my cold heart and impress me, I like it. Of course, this is based on an initial look for everything and there's a huge chance that their promises 'best in class' infrastructure falls apart or the flow of the combat just doesn't feel right, but for the initial hurdle of a reveal, the team have crossed it admirably. The only hanging noose still clouding this project is the business model, free-to-play almost always means something dour is going to fall over this game in terms of monetisation and we just have to hold our noses and try to endure it. Hopefully it's only going to be just cosmetics. Hopefully.