For every one thing to love about Marvel’s Avengers, there’s something to cancel it out, as though it’s a shiny machine that’s been meticulously crafted by clever people in white coats and clipboards to neutralise every last drop of enjoyment.
It doesn’t matter what great ingredients you feed into the mouth of the machine – a loveable lead, perhaps, or a stellar voice cast – because by the end of it, the device works to counter every one of those positives with something irritating or frustrating. The result is a curiously bland, neutral experience that’s neither terrific nor terrible but masterfully straddles both in a way that’s quite frankly astonishing.
To make matters worse, there are many times – usually within the mostly satisfying single-player campaign – when Marvel’s Avengers isn’t bland at all. Kamala Khan – aka Ms Marvel – is adorable, and her story, if a little predictable, hits all the beats you’d expect from a tale set in such an iconic universe. The combat is fine, if unrefined. The visuals are fine, if unremarkable. The looting is fine, if a bit useless. The environments are fine, if a bit repetitive. The gentle loot puzzles are fine, if shockingly simple. But fine isn’t going to keep you here, is it? Fine isn’t enough to make more demands of your time and money. And that’s the problem.
