Marvel Rivals Human Torch And The Thing Gameplay Has Been Revealed

Developer NetEase has released two Marvel Rivals trailers that give us our first proper look at gameplay for the upcoming playable characters Human Torch and The Thing.

Marvel’s first family is almost complete. Following the beginning of Season 1: Eternal Nights and the introduction of Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman, we’ve had to wait for the big brick and the hot head, but they are poised to join the expanding roster on February 21. In anticipation, NetEase has released two gameplay trailers highlighting the hero’s movesets.

Johnny Storm is, unsurprisingly, a Duelist, capable of flight and flinging fireballs at enemies. His abilities will focus on controlling the ground and creating area-of-effect traps. With his Blazing Blast ability, Johnny can create multiple flaming fields that will damage enemies in proximity. Walls of fire can also join the fields with his Pyro Prison ability, which will undoubtedly be a nightmare. Closing distance won’t be a problem either, as the Flaming Meteor ability will see Johnny plummet from the sky and smash into the ground, damaging and stunning anyone hit. Lastly, Human Torch’s ultimate, Supernova, superheats the hero, causing all thrown Blazing Blasts to explode on impact and create a fire tornado.

Just as shocking, The Thing is a Vanguard character that dishes out a series of quick punches as his primary attack. Thunderbolt Punch will see Mr Grimm charge up and throw a stronger punch that will damage all enemies caught in the line of fire. Similarly, Furious Charge has the rocky ruffian run forward, scooping up any enemy in his path, only to smash them on the ground at the end of the dash, which looks handy for clearing a path for the rest of your team. Living up to his Vanguard class, Battlefield Support has the big lad leaping towards a friendly player, reducing the damage they take as well as doing the same for himself. And last but not least, Thing’s ultimate, Slam Moment, does what it says on the tin, with Mr Grimm slamming the ground, creating a shockwave in front of him.

In addition to the two character trailers, we also got a sneak peek at the new map coming in the second half of Season 1, Central Park. Overrun by Dracula and his spooky shenanigans, the once-ideal park is now home to the vampire’s castle, so the entire map is suitably gothic and foreboding. The Prince of Darkness himself is looming over the castle, syphoning the power from a captured Ratatoskr, the rather heavy metal-looking squirrel of Yggdrasil. Oh, and you can hit up Squirrel Girl’s treehouse and see where she hangs out in her free time, so that’s a bonus.

The update is just around the corner, going live on February 21, and the new content looks pretty sweet. Better yet, the two playable characters and the new map will be completely free, so expect those expensive cosmetics to stay just as they are: expensive.

Are you looking forward to the second half of Season 1? Let us know in the comments or on our social media.