Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order — Review
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 feels like a long-overdue reunion with an old group of friends—loud, chaotic, occasionally messy, but undeniably fun. Developed by Team Ninja and released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, the game revives the beloved action-RPG series with a strong focus on co-op brawling and fan service, even if it doesn’t always evolve as much as it could.
At its core, Ultimate Alliance 3 is about controlled chaos. You assemble a team of four Marvel heroes and tear through waves of enemies across iconic locations, from Avengers Tower to the depths of Wakanda. Combat is fast, flashy, and built around teamwork. Each character has light and heavy attacks, special abilities, and powerful synergy moves that trigger when abilities are combined. These synergies are the game’s best idea—they reward coordination and make co-op play feel genuinely collaborative rather than just four players mashing buttons in the same space.
The roster is where the game truly shines. With dozens of playable heroes spanning the Avengers, X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more, Ultimate Alliance 3 feels like a playable Marvel encyclopedia. Characters are distinct enough to encourage experimentation, even if they share similar control schemes. Switching from the raw power of Hulk to the nimble precision of Spider-Man or the spell-heavy chaos of Scarlet Witch meaningfully changes how you approach fights.
That said, the game isn’t without rough edges. The camera can be a constant adversary, especially during hectic battles where enemies and effects crowd the screen. Difficulty spikes can also feel abrupt, often pushing players toward grinding experience levels or tweaking ISO-8 upgrades rather than improving skill alone. While the progression systems offer depth, they can feel overly complex for what is otherwise an accessible, arcade-style experience.
Visually, the game leans into a bold, comic-inspired art style rather than realism. Character models are expressive and colorful, though environments can feel repetitive over long sessions. Performance is generally solid on Switch, but occasional frame drops remind you of the hardware’s limits when the screen fills with explosions and enemies.
Ultimately, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 succeeds not by reinventing the series, but by embracing what made it popular in the first place: cooperative fun, a massive superhero roster, and the joy of seeing Marvel characters collide in over-the-top battles. It’s not a perfect action RPG, but for Marvel fans—or anyone looking for a couch co-op game that doesn’t take itself too seriously—it’s an easy recommendation.
Score: 7.5/10
