Okay, so here’s the thing. I stumbled back into Marvel Rivals (yeah, I know, who even does that these days?), mostly because of this new character, Phoenix. Now, don’t get it twisted, it’s not like I’m some hardcore fan of hers or anything. Honestly, all I knew about Phoenix came from a quick Wikipedia dive and some flashy trailer I watched. But let me tell you, finally, a character that moves, like, normally? That got me curious.
People on Reddit have been griping since the game dropped in December 2024. Apparently, Rivals feels like a snail race or something. It’s funny, right? Some claim it’s just a trick of the eye, while others are convinced it’s like walking in a dream — you know how everything feels slow and weird? Anyway, I used to vibe with that idea until it got so annoying I just stopped playing, bit by bit.
Now, Overwatch 2 dropped their third-person Stadium mode and heck, Phoenix seems quicker. So, curiosity got the better of me. I needed to check if Rivals was truly that slow. Spoiler alert: kinda, yeah.
Both games have these cool practice arenas with little measurement thingies for, like, damage calculations or something. Perfect for a speed test, right? So, I tried running some characters around. Turns out, Rivals folks take a teensy bit longer to cover five meters than Overwatch 2 characters. But — here’s the kicker — Rivals uses whimsical measuring. Five meters there is like, 11.5 inches or something, compared to 10 inches in Overwatch. (I might’ve measured wrong. Who can eyeball a meter, anyway?)
“So what?” you might be thinking. Well, it means Rivals’ crew is kinda fast. Maybe. They just — uh — go about it differently. It’s more about style than speed, I guess.
Characters like Cloak and Dagger or Spider-Man are doing their melodramatic thing — picture them running in slo-mo like it’s Baywatch or something? Attack combos feel like rehearsed dainty dances (no offense, ballet fans), and the sound effects? Let’s say Winter Soldier’s gun sounds like a toy. Swanky, but hardly superheroic.
Enter Phoenix, changing it all up. Her attacks have this “whoosh” — seriously satisfying — followed by a mini explosion if she combos nicely. She zips around in some fiery bird thing. Could be a myth, but she seemed super agile. Not sure if she actually moves faster than others, though. Doesn’t matter! It’s all hectic and exciting. Pretty darn exhilarating.
In a nutshell, NetEase nailed it here. Playing Phoenix isn’t, like, trudging through molasses anymore. Not surprisingly, she feels like a real fighter — or maybe she just impressed me. Either way, I’m back in the game. Who would’ve thought?
