- Team Ninja is handling development
- Marvel Games is providing writing talent, character selections, and watching over authenticity
- Nintendo visited Marvel before the Switch was publicly revealed in order to show them the hardware and plans moving forward
- this presentation convinced Marvel Games to work with Nintendo on the game
- Marvel and Nintendo both wanted to see the Ultimate Alliance series come back
- the series felt like a great fit for Switch due to the multiplayer focus and versatility of Switch
- Marvel Games were huge fans of Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo in general, and always wanted to work with them
- Team Ninja is filled with self-professed Marvel fans
- Marc Sumerak is heading up the writing, and has written numerous Avengers stories in the past
- the story 'rides the line between comics and movies'
- there are also easter eggs and nods to the comics
- the story starts on the Milano with the Guardians of the Galaxy
- Rocket's sensors pick up a reading from a derelict Kree warship
- the Guardians board the ship and come across Nebula, Ronan the Accuser, and Proxima Midnight
- the Infinity Stones are on the ship, and the fight between the two teams sends the stones flying across the universe
- characters are introduced with word graphics featuring names and witty descriptions
- tutorials are brief and folded into fights
- the next chapter takes place on Earth during a prison break at the superpowered Raft
- select characters at the blue S.H.I.E.L.D. points, and choose any combination
- get a Women of Marvel team-up bonus for select an all-female combination of characters
- Spider-Gwen and Miles Morales teaming up gets them a Web Warriors bonus
- multiple attribute bonuses can run at once
- other attribute bonuses include Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Wiscracking Warriors, Femme Fetales, Defenders, Midnight Sons, and more
- each character has a general style of attack and specialty, all of which can be leveled up
- Scarlet Witch can buff her teammates with a radius healing effect
- Daredevil can use radar sense to identify weaknesses
- Rocket and Groot are a single playable character who work together
- Groot will whip enemies with his vines, and then light them up with a Quantum Igniter
- roster features over two dozen characters
- XP Cubes will boost experience quickly when picked up
- you can also use a lower-leveled character with other high-powered choices to boost their XP quicker
- four characters are on-screen at all times
- customize your characters with different abilities and stats
- there's a classic camera option for wide-field view, and 'heroic' camera for an up-close look
- Synergy Attacks are unique ability combos between two heroes
- for example, Iron Man can shoot Captain America's shield to split the laser
- Storm and Thor can create a cyclone together
- these Synergy Attacks feature button prompts that players have to hit together to activate
- Extreme Attacks are activated by both triggers when your EX gauge is full
- this flashes a character portrait on screen, and lets other players join in
- these attacks clear the screen and show a devastating attack
- all four characters using an Extreme Attack at once makes for an Ultimate Extreme, complete with a damage counter
- enemies have all sorts of attacks, and some have a stagger bar that will empty until they're stunned
- there's a boss battle against Electro and Venom that takes place on the Raft prison
- Venom must be lured to sparking hotspots that trigger a sonic alarm, and open him up to attack
- the team is still working on ways to make it easier for the player to keep track of their character in all the action
- the Alliance Enhancement system includes upgrades that apply to your whole team
- these are unlocked through credits and enhancement points, and you must unlock points to gain access to adjacent nodes
- these various points will include ability usage, defensive, or offensive buffs
- you can also focus on individual characters to power them up, and standard leveling opens all 4 primary abilities for a character
- each ability can be improved with ability points that you earn during play
- ISO-8 is an equipable element that lets you tweak a hero's capabilities in a fight
- these can decrease damage taken when health is low, increase HP orbs dropped, , increase stun chances, decrease damage taken by piercing attacks, add shock attributes to an attack, and more
- individual pieces of ISO-8 can be broken into fragments, and then used to upgrade other ISO-8 pieces
- Infinity Trials offer new twists and variations on battles, and will net you rewards for completion
- Infinity Trials are seen as rifts throughout the main story, but you can unlock a menu option for these trials midway through the game
- Infinity Trials are split into groups, and each has a serious of challenges to tackle
- new Infinity Trials open up as you complete previous entries
- there will be rewards in Infinity Trials that can't be gained anywhere else
- Infinity Trials have wave battles, countdown trials that put you against a timer, and ability trials that weaken regular attacks while charging up abilities and synergies
- beating the game once will open up a new difficulty level with better rewards
- carry over alliance enhancements and character levels for your second playthrough
- you can also select the chapters you'd specifically like to replay
- the story is a new take on the Infinity Stones storyline exclusive to the game
- the game will also contain a number of Marvel villains outside of the Black Order
- locations include Shadowland, New York, Avengers Tower, X-Mansion, and many more
- confirmed characters thus far include: Black Panther, Black Widow, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Crystal, Daredevil, Deadpool, Doctor Strange, Drax, Falcon, Gamora, Hawkeye, Hulk, Iron Man, Miles Morales, Ms. Marvel, Nightcrawler, Rocket & Groot, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man, Star-Lord, Storm, Thor, Venom, Wasp, and Wolverine