Marvel’s Avengers Beta Preview (PS4) Impressions — Slightly Underwhelming

Marvel’s Avengers Beta on PS4 is out now and we had a chance to play through it. With the game nearing its September launch, the Beta provides access to the campaign prologue and a bunch of co-op/multiplayer missions. Here’s everything you can access in the closed Beta on PS4, and other platforms when the open Beta is launched:

• A-Day Prologue
• 2 Hero Missions
• 5 Dropzones
• 3 HARM Room challenges
• 4 Warzone missions

While the PS4 closed BETA has ended, you can look forward to playing through the same on other platforms here:

Well, with that done, what does the Avengers beta include, and what does it tell us about the final game?

Avengers Beta — A-Day Prologue

The beta starts off with the inaugural A-Day mission from the campaign, which gives you a brief overview of the controls for each character and sets up the story. Not much has changed here since we saw the mission back during its first gameplay trailer. This extended section is a good place for a tutorial, giving us ample time to play as each Avenger for some time. The game’s rather basic control scheme is first taught here, and I have to say I’m a little underwhelmed by it. Each hero’s basic controls are the same — face buttons for melee, bumpers for hero-specific abilities, and triggers for long-range projectiles.

The gameplay here feels just as button-mashy as it looked in the trailers. We start off with Thor, who plays quite similar to, if not on the same level, as Kratos from God of War (2018). Thor’s Mjolnir feels like a discount version of Kratos’ Leviathan axe. His punches feel solid though, and you really feel the power that a Norse God should command in battle. From there, we switch over other characters for about 5–10 minutes each, where we get to see what unique abilities each of them present.

Iron Man plays best in the air, using his repulsor blasts to take down enemies from afar. You can still…