Category: IGN

Marvel leapt from comics to film, becoming the highest grossing film franchise of all time. It should come as no surprise that it has similarly jumped to the tabletop, garnering a massive amount of attention and money. These stories and characters translate well to board gaming. They allow for bombastic expression and tense drama.

The diversity on offer is strong. There are smaller and more accessible games, larger and more heady ones, and plenty of titles with attractive miniatures and gorgeous illustrations. This list includes 8 of the top Marvel games on the market. There is something here for nearly anyone. |

TL;DR: The Best Marvel Board Games

• Marvel United: Spider-Geddon | See it at Amazon
• Marvel: Crisis Protocol | See it at Amazon
• Marvel Champions | See it at Amazon
• Marvel: Remix | See it at Amazon
• Marvel Dice Throne | See it at Amazon
• Marvel Zombies – A Zombicide Game | See it at Amazon
• Marvel D.A.G.G.E.R. | See it at Amazon
• Unmatched: Marvel | See it at Amazon

The Best Marvel Board Games

Marvel United: Spider-Geddon

Marvel United is a rules-light and affordable adventure game that works superbly for nearly any age. Each player takes on the role of a unique superhero and work together to thwart a villain and their henchmen. Heroes are fueled by their deck of action cards, with players utilizing these cards to activate various locations around a city, beat down minions, and confront the main rival. While there are a series of Marvel United titles and many product options, the best starting point is the recently released Spider-Geddon set. This offers a large amount of content with an intriguing set of heroes and adversaries.

Marvel: Crisis Protocol

Ever wonder what it would be like to play Warhammer 40,000 but with Marvel heroes instead of Space Marines? Marvel: Crisis Protocol is the answer. This is a heavily detailed miniatures game that requires players to assemble figures. You can dive deep into this hobby, painting each character with painstaking precision, as well as constructing buildings and elements of terrain to fight over. The ruleset is splendid as it focuses primarily on small teams of mixed heroes. Each character is distinct with their own suite of abilities and powers. It’s a dynamic and exhilarating game with a wonderful flow. For a more thorough look, you can read our review of Marvel: Crisis Protocol.

Marvel Champions

This fully cooperative card game has players wielding unique decks for superheroes such as Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, and Black Panther. Each hero has a number of specific ability cards representing their various powers in combination with a central character card that can flip between their hero persona and their alter ego. Players manage their hands and decks in order to dish out damage against a central antagonist such as Rhino or Ultron. The villain, which is controlled entirely by a personal deck of cards, pursues their own agenda to threaten the innocent and achieve world domination. For those that are particularly smitten with this title, you can expand your collection with dozens of additional hero packs and larger expansion boxes.

Marvel: Remix

As the smallest game on this list, Marvel Remix is a tidy card game that can be tossed in a bag and taken nearly anywhere. This competitive design has players trying to assemble a hand of heroes, villains, locations, and items. Each card has various symbols that interact with other cards, as well as its own scoring condition. With deft play you can build a hand with several intersecting combinations that yield enormous point gains. Since you only make your way through a portion of the deck and there are a wide range of creative synergies, this little game beckons continual play and exploration.

Marvel Dice Throne

Dice Throne is the successful competitive dice battler that has been kicking since 2018. Just recently the series made the jump to Marvel, featuring heroes such as Black Widow, Captain America, and Thor. Each character has their own set of dice and abilities, and players take turns rolling their dice and assigning the results to their various unique powers. The goal is to deal enough damage to defeat your opponent in this quick and clever head-to-head bout. While play is streamlined and relatively uniform, the asymmetric playstyles for each hero encourage experimentation and add just enough texture to maintain long-term interest. There are some truly empowering moments when you manage to roll your special finishing maneuver and unleash maximum power.

Marvel Zombies – A Zombicide Game

Zombicide is the popular miniature heavy cooperative survival game where players fight the dead while seeking to accomplish various scenario-specific objectives. Marvel Zombies shifts the series to the popular Marvel storyline where an infection has spread and the heroes have begun to turn into powerful undead legions that crave flesh. Beyond the naturally slick adaptation of the Marvel property to this series, this game flips the traditional Zombicide script by having players take on the role of superhero zombies hunting humans. It features an entirely new hunger mechanism while pushing gameplay into several distinct directions that changeup the formula. This may very well be the best Zombicide yet, as its crammed full of wonderful ideas and shining Marvel miniatures.

Marvel D.A.G.G.E.R.

D.A.G.G.E.R. stands for “Defense Alliance for Global and Galactic Response”, and this is the organization that players are affiliated with this in globe-spanning adventure game. The scope here is larger than any other title on this list, as players travel around the world to put out fires and confront enemies. Villains terrorize cities and launch evil machinations for greater purpose, and heroes such as Daredevil, the Hulk, and Elektra must do everything within their power to shut it down. This is a lengthy game, but it’s one with scope that provides for a more epic adventure with many ups and downs. It delivers a fully realized vision of characters responding to threats and traveling to various regions in order to thwart evil. There is a real sense of being overwhelmed and having to triage threats in order to stay ahead of the curve and prevail.

Unmatched: Marvel

The Unmatched series is a collection of games that pit fighters against each other in head to head bouts. Think Street Fighter on a tabletop, except it trades out Ryu and Ken for heroes of all different time periods and properties. There are sets that feature mythic and literary figures such as King Arthur or Alice from Alice in Wonderland, and there are also sets that highlight pop culture characters such as Grant from Jurassic Park or even Ghost Rider. Yes, there is an entire suite of Marvel characters spread across several products, allowing players to wield icons such as Moon Knight, Spider-Man, and Black Widow. The game itself is smooth and simple as each character is fueled by a deck of asymmetric cards that represent their unique attacks and powers. In just 20 minutes, two participants can square off and beat the heck out of each other utilizing a simple and rewarding ruleset. Over multiple plays you can come to understand the nuance of these characters, just as if you were learning a moveset while playing an electronic fighting game. This is a fantastic, inexpensive product line that is entertaining and lean.

Halo and Call of Duty co-developer Certain Affinity has been hit with a wave of layoffs, CEO Max Hoberman announced.

The studio head wrote about the decision in a lengthy post on the developer’s website, saying that the layoffs affect 25 US-based staff members and “has the most impact on the teams running our business operations.” The Certain Affinity website says the company currently has more than 250 full-time employees, meaning today’s move affects somewhere around 10% of its staff.

Starting today, Amazon is offering the excellent 8BitDo Pro 2 Wireless Controller for only $39.99. This is the lowest price we’ve seen for the Pro 2 controller. It’s compatible with the Nintendo Switch Steam Deck, PC, iOS and Android smartphones, and pretty much any gaming console that supports Bluetooth. Moreover, the 8BitDo Pro 2 is often considered one of the best 3rd party wireless controllers for the Nintendo Switch.

8BitDo Pro 2 Controller (Switch Compatible) for $39.99

The 8BitDo Pro 2 controller is compatible with both the Nintendo Switch console as well as any Windows, Mac, Android, Steam, or even Raspberry Pi device. It uses wireless Bluetooth so it works with the Switch out of the box with no dongle required. At $30 cheaper than the price of a Switch Pro controller, it has a lot going for it. The SN30 Pro 2 supports button remapping, adjustable analog sticks, hair triggers, and macros. It also supports rumble and motion controls on the Switch. It is powered by a 1,000mAh rechargeable battery, but you have the option to use two AA batteries in a pinch instead.

In terms of fit and feel, the 8BitDo Pro 2 is excellent. It’s lighter than the Switch Pro controller but it still feels very solid and comfortable in your hands. The D-pad and analog joysticks react precisely, and the buttons have nice clicky tactile feedback. The retro style looks great.

The 8BitDo Pro 2 also brings a couple of new features that weren’t present in the previous generation Pro+ model. That includes the ability to save multiple profiles, a handy little switch that lets you instantly change from Switch to PC pairing, and two additional rear paddle buttons that are also programmable.

Compared to the official Switch Pro controller, it is missing a few features like HD rumble (although it does have standard rumble), amiibo sensing, and the ability to wake the Switch from sleep. In exchange, you get the ability to reprogram buttons and you get a much better D-pad, which is a godsend for precision type games like 2D platformers. The biggest advantage, though, is the price. For Nintendo Switch owners, if you don’t want to pony up $70 for the official Pro controller, this is the next best thing.

Check out more of the best Nintendo Switch deals today.

With the bulk of Cyberpunk 2077 finished, CD Projekt has now shuffled its priorities, putting the bulk of its resources into developing the next mainline The Witcher game, codenamed Polaris.

During an earning call to discuss the 2023 fiscal year, CD Projekt revealed that it is dedicating a bulk of its efforts to developing the next installment in its widely popular fantasy-themed RPG series.

As you can see from the screenshot below, CD Projekt was fully transparent with investors and those listening in on the call, showing exactly how many developers are being allocated to its current and future projects. The chart reveals that it has over 600 developers at the studios, over 400 of whom are assigned Polaris development.

Also interesting to note is that the next installment in the Cyberpunk franchise, codenamed Orion, has 47 developers currently assigned to the project. CD Projekt also revealed that Orion is in the concept stage of its development. The company previously revealed that its new studio, based in Boston, Massachusetts, has been assigned to work on the project.

The PlayStation Portal, Sony’s handheld gaming accessory for the PS5 console, is finally back in stock at Walmart, but who knows for how long. It’s almost always sold out everywhere, so don’t hesitate to place an order if you’ve been waiting. The PS Portal is not a standalone device, like the PS Vita. It’s a remote player for the PlayStation 5, so you’ll need a PS5 to use it. That said, it streams games from your console over Wi-Fi, essentially letting you play your PS5 games from anywhere in your home. Check out our PlayStation Portal review to see what our critic thought of it.

PlayStation Portal Back in Stock at Walmart

PS Portal is basically a DualSense controller with an 8-inch LCD screen in the middle of it. It lets you stream games from your PS5 at up to 60fps, with a 1080p screen resolution, so it should look plenty sharp considering the screen’s dimensions. It also features the full slate of vibrations, haptic feedback, and adaptive triggers you’d get from a standard DualSense — something that’s missing if you stream your PS5 games to a phone, tablet, computer, or Steam Deck. It will also work when you’re away from home, provided you have a strong internet connection and you left your PS5 in rest mode.

It should be said that the PlayStation Portal isn’t the only way to stream your PS5 games over Wi-Fi within your home. As mentioned above, you can do that on many internet-connected devices, including phones, tablets, computers, and Steam Deck. Just download the PS Remote Play app to set it up (details here). It’s a little more complicated to stream to Steam Deck, but just search for Chiaki and you can probably figure it out. You can also check out our PlayStation Portal vs. Steam Deck comparison for a look at both handhelds side-by-side.

To describe a game as being a non-stop grind from start to finish would be considered a negative in almost any other context, but not in the case of Pepper Grinder. This energetic platforming adventure straps a high-powered drill to your hand and throttles you forward through a series of terrain-churning 2D paths littered with enemies to pummel and challenging platform sections to navigate at speed. It’s lively, fluid, and frequently frantic, and folds in some fun diversions that help each stage stand out, even though a surprisingly short list of levels means that Pepper Grinder is here for a good time rather than a long time.

The setup is simple: a young girl named Pepper washes ashore on a mysterious island crawling with narwhal-like creatures known as the Narlings, gets unceremoniously dropped to the bottom of a cavern, straps on a power drill (and gives it the grooviest of Bruce Campbell-like revs) before riding a wave of mutilation through the monster army and gathering enough gemstones along the way to bedazzle a pair of Beyonce’s boots. From there it never stops feeling great to steer the pint-sized Pepper through sand and soil like a gas-fuelled groundhog, before emerging at an enemy’s feet to give them the spikiest of surprise attacks.

Yet although it involves carving holes through rock and dirt with a runaway power drill, Pepper Grinder’s momentum-based movement doesn’t exactly break new ground. It actually feels highly reminiscent of Sega’s Ecco the Dolphin, only with turf in place of surf; swapping out bodies of water for suspended chunks of earth to form the basis of an adventure that’s less about landing precisely on the top of platforms than it is tunneling straight through them. Still, although it may effectively be an echo of an Ecco, Pepper Grinder successfully stands on its own thanks to the sheer variety of challenges to be found in its stages. In one you might get a literal helping hand between platforms from a friendly giant, while in another you’ll dive drill-first into saltwater sections and tear through the underbelly of heavily-armed Narling attack boats in order to sink them.

Assault and Pepper

In fact, although Pepper Grinder is almost entirely focussed on boring through rock, rarely does it run the risk of becoming boring itself. Not only does it introduce neat new ways to evolve the drill-based thrills, including a grappling hook to swing Pepper from one crumbly corridor to the next or bodies of water to skim along like an overly sharpened stone, but it also occasionally drops in some heavier hardware to consistently change things up. A machine gun attachment introduces captivating bursts of Contra-inspired carnage as you mow down monster mobs swarming from all directions. Meanwhile a hulking, drill-powered mech suit allows you to tear down buildings and stomp enemy skulls in the sort of devastating 2D rampage rarely seen outside of, well, Rampage. These sequences break up the otherwise non-stop subsurface swerving, although they also occasionally create fractures in the framerate, too (at least on PC).

Performance compromises aside, what’s great about these entertaining enhancements is that they’re used sparingly enough to keep them feeling special, and they allow for some nice surprises along the way. I went from grinding to grinning the first time I came upon a Narling piloting a snowmobile and then realised I could punt him out of the driver’s seat and take control of the vehicle myself, not unlike the magic moment several decades ago when I first discovered I could brazenly hijack Lakitu’s cloud in the original Super Mario Bros. Everything benefits from a smartly streamlined control setup built around a couple of face buttons and the right trigger, so it all feels intuitive as you seamlessly shift between boring holes through the earth to blasting bullets through enemies.

While there’s a healthy variety of enemy types to encounter in Pepper Grinder, it’s somewhat deflating that there are only four boss fights to be found, but they’re at least significantly distinct from each other. One involved a close encounter with a bus-sized rhino beetle that scrambled up the walls and along the ceiling, while another challenged me with toppling a towering magmaworm that punched momentum-halting holes in the terrain with its own pair of damaging drill-arms. While they are certainly physically imposing, none of these bosses are particularly tough to take down since their attack and movement patterns are limited and mostly easy to avoid. That is, with the exception of the final boss, whose wide area-of-effect strikes had me riding my luck just as much as Pepper’s power drill as I frequently surfed my way within a pixel’s width of death. As a result, overcoming Pepper Grinder’s hardened final hurdle left me feeling invigorated as I watched the credits finally roll after multiple tension-filled attempts.

It’s a rock-busting blast while it lasts, then, but it must be said that Pepper Grinder is a fairly compact adventure, and it only took me three hours to work my way through the 20-odd levels that make up its four worlds. While it’s true that it certainly doesn’t outstay its welcome, I can’t help but feel like it could have done with another couple of zones to plow through – especially since the ones included here are fairly boilerplate for the platforming genre. A snowy ice realm and lava-filled fire zone might be par for the course, but I would have loved to have seen developer Ahr Ech flex its considerably creative talents and conjure up a few other unique environments to house its entertaining style of subterranean surfing.

What’s Mined is Yours

As far as replay potential goes, each stage contains five skull coins to collect, typically hidden behind false walls or at the end of particularly tricky platforming sections, and you can spend them at the in-game shop to unlock a bonus level in each world at the cost of 10 coins a piece. These levels are some of Pepper Grinder’s most enjoyable, including a Donkey Kong Country-inspired cannon course that places the emphasis on precise timing as you bisect hovering hordes of enemies carrying spiky shields, and another that forces you to frantically propel yourself skyward through a series of ice clumps cascading down frozen waterfalls.

Outside of these four bonus levels, though, there’s little of note to spend your hard-earned gems and skull coins on. You can buy bog-standard cosmetics like palette-swapped hair and clothing for Pepper, as well as character stickers and level landscapes that can be arranged in a fairly frivolous sticker book. Since I wasn’t particularly interested in either, I ended up with pockets lined with unspent gems and little incentive to backtrack through stages in search of the skull coins I missed. However, the time attack mode unlocked after beating Pepper Grinder’s campaign did manage to drag me back in for another hour or so, since its medal-based time challenges are surprisingly strict and demand pinpoint power-drilling to earn, and getting into the supreme flow state required to pass them is when Pepper Grinder is at its most exhilarating.

It is no secret that Square Enix’s Mana series has impacted the JRPG genre immensely since it debuted in 1991. It’s a franchise rich with deep stories and memorable combat that has stood the test of time. Despite the last mainline game releasing 18 years ago, fanfare has yet to die down, as seen with the success of the 2020 remake of Trials of Mana. The question is, can a brand new Mana game replicate the same success as a remake? If this two-hour hands-on preview is any indication of the rest of the game, then Visions of Mana’s fresh take on battle and class systems not only gives it the potential to meet the success of the originals but possibly even the chance to surpass them.

From the outset, it is clear that Visions of Mana is a completely different experience from previous games in the series. Gone are the days of sprite-drawn, top-down 2D combat. Here are the days of fast-paced, flashy and vibrant 3D semi-open field battles. Gameplay puts a heavy focus on the action part of the action-JRPG genre, introducing aspects like aerial combat to help open up the tag-based sword-slashing and magic system already in place.

During each encounter, the party’s three heroes can be swapped out with the push of a button, using their unique abilities and strengths in accordance with specific enemies that were in the battle. Val’s heavy attacks are useful for fighting big enemies one-on-one, while Morely’s speed is perfect for encounters made up of a higher number of enemies. Careena serves as the ideal support role, not only providing healing but dishing out powerful magic attacks like thunderbolt that deal area-of-effect damage that is both powerful and far-reaching.

Whenever the other two characters aren’t being used in combat, the AI takes over seamlessly. Having all three heroes participate in the battle at once results in a variety of combo moves that deal significant damage, especially when adding Elemental Vessels into the mix. These mystical artifacts play a huge role in Visions of Mana’s combat. Depending on who has which element attached to them, their skillsets, stats, and weapon types will change drastically. In this preview, there were two different Elemental Vessels: Moon and Wind. The first manipulates the flow of time, while the second controls air currents, lofting enemies off their feet while dealing damage.

Playing as Val’s Aegis class using the Vessel of the Moon is a completely different experience than when it’s equipped to either of the other party members. In this state, he uses a Lance and Shield while also having the ability to manipulate the flow of time, making for a terrifying one-two punch of slowing any enemy down to be able to dish out both quality and quantity with his damage. Nothing was more satisfying than using this on the Gem Valley Ochoro in the first area of the preview.

This sturdy and fast enemy, who felt like a beefy Sonic the Hedgehog, was an absolute menace, featuring crazy speed and high defense that made for a long and drawn-out battle. That battle became much easier after switching Val over to the Aegis class. Thanks to the Luna Globe, a time bubble is created that slows every enemy trapped within it to a crawl, which is perfect for speed demons like the Ochoro. While it still takes a few attempts, trapping the hedgehog in the bubble and whaling on it with a barrage of melee and magic spells resulted in a satisfying fight. Being able to approach battles by equipping different Vessels to different characters beforehand makes for an interesting rock-paper-scissors combat mechanic.

The longer each battle progresses, the more every character’s special meter grows. Depending on what Vessel is equipped, building this up to 100 percent results in a powerful onslaught that works on individual bosses and large crowds alike to deal some serious damage and inflict. This ability makes Visions of Mana’s more challenging fights, like the side quest mini-bosses, feel more manageable while maintaining its interesting degree of difficulty.

This brief look into what to expect from Visions of Mana paints an image of how exciting it has the potential to be. While it may seem like a scary change, the action-focused combat and the introduction of gameplay elements such as Elemental Vessels might be what the series needs to bring it back into the modern-day limelight.

Here’s an odd one: the developer of Helldivers 2 has warned players against having snowball fights because they’re causing the game to crash.

Some planets in Helldivers 2, such as Heath, have snow, and in this chilly environment players are able to make a snowball and throw it. When players discovered this mechanic they broke out in spontaneous snowball fights. Now, though, snowball fights may put the game itself at risk.

Streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has revealed he has been diagnosed with melanoma, a type of skin cancer.

32-year-old Blevins, who has the most-followed Twitch channel with over 18.8 million followers, revealed the diagnosis in a statement on Twitter / X after a mole removed from his foot was found to be cancerous. Blevins said medical professionals are “optimistic” it was caught in the early stages. “I’m grateful to have hope in finding this early, but please take this as a PSA to get skin checkups,” Blevins added.