Phoenix showing up in Marvel Rivals might just be the excuse I need to ditch Overwatch 2 for a bit and dive back into that game. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m a die-hard Phoenix fan or anything. My knowledge about her comes mainly from Wikipedia — thanks to NetEase dropping hints about her in Marvel Rivals Season 3. But here’s the kicker: she actually moves like, I dunno, like a regular human, or mutant, which is pretty thrilling. Rivals hasn’t had that vibe before.
When Rivals launched in December 2024, folks on Reddit couldn’t stop grumbling about how sluggish the characters are. It’s like they’re strolling in slow-mo. Some people think it’s just a trick of the eye, claiming first-person games like Overwatch feel faster. I dunno, maybe they’re right, but it always felt like Rivals characters were taking their sweet time, so I found myself slipping away from the game gradually. Lame, right?
So, with Overwatch 2’s fancy third-person Stadium mode and Phoenix seeming to zip around faster, I had to test if Rivals was truly as slow as it felt. Spoiler: it kinda is, sort of.
Both games have practice arenas with distance measurements, perfect for checking out movement speeds. After mucking around with a bunch of characters, I learned that Rivals’ characters take about half a step longer to cover five meters compared to those in Overwatch 2. Could be a problem, but Rivals’ distance scaling throws a wrench into things. Five meters in Rivals isn’t the same as in Overwatch, weirdly enough.
“But why care?” you might ask. Well, turns out Rivals’ folks move as quickly as, or maybe even quicker than, Overwatch characters. They’ve just got a different style going on.
You see characters like Cloak and Dagger, Namor, and Spidey running as if auditioning for Baywatch. Slow mo, dramatic, you get it. Attack combos drag on unless it’s Iron Fist doing his thing. Fights end up like a clunky ballet, and the sound design? Underwhelming. Winter Soldier’s gun sounds like a dampened pop, and Scarlet Witch’s spells lack any real punch.
Enter Phoenix — game changer, literally. Her fights have this cool ‘whoosh’ with mini-explosions every few hits. Oh, and she can transform into this crazy flaming bird form, darting around and bursting in flames. She even bounces around with more snappy dodges, making her stand out without actually being faster — it’s the animation flair.
NetEase nailed it with a mix of style and function that’s lively, finally ditching that molasses-like feeling. Phoenix dances around like a true fighter, adding excitement to battles. So yeah, I’m hooked again. Who knew?
