Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls Is a Great Game With a Bad Beta

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I’ve been looking forward to Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls ever since it was announced. I didn’t get into the first beta test, but I was able to try out the second one and finally play the fighting game I’d been anticipating. Marvel Rivals proved how popular this universe can be, and I was hoping Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls would bring a lot of new players to the fighting game scene. However, after playing the second beta, I felt a bit disappointed.

Look, the game itself is fantastic – I’m seriously hooked and can’t wait for it to come out! But honestly, I was a little disappointed with the beta experience. I know it’s still in development and things will probably get fixed, but Sony and Arc System Works didn’t quite nail the presentation, in my opinion. If they do another beta, I really hope they focus on making it a smoother, more polished experience for fans like me.

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Needs to Work Out Some Issues

The main issue with the beta was the online system, and I’m worried it will still be a problem when the full game comes out. Many fighting games now require players to use online arcade lobbies to find matches, but this feels clunky and doesn’t work well. I expected to dislike this system, and I was right – it makes finding a match much more complicated than it needs to be. While I anticipate some improvements in the final version, I believe this will be a major challenge for the game, especially since strong online play is so crucial for fighting games.

I struggled to find a game as soon as I joined the online lobby. Almost all the arcade machines were already occupied, and people weren’t willing to wait for one to free up – they just ran around hoping a machine would become available. The quick-match feature didn’t help much, as it just sent me to an empty machine. To make things worse, even when I finally found an opponent, they would often leave mid-match or the connection would drop.

I was so hyped to finally get into a match after trying for ages! But it quickly became clear the game doesn’t match players based on skill. I kept getting matched with amazing Spider-Man players – seriously, they were incredible. And honestly, it was brutal. I’m pretty comfortable with fighting games, I’ve played a lot of Street Fighter 6, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Soulcalibur 6, and others, but I was getting destroyed every time. I’m really hoping they fix this in the full game, because there’s nothing worse than being excited to jump into a new fighter and just getting completely wiped out match after match. It’s super discouraging!

One of the biggest problems with the beta is the lack of a training mode. The initial tutorial is helpful for learning the controls and game mechanics, but after that, there’s no way to practice combos or try out different characters. While you can fight against the computer, those matches are surprisingly difficult, which makes practicing even harder. I understand Sony and Arc System Works want to stress-test their servers, but adding a practice mode would have solved this issue. Other fighting games, such as Avatar: Fighting Legends, included a combo trial mode in early versions that let players learn the characters more easily.

Gameplay Is Where Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Shines

After playing Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls more thoroughly on the second day of the beta, my initial negative impression completely changed. I didn’t enjoy the game much on the first day, but playing with a friend made all the difference. However, the lobby system still needs work – even in an empty lobby, we had trouble connecting and kept getting randomly disconnected while trying to play on the same cabinet.

Honestly, once we actually started playing Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, it was a ton of fun! My friend and I had some really close matches, going back and forth with wins and losses. Even though the combos weren’t super complicated, each character felt unique and different to play. I already knew I wanted to focus on Storm, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the others too. After testing everyone out, I ended up settling on a team of Storm, Ghost Rider, Captain America, and Dr. Doom – they just clicked for me!

What sets Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls apart from other tag fighters is that you aren’t required to use your whole team. While the character-switching system wasn’t always smooth, it felt intuitive and opened up cool strategic possibilities, especially during combos. I quickly learned some matchups were particularly favorable – and to avoid using Dr. Doom against Ms. Marvel! If you prefer sticking with one character, you can do that too, and I had success playing entire matches with just Storm or Ghost Rider.

The game is easy to pick up and play, even for beginners like me – I’m not a fighting game expert! However, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls has a lot of depth that skilled players will appreciate. Don’t let that intimidate you if you’re new to the genre, though. The auto-combo feature and cool-looking moves make it fun for casual players. A good tutorial mode would really help less experienced players improve, but the beta version didn’t have enough training options.

As a fighting game fan, I’m really excited about Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. With Sony and Arc System Works collaborating, and all the amazing Marvel characters, it has the potential to be huge. The recent beta was a little rough around the edges, but once I looked past the initial problems, I could see just how good this game could be. I’m seriously looking forward to seeing where they take it! There’s no official release date yet, but a lot of us are hoping it comes out in 2026, maybe around the same time as Sony’s new FlexStrike fight stick.

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2025-12-08 18:43