Thanks to the success of Nintendo’sSuper Smash Bros. series, many studios have been trying to get their own crossover fighting game.Jump Forcetried to bring together anime characters,MultiVersusis pitting iconic Warner Bros. IPs against each other, andtheNickelodeon All-Star Brawlserieshas put players in the shoes of all sorts of iconic Nickelodeon mascots. Back in 2012, PlayStation even tried one of its own withPlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.While nothing has been revealed yet, some fans have been clamoring for its return for years.
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royalepitted characters from franchises such asGod of War,Infamous,Sly Cooper, andBioShockagainst each other across a variety of stages. What ensued was classic fighting game fun, but many critics also found it to be a bit lacking in content. There were not enough fighters or stages to choose from, and new content was not coming fast enough. If Bluepoint Games and Sony wanted to try the concept again, it would need to rectify that, and one of the best ways would be by following inMarvel Rivals' footsteps.
PlayStation All-Stars 2 Should Take Notes from Marvel Rivals
PlayStation All-Stars 2 Has Countless Characters it Could Tap Into
Marvel Rivalshas committed to releasing a brand-new heroevery month and a half, which sounds very promising. The game already launched with over 30 heroes to choose from, so adding new ones at this rate means players have a lot of content to look forward to. IfPlayStation All-Stars 2were to come out and want to keep its audience’s attention, then it may need to do the exact same thing.
Sony has a massive library of IPs that it could pull characters from, giving the game the potential for so much exciting post-launch content. The originalPlayStation All-Stars Battle Royalealready included iconic series such asGod of WarandInfamous, and the studio could expand that with the likes ofMarvel’s Spider-Man,Horizon Zero Dawn,The Last of Us,and evenAstro Bot. Additionally, it could branch out into the wider gaming world and give players access to even more iconic characters. As long as the game launched with a strong roster and the studio added to it on a pretty regular basis, it would have a shot at maintaining a consistent playerbase.
There Are Even More Stages Waiting to Shine
New playable fighters are great, but these types of games also need exciting stages for players to fight in. Luckily, all the franchisesPlayStation All-Stars 2could pull characters from also have a plethora of unique locales that could make for fantastic stages. Players could fight through the streets ofMarvel’s Spider-Man’s New York, compete inside aHorizon Zero DawnCauldron, and explorethe massive galaxy of planets fromAstro Bot. Just like with the characters, the studio could also expand its stages to dozens of non-Sony franchises, making for the ultimate video game-themed fighting game.
As long as the studio kept the content free,PlayStation All-Stars 2could become a massive success. Not only would it give players so much content to experience, but it would also be uncommon for a fighting game.Super Smash Bros. Ultimatemay have had purchasable DLC, but those fighters and stages were not released every month and a half. Alongside that,MultiVersusdoes not offer its new characters for freeand games such asNickelodeon All-Star Brawlhad too few character additions.
If the studio was able to keep up the content stream and keep it free, thenPlayStation All-Stars 2could be a game-changer in the fighting genre. Of course, nothing has been announced yet, so a sequel may not even be on the horizon, but any shot at a sequel will definitely want to take some cues fromMarvel Rivalsgoing forward.
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
WHERE TO PLAY
All-Stars Battle Royale was developed by SuperBot Entertainment and had a lot of hype behind it in the build-up to its release as it was dubbed Sony’s answer to Super Smash Bros.The fighting game featured numerous iconic PlayStation characters, such as Kratos, Nathan Drake, Sackboy, and Sly Cooper.
