[Mobile Games]Marvel Snap Strategic and addictive comic book card battle

𝐌𝐑-𝐀𝐇𝐌𝐄𝐃 体 · May 2

In the vast multiverse, who would imagine that a free-to-play mobile game based on Marvel Comics would be one of the best games of the year? The free Marvel Snap is an incredible card game that features approachable yet deeply strategic mechanics we would praise even if it lacked the Marvel license. The familiar superhero style only adds to the creative possibilities.New and upcoming multiplayer features give the fast-paced game more staying power, but the free-to-play monetization is more problematic at higher-level play. Still, Marvel Snap is a fantastic mobile game you won't want to get Blipped, and a PCMag Editors’ Choice winner.
Marvel Snap - Marvel Snap (for iOS)
In the vast multiverse, who would imagine that a free-to-play mobile game based on Marvel Comics would be one of the best games of the year? The free Marvel Snap is an incredible card game that features approachable yet deeply strategic mechanics we would praise even if it lacked the Marvel license. The familiar superhero style only adds to the creative possibilities.

Even if you don't care about comic book characters, Marvel Snap’s gameplay alone makes it worth considering. That’s no surprise considering it comes from some of the developers who turned Blizzard Hearthstone Heroes of Warcraft into a mobile collectible card game phenomenon. If anything, Marvel Snap’s initial mechanics are even easier to grasp. Here's how it works: Two players take turns drawing cards, and they place them into one of three areas. The goal is to control at least two areas by having cards whose combined power level is higher than your opponent’s. Each card has a certain power level and costs a set amount of energy to play (the two numbers aren’t always the same). You have more energy to spend with each turn, so you start off playing low-level cards and escalate to high-level cards during the course of the battle. Energy doesn’t roll over from turn to turn, so you use it or lose it. Your deck holds up to 12 cards, each area holds up to four cards, and match-ups end after six rounds (though that expands to seven rounds with the Limbo area). Complicating all this are wacky modifiers introduced by particular cards and areas. The strategy comes from creating the best synergies from what's available, and effectively reacting to whatever the enemy tosses your way. There’s even a gambling element where you can “snap” to bet more experience points if you’re feeling confident. This enables you to rank up faster and face foes closer to your own skill level. Your rank is separate from your collection level, which is based on how much you've upgraded your cards. Marvel Snap piles a ton of creativity onto its fun foundation that we’ll detail more in a bit. Marvel Snap’s short, lean matches make it tough to put down as an Android or iOS game. It’s also available in beta on PC, with a somewhat awkward mobile-optimized vertical layout that will eventually be replaced with a dedicated PC-friendly interface. I’ve played countless games on my iPhone 13 while casually watching TV or listening to podcasts. Sometimes, it almost feels too breezy, like the matches don’t really matter. Along with ranked online battles against random players, you can now enjoy multiplayer battles with friends. The game supports cross-play and cross-progression across platforms and accounts. Additional ranked and unranked modes are in the works.

The House of Ideas Marvel Snap could’ve easily coasted on its brand by using its familiar faces as little more than a shiny wrapper. However, developer Second Dinner leveraged its access to such imaginative heroes and villains to craft more than 200 cards with unique abilities. Nightcrawler teleports between locations after being played. Jessica Jones grows in power if you don’t disturb her for a turn. Ant-Man is weak by himself, but powers up in a full group. Iron Man instantly doubles your power at whatever location he's placed. White Tiger summons mighty tiger spirits to aid you. Hulk smashes with raw, uncomplicated strength. I could go on and on. The way that abilities reflect their characters reminded me of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Spirit Battles. These cards strike an excellent balance between creativity and competitive balance, with each card feeling useful under the right circumstances. The developers have rebalanced cards that proved to be broken, like Galactus and Leader. Each location introduces its own modifier as well, with a new one being revealed each turn. Central Park floods the field with weak squirrel cards, while the Danger Room can randomly destroy your card. Figuring out the best tactic out of all these variables makes you feel like an absolute genius. You can create up to 20 decks, and I spent a lot of time crafting different loadouts tuned to specific strategies. Even if you don't make that effort, though, many cards are strong and standalone enough that you can win with totally random decks—at least early on. It doesn’t hurt that cards also proudly display attractive artwork taken from multiple decades of Marvel Comics. The game spruces them up with aesthetic tricks like having characters break out of the frame, using parallax for a pseudo-3D effect, and dropping in quippy voice lines. The stylish presentation honors the source material, and now credits the original artists.Stopping the Bank Robbers Marvel Snap is a free-to-play game, so it tries to get money from you after your download it. Apparently, earlier versions featured an arguably pay-to-win formula involving booster packs. Fortunately, that is no longer the case, and the monetization feels pretty fair. It's unlike the mess that Diablo Immortal devolved into after some promising first impressions. As you play, you passively gain new currencies as you use certain cards and complete missions. Upgrading cards increases your overall collection level and gives you new cards. You can purchase some of the currency needed for this process. $5 gets you 300 gold pieces, which can buy enough credits for several small card upgrades or one big

There's more to buy than just card upgrades. The shop sells card variants drawn in new art styles (chibi or pixelated, for example). Marvel Snap also sells a battle pass with its own set of missions and rewards based on an ongoing storyline, such as a Spider-Man season that gives you cards for Carnage, Miles Morales, and Spider-Woman. After several days of playing for free, I could start to feel ever-so-slightly throttled in my progression. Still, the cards I currently possess could easily provide many more hours of entertaining matches. The season pass offers free rewards, too, and you can earn its cards through normal giveaways. However, you reach Marvel Snap's upper echelon, its F2P elements start to become more bothersome. At collection level 500, you gain new cards less often. Instead, you unlock a new currency called Collector's Tokens. Spend these tokens in the Token Shop to outright buy new cards, or claim pricy cards for later purchase before they rotate out of the shop. Unfortunately, this just slows everything down, making it a grind to obtain cards from higher level pools and keep up with the meta. Also, since paying real money for bundles sometimes gives you more Collector's Tokens, it makes you wonder how much the system is designed just to extract cash from dedicated players.