First published in State of Play, and just lately playable at Evo Las Vegas 2025, MARVEL Tōkon: Preventing Souls, brings a basic shift to the tag-fighting style. Arc Machine Works, Surprise Video games, and PlayStation Studios have assembled to create a colourful, stylized international, and after an intense 30-minute play consultation this previous weekend, I’m counting down the times till I’m a Tōkon fighter once more.
Construction a 4v4 staff
“The rationale we went with 4v4 is in truth as it’s one thing that’s by no means been achieved sooner than in battling video games the place avid gamers can transfer characters,” says Kazuto Sekine, Recreation Director and Lead Struggle Clothier, Arc Machine Works. “We would have liked to problem ourselves to create a brand new tag fighter.”
Throughout my consultation, I had get entry to to a suite of all-star Heroes to create my staff of 4:
● Physician Doom is sluggish however hits laborious with magical and difficult vary assaults.
● Ms. Surprise is fast with high-risk, high-reward assaults.
● Typhoon is an aerial danger with fatal crossovers.,
● Iron Guy assists in keeping enemies at bay with anti-air and different punishing strikes.
● Celebrity-Lord was once essentially the most technical along with his talent to modify between firearms and insane juggles.
● Captain The united states is a flexible all-rounder and an ideal access level for brand new avid gamers.
After some experimentation, I prioritized taking part in Typhoon and Celebrity-Lord. I cherished how their mixtures, character, and aptitude have been true to their characters (at one level, Typhoon sternly refers to Celebrity-Lord as “Quill” when he’s goofing off, which I adored). Typhoon’s mild and medium assaults are beginner-friendly and combo neatly into her Fast Talent, which is a personality’s distinctive assault you turn on through urgent R2. I additionally discovered luck dashing in with Celebrity-Lord, the usage of fast blaster and melee mixtures proper into his Final, activated just by urgent R1.
The keep an eye on scheme is beautiful easy. Sq., Triangle, and Circle are your mild, medium, and heavy assaults, respectively, whilst X is the collect button. Your whole particular assaults and abilities are reserved for the triggers. L1 allows a snappy sprint, L2 is a snappy Collect talent, and R1 and R2 supply your distinctive assault and fast talents.
How swapping between characters works
Historically, in a tag fighter, you need to rotate via your whole staff sooner than the fit is over, however in Tōkon your staff stocks one well being bar. This implies you don’t must grasp the entire roster to be efficient, and in that sense, can means the sport like a extra conventional fighter if you select to. Firstly of the fit, you’ll be able to most effective keep an eye on your lead persona. Because the skirmish progresses, you achieve the facility to modify into your help characters while you lose a spherical, acting a throw, or knocking your opponent into every other segment of the degree. It creates a fascinating dance of being cautious to not give your fighters extra choices to make use of towards you whilst ensuring you get entry to your prolonged roster first, and who you can need as your first backup possibility.
“Prior to now for all [tag fighters] in an effort to play them, you had so that you can keep an eye on more than one characters,” says Sekine, “Alternatively, for our recreation, it was once necessary for us to design it so that you’d most effective in truth want so that you can take keep an eye on of 1 persona. You most effective want to learn how to play as one persona in an effort to benefit from the recreation, and you’ll be able to nonetheless see your different teammates coming out and in of the battlefield.”
The place you can historically have a devoted button to change between your birthday party, right here you do it all over assists. Whenever you effectively name in an help you have got a short lived window to change to them. This change creates a herbal change out within the chaos of fight and a few fashionable moments between characters. Tōkon cares about what is occurring on display always, so switching between characters in the midst of a combo, status nonetheless, and even within the air creates distinctive animations, comparable to characters giving each and every different daps or quipping about desiring to step in.
Accommodating other avid gamers’ battling kinds
As I used to be learning my opponent’s strikes, they took a unique means, that specialize in supers and seeking to convey out their staff for full-screen spectacles. The place each and every persona plays a snappy combo, sending your opponent airborne whilst smashing them to the bottom, finishing in what I will be able to most effective describe as a superhero pose-a-thon. The methodical vs manic means created a a laugh back-and-forth between us, however the recreation was once accommodating of each approaches and equipped its personal sense of pleasure.
“On the subject of the sport’s design, it was once crucial for us to make this one thing that’s simple to get into, however has intensity past that preliminary access,” says Sekine. “Something that we have been very cautious about when designing the sport was once to make certain that there’s no roughly mechanic or assault that any person who’s simply getting began would now not have the ability to carry out. It could obstruct at the revel in of latest avid gamers.”
“Whilst you press the Collect button, relying at the state of affairs and what’s happening within the fit, the Help will pop out and carry out a unique motion that’s appropriate for that specific second,” says Sekine. “By means of designing it in that means that we’re in a position to obviously keep in touch to the participant once they will have to be calling of their assists, and make it more straightforward for them to play.”
Anime-inspired Heroes in motion
“At Surprise video games, it’s truly necessary for us to permit builders to position their very own distinctive stamp at the Surprise Universe,” says Michael Francisco, Sr. Product Construction Supervisor, Surprise Video games. “On the subject of Arc, it’s that fusion of Surprise and American comics with Eastern anime and manga, and you’ll be able to see that mirrored within the artwork taste and the nature designs.”
The entire characters ooze attraction, however the backgrounds additionally pack a large number of thrilling main points. Eagle-eyed fanatics will have to stay an eye fixed out for attention-grabbing signage referencing heroes and occasions, pedestrians reacting to on-screen motion, and easter eggs scattered during. It’s obtrusive a large number of care was once put into construction this international.
“It was once crucial for us so that you can create the visible pleasure that are meant to be entailed with [tag fighters],” says Takeshi Yamanaka, Manufacturer, Arc Machine Works. “Since this can be a 4v4 recreation, that signifies that we will have as much as 8 characters out at the display at one time altogether, so we have been cautious when developing the visible composition of the display to make certain that we put across that pleasure.”
The 4v4 fights start subsequent yr
MARVEL Tōkon: Preventing Souls is ready to unlock in 2026, and whilst I’m excited to peer the entire heroes, combos, and worlds the sport will take us to,o I requested the staff how they felt about developing one thing new that hasn’t ever been achieved sooner than within the battling style.
“It’s each horrifying and thrilling, exhilarating and terrifying, on the identical time,” says Francisco. “From the start, all of us need to honor and appreciate the wealthy historical past and legacy of Surprise, whilst additionally forging our personal trail ahead to create one thing new and cutting edge. So, we simply hope fanatics are excited to peer what we’ve get a hold of as a collaboration between all 3 events.”
