The Siege of Castle Doom is the latest paid DLC for Marvel Cosmic Invasion, and for the asking price, there really isn’t much here.
We’ve already reviewed the base game, which is a classic 2D superhero beat ’em up along the lines of Final Fight and Streets of Rage. It launched toward the end of last year. The timing of this expansion seems deliberate, with the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday movie generating plenty of interest.
The main addition is a new roguelike mode set inside Doctor Doom’s castle. There are also two new playable characters, Doctor Doom and Invisible Woman. We’ve seen additional characters introduced to the game before, but this is the first time a completely new mode has been added.
As you’d expect from a roguelike, there isn’t much of a story to follow.
The premise is fairly simple. Doom believes he’s the only one capable of defeating Annihilus, the main villain from the original game. To do that, he’s developing a weapon called the Cosmic Inductor, but it’s dangerously unstable. Our job is to enter his castle and disable the weapon before it destroys the planet. Basically, Doom and Annihilus are fighting each other, and the entire world is caught in the middle. There aren’t any other new characters, although the two playable additions have their own dialogue. The run ends with a boss fight against Doctor Doom, and there’s only one ending, regardless of which character you choose.
In terms of gameplay, very little has changed from the base game. You still take two characters into battle, switch between them whenever you want, and use assists during combat.
The roguelike mode is built around clearing three floors of Doom’s castle in a single run. Each floor consists of procedurally generated rooms filled with enemies. Once you’ve cleared a room, three doors appear, each marked with a different symbol. You choose which one to enter, and that determines where you go next.
Defeated enemies drop batteries that charge the Stabilizer. It has three charge slots, each adding one extra point, and filling all three brings it to maximum power. You can also improve your character as you progress through a run, choosing upgrades that affect offensive, defensive, and tactical abilities. These upgrades give you some control over how your character develops as you move deeper into the castle.
There’s another gauge to manage, and this one puts pressure on your progress. It fills steadily over time and jumps whenever you take damage. If it reaches its limit, your run ends. Things also become more difficult as the gauge rises, with enemies growing faster and stronger. This means taking damage has consequences beyond simply losing health, since it makes the remaining encounters harder.
The rooms themselves offer different rewards, which makes choosing your next door part of the progression. Some contain batteries to charge your Stabilizer, while others provide healing or equipment. Event rooms work differently, throwing random challenges at you, including massive enemy waves and rematches against bosses from the main campaign. There are a few other special rooms, but I won’t spoil those here. The points you earn can be spent in Reed’s Lab.
As for the new characters, Doctor Doom is a powerful fighter, although his slow movement can be a drawback. He combines melee attacks with magic and has some particularly damaging projectiles. Invisible Woman requires a more technical approach. She can trap enemies inside bubbles or force fields, turn invisible, and use spells.
The difficulty is slightly higher than in the base game, which is understandable given the roguelike structure. Still, it never gets so difficult that you’re likely to find yourself completely stuck.
Unfortunately, I didn’t particularly enjoy my time with it. The biggest problem is how repetitive the enemy encounters become, and the rewards do little to encourage another run. The limited enemy variety and lack of meaningful story content don’t help either. I was also disappointed by the Doctor Doom boss fight, especially since he’s the only new boss included in the DLC.
If you enjoyed Marvel Cosmic Invasion and want another way to experience its combat, this expansion might keep you occupied for a while. It’s decent enough as additional content, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it. How much you’ll get out of it probably depends on your excitement for Avengers: Doomsday and how badly you want to play as Doctor Doom.
Game Information
- Game Title: MARVEL Cosmic Invasion – The Siege of Castle Doom
- Price: $7.99
- Publisher: Dotemu, Gamirror Games
- Developer: Tribute Games
- Platform: PC
- Review Code: Provided by the publisher
