Despite relatively few Marvel AAA games being released in the last decade, Marvel's Avengers came out in 2020 to surprisingly little fanfare. While the game boasted impressive visuals and an entertaining narrative campaign, many players were disappointed by the decision to force a games-as-a-service looter model into a game that didn't seem to be built for it. The player base quickly dwindled, and it was unclear what kind of post-launch support fans would see.
Marvel's Avengers has since seen a slow stream of content add to what was available at launch, but the War for Wakanda campaign expansion is the biggest bundle of new content yet. With a playable campaign, two new supervillains, multiple new henchman enemies, and a slew of new costumes, War for Wakanda makes a compelling case for players to revisit this superhero brawler.
10 It Builds On The Strongest Part Of The Base Game
While Marvel's Avengers has received its fair share of criticism since it was released, most of the issues that players have had with the game center on its lackluster end-game content and disappointing loot system.
Conversely, the narrative campaign ranks among the best games Marvel has to offer. The original story, which centers on Kamala Khan's journey to reunite the disbanded Avengers, was well-written and featured several memorable action set-pieces. War for Wakanda shares these strengths and builds upon the successful narrative campaign. This expansion provides the most story content since the main game's release, which means that players can enjoy the narrative and ignore the oft-maligned gear grind.
9 The Game Received A Free Next-Gen Boost
The graphical improvements to Marvel's Avengers may not be tied to War for Wakanda, but many players may have missed the update when it dropped back in March. Players purchasing the game for the first time on an Xbox Series X/S console or PlayStation 5 will automatically receive the upgraded version, but players who previously purchased the game on any console can upgrade for free.
This upgrade boosted the resolution to 4k (1440p on the Series S), improved load times and textures, and added in a few smaller lighting improvements. War for Wakanda's vibrant jungles take beautiful advantage of the new graphical fidelity, making it the perfect excuse for either new or returning players to jump in.
8 War For Wakanda Is Free
The way costumes have been monetized in Marvel's Avengers has angered some fans, but these microtransactions make perks like free story content possible. The game has already received other content upgrades such as additional characters, missions, and slightly different mission types, but none have been as substantial as War for Wakanda. With a new playable character, two new supervillains, a new environmental biome, user interface improvements, and more, War for Wakanda surpasses what is normally offered by free content packs. It's unclear if Marvel's Avengers will receive any future content bundles of this scope, but, even if not, free is a pretty amazing prize to pay for what's been added.
7 Black Panther Has Amazing Costumes To Unlock
The way skins have been implemented has left a lot to be desired in Marvel's Avengers costume options, and the fact that many skins are locked behind a paywall or long grind means that many players sometimes won't get to use their favorites. That being said, Black Panther has been released with a wide array of costumes available in-game that are visually stunning.
While some fans may want to stick with Black Panther's traditional, sleek, panther-inspired costume, others will enjoy costumes inspired by Aztek jaguar warriors, Wild-West outlaws, and even royalty of classical antiquity. Even more, these costumes come in a wide array of vibrant colors that make Black Panther stand out on the battlefield without seeming farcical or out of character.
6 You May Have Missed The Smaller Expansions
War for Wakanda is the largest expansion that Marvel's Avengers has received, but it isn't the only one. Smaller updates and additions may not have been enough on their own to lure in new or returning players, but they're perfect for diving into alongside Black Panther's debut. While Clint Barton and Kate Bishop both go by "Hawkeye," they play vastly different from each other, and either one (or both) teams up well with the leader of Wakanda.
Additional missions have been previously added with the Future Imperfect, Tachyon Anomaly, Red Room Takeover, and Cosmic Cube updates, and, while none of them are terribly substantial on their own, they add up to total quite a bit of content.
5 There Are New Environments To Explore
Marvel's Avengers looks great, and each of the already-existing "biomes" are detailed and fun to fight in, but even the best-looking environments start to seem dull after repeated visits. War for Wakanda adds a new biome to the game and lets players duke it out with Klaue and his henchman in the lush green jungles and crystal blue waterfalls of Wakanda.
The vibrant colors are a nice change of pace from the drab browns and grays that dominate most of the game's previous content like Future Imperfect. They look even better for players who have upgraded their game with the free next-gen visual upgrade available on the Xbox Series X/S consoles and Playstation 5.
4 Black Panther Isn't An Archer
Despite the extensive and diverse stable of heroes that have belonged to the Avengers, Crystal Dynamics chose to release two different versions of Hawkeye (Clint Barton and Kate Bishop) back to back as the first two additions to the base roster. While this may have been due to the unexpected passing of Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman (T'Challa was rumored to release after the first Hawkeye), many fans were disappointed that the other, more requested Avenger heroes were passed up. Fans suffering from archer fatigue will be pleased to know that Black Panther brings an entirely new playstyle to the game with his double jump, wall-running, and ability to unleash huge attacks after building up kinetic energy in his suit.
3 There Are More Avengers Players Online
It's perfectly possible and enjoyable to play through Marvel's Avengers with only AI teammates, but the game shines when a full group of four can coordinate to take on the game's biggest threats. While the game's launch saw a respectable player population, Steam Charts shows that the game's concurrent peak player count was below 2000 for most of 2021.
With its new storyline and diverse new characters, The War for Wakanda has significantly boosted the player count. In August, the number of active players has increased back to over 10,000 since the last update in the spring. There's no telling how long this boost will last, but there are now plenty of Avengers players looking for parties for the time being.
2 It Adds New Enemies Like CrossBones And Klaue
While the base campaign released with Marvel's Avengers was well received, a common complaint among fans was that there wasn't enough variety in the enemies present to fight. Despite the Marvel Universe being host to a large number of powerful villains, the vast majority of henchmen in Marvel's Avengers were repetitive humanoid robots or A.I.M. soldiers, and the supervillains, while popular, were too few in number. War for Wakanda finally attempts to remedy the enemy monotony. Not only are there two new supervillains in Crossbones and Ulysses Klaue, but they also come with a whole new faction of minions to battle.
1 It May Be The Last Major Update The Avengers Game Gets
Early in the game's lifecycle, leaks predicted that several popular characters, including Captain Marvel, War Machine, and Dr. Strange, were slated to join Marvel's Avengers. While any leak has to be taken with a grain of salt, there's no doubt that substantial content has been releasing frustratingly slow.
Even so, War for Wakanda marks the end of the announced content roadmap for players except for Spider-Man's eventual release, which will be a PlayStation exclusive and will not come with a separate storyline. Crystal Dynamics may release an updated roadmap with additional future content, but players may want to jump in now while the player base is high in case the game doesn't see any future add-ons.
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