Review: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: the Black Order is a fun, glitchy, gaming experience

Sometimes, I play video games to get out of my head for an hour or two. A bit of gaming allows me to numb myself after a stressful day at work or to relax through a bout of insomnia once I become too damn tired to read but not sleepy enough to drift off. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: the Black Order for the Nintendo Switch offers just the right amount of a dumb plot, decent graphics and button mashing to scratch my escapist itch.

For the past few years, everything in Marvels cinematic universe and many of their comics have revolved around the Infinity Stones. Youll find no exception here. If youve seen a trailer for Avengers Endgame, youve got the broad strokes of this games story. Infinity Stones are powerful. Infinity Stones are bad. Bad people want them. Its a plot that a wee kid could follow, which I suppose is Disney/Marvels plan. And why not? Its a story thats proven capable of printing its own money.

As you progress through the games various levels, youll take on progressively tougher foes with a team of four heroes of your choosing. Your roster of potential teammates grows as you bop along. Theres no earning new members... it just kind of happens. Im a few hours into the game. Disappointingly, the amount of customization allowed for your heroes by the last two iterations of the game appear to be largely absent. Theres no costumes to unlock. No accessories that your heroes can mix and match to enhance their power set: just points and drops that allow you to power up in one way or another. Read the rest