MultiVersus, a Smash Bros.-like fighting game featuring various Warner-owned characters like Batman, that yellow dog off of Adventure Time, and Shaggy, is more of a quick hustle piggybacking on misplaced metaverse hype, or an actually-quite-fun video game.

It's a fairly simple concept to grasp, really, though I hope you don't mind me being reductive - it's Warner Bros.

does Smash Bros.

They missed a trick by not calling it Warner Smash Bros!

The first thing I get from this game is 'lawyers', actually.

Somehow this game feels more like Intellectual Property than usual, even compared to Smash or Marvel vs.

That is my least favourite thing about it so far - but there are some things I like.

But before I start saying nice things, it's worth pointing out how much it really does feel like IP: The Game, with not too much thought put into how coherent it'll be.

Chris: It is, it feels like it exists at least as much because of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Fortnite (which have also both featured in one another?!), as it does Smash.

It's like Smash Bros.

So you don't know what happens at the end?

I won't spoil it here but it goes places (don't worry I haven't watched it - I've just read the synopsis on Wikipedia which is how I consume most media these days)!

It's a daft thing and it knows it, and has fun with it.

I think what it's missing is all the extra stuff beyond the characters in Smash - the stage hazards and designs and the items, which I know are divisive in that community but these things all add a bit of texture.

For some reason I went back to the Mega Drive Taz-Mania game recently, because that's the sort of thing I like to do with my weekends, so he was one of my first picks too (after Superman, of course).

I think what impressed me most, though, was how it does feel distinct from Smash Bros.

It's also clever because this is probably a game that kids will want to play, and now parents can actually join in without having to accept that at some point you will be beating up your child for first place.

I know you can 2-v2 but in terms of proper support classes and building around co-op, it's arguably the one thing missing from Smash.

Martin: You're now making me feel bad for the number of times I obliterated my 8-year-old nephew when playing Smash Bros.-.

Chris: Don't feel bad for this, he must learn.

But yeah it does really feel like MultiVersus' special sauce, and the way it's supported by various systems gives matches a real flavour of their own - I love it when an enemy character's teetering on the brink of a KO and you try to gang up on them, or conversely being that person who's about to get destroyed and playing a game of chase around the level while your partner backs you up.

I wish there was a bit more variety to the environments - they are all basically that core Smash Bros.

I wonder if that's another play for the slightly younger audience because it's one of the toughest learning curves when you're totally new to this type of game, learning to not just walk off the edge and die.

But it does put a bit more emphasis on building up damage on someone and landing a smash, rather than the platforming side of things that comes into it in Smash Bros.

Martin: Yeah, it's of course worth pointing out that it is a free-to-play game, and I'm not entirely sold on how it's going to work.

There are caveats in that the shop isn't open and we don't have full visibility on how it'll all work, while after only a couple of hours play each we've not bothered the higher tiers of the battle pass unlocks, but the very fact perks which are used to power up your characters can be purchased will always make me feel a bit queasy.

Chris: The battle pass does feel a bit miserly - after a couple hours of online play I've not gone up a single level, I don't think - but like you say it is super early to judge that.

Martin: Yeah, that's the thing - I went into this expecting to just scoff at the ridiculousness of it, but I'm now sort of looking forward to the floodgates opening in the next part of the closed alpha test so I can tinker around with it some more1

It does more than enough to distinguish itself from Smash Bros?

to make it worthwhile, and it does enough with the characters on offer to have some surprising depth1

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