Despite the number of fighting games based on individual anime or manga series, the tendency doesn't extend to most non-Japanese comics, movies or TV shows. There have been multiple fighting games based on the DC and Marvel universes, but the last time we had a fighting game dedicated to a Western property was 2009's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up. Invincible Vs. breaks that streak by being a fighting game completely dedicated to the "Invincible" comic and animated series on Amazon Prime. Developed by the team behind the first season of the 2013 "Killer Instinct," Invincible Vs. brings a strong pedigree to the table. After playing the final product, I can say this is a hell of a first attempt at the genre from the newly formed studio.

Invincible Vs. takes on a 3v3 tag fighting format that uses just about every button available on a standard gamepad to produce different actions. There are three basic attack buttons of varying strength along with one button for special attacks, and all of them are modified depending on the direction you're inputting alongside the button press. You can use two buttons to call for extra attacks from your partners, but you can also hold down these buttons to have them tag into the fight instead. There's a dash button you can hit, and you have another button to boost the power of your special attacks at the expense of one bar designated for these sorts of attacks.

The lack of automatic button macros might be intimidating, since you get the impression that there's going to be lots to remember. The game does quite a bit to ensure that it remains accessible to all players, though. Hit a string of low attacks, and you'll automatically do a super combo if you have the meter for it. Everyone has the same button inputs for their super combos. The standard quarter-circle inputs and similar moves are optional but are only used for those super combos. Just about every other move is dependent on the single button plus single direction input mentioned earlier. The game is fast-paced but slowed down a bit from something like Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom, so it is easier for more casual players to keep track of what's going on. The game doesn't devolve into button-mashing, but an understanding of the fundamentals of basic fighting combos and a little bit of familiarity with the Vs. Capcom style of tag-team fighting games will ensure that you can hold your own in a skirmish.

The base game comes with 18 fighters, which is pretty solid all around, as their built-in personalities fill in the standard fighting game archetypes like grappler, zone control, etc. The cast covers some of the big names that appear through the third season of the TV series or around issue 75 of the comic book series. That means you'll see Cecil, Monster Girl, Powerplex and Thula alongside characters that the non-fans would be familiar with, like Onmi-Man and Invincible. The exception is Ella Mental, who is a character created specifically for the fighting game. Invincible Vs. does a good job of injecting some personality by giving everyone distinct verbal callouts whenever they enter the fray or win, depending on who they're facing at the time. The game also doesn't skip on the brutality; you get lots of blood spray and torn clothes during a fight. Don't expect the gore to match Mortal Kombat, as there isn't that much blood spilled that stays on the floor. The only real fatality in the game is you hitting an opponent with a special move or combo that results in them exploding into bloody chunks.

When it comes to game modes, Invincible Vs. features the basics, and that's it. There's a tutorial that does a good job of providing the basics and advanced nuances of the fighting system, and it does so through a number of lessons that don't feel overwhelming. There's also a training mode that gives you a place to practice all of your moves and combos. You have a standard offline versus mode and online ranked and casual matches, along with the ability to create your own lobbies. The online performance is solid, with no hints of lag or dropped inputs. Keep in mind that we were checking this against a small group of people, so your mileage will vary when the game hits the greater public. At least cross-play is supported, so the chances of finding a match at any time is relatively high.

There are two single-player modes that are pretty good. The Arcade mode lets you go through a random group of enemies to get a specific character ending based on the first person on your three-person team. For example, you'll get Atom Eve's ending if you pick her first, even if your team contains Rex Splode and Dupli-Kate. The number of enemy teams you face is dependent on your chosen difficulty level, but there is an option to play a quick version of the mode with a variable difficulty level and the chance to only fight five teams. This is perfect for those trying to get all 18 of the character endings as quickly as possible.

The second mode is Story mode, and it plays out similarly to many other modern fighting games. You have one unifying story that gives you the chance to play as everyone on the roster, and the only way to progress is to win your fight. Written by some of the writers of the show, the narrative is a good side story to the main series, and the tale makes the fights between characters occur naturally. (Some people will hate how it ends on a cliffhanger, though.) One thing that will surprise people is that the whole mode lasts about an hour or so, depending on your skill level. That makes it relatively short compared to other games, but it can match the runtime of an episode in the series.

While Invincible Vs. isn't as mode-heavy as most modern fighting games, it makes up for that with a slew of unlockables in every mode, except for the tutorial and training modes. Some of the unlockables come from completing specific tasks, and others come from leveling up your overall profile and individual fighter level, all of which are done by using those characters in a fight, win or lose. If you're mainly an offline player, the system is generous in that all of your offline fights will count toward this leveling, but you still need to go online to unlock everything. As for those unlocks, they include concept art, comic book covers, music, and even stage variations. If you're the type of player who loves unlocks, there are plenty of items to keep you busy for some time.

Graphically, Invincible Vs. looks very nice on a number of fronts. The cut scenes for the story mode feature the staccato-style animation seen in movies like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and it looks pretty slick. The main game features very good-looking and detailed character models, but the environments will catch your attention, especially when a new fighter enters the match and you see the wave of destruction alter the environment. The destruction continues as the fights go on. The special level-three combos look appropriately flashy, and the frame rate holds steady no matter what's happening. Combined with some very quick load times, this is a looker of a game.

The sound is very good. Part of that can be attributed to the voice acting which, as mentioned before, comes with loads of distinct lines depending on who's facing whom and who defeated whom. All of the voice actors from the show reprise their roles, so everything is delivered perfectly. The other part that makes the sound stand out is the soundtrack. Composed by The Glitch Mob, the electronic mix with hints of hop-hop and expected superhero beats works well with the levels and menus. The audio gives the game an identity that is both cool and rare for the genre.

The game runs completely fine on a Linux machine, and no changes are needed. For the Steam Deck, the game runs well, but there are certainly some compromises that have been made. The game runs at the default 1280x800 resolution, but all of the graphical settings have been pushed to their lowest setting, and the resolution scale is at 50%. This makes the character selection screen a blurry mess, but the actual fights are clean-looking to the point that you won't notice the upscaling. The frame rate stays at 60fps for the fights and only drops briefly once a new fighter comes in and the background gets transformed. The battery life on the LCD version of the Steam Deck hits around two hours on a full charge, which is pretty good considering the game engine being used. The only knock is that the game features no cloud saving, which is a shame since it means being unable to share your unlock progress between machines.

Invincible Vs. ends up being a very solid 3v3 tag team fighting game. The fighting system is familiar but solid, and even though it doesn't offer anything revolutionary over other tag fighters, its accessibility ensures that players of all skill levels will immediately be able to have fun. The mode selection is small but provides a good amount of entertainment thanks to the brutality of each fight and the number of unlockables. With a solid presentation behind it, Invincible Vs. is a very enjoyable fighting game for fans of the show and genre alike.

Score: 8.5/10