Spring brings us some of the most anticipated games of the year, and one of them is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The title may be a mouthful, but the game looks excellent, blending a star-studded cast (led by Daredevil himself, Charlie Cox) with what looks like exciting turn-based gameplay. The gameplay we’ve seen of it so far brings to mind one of the more underappreciated games of this console generation that deserves more attention and players: Marvel’s Midnight Suns.

Midnight Suns had something of an uphill battle when it first came out in 2022. A December release date did it no favors, having missed the critical Black Friday holiday shopping window, and characters’ abilities being cards led to a muddied perception of the type of game it was. It released and was quickly forgotten despite strong review scores, and undersold compared to publisher 2K’s expectations. It’s a shame that Midnight Suns didn’t perform well enough at launch to get a sequel because it’s easily become one of my favorite games of this console generation.

Excellent turn-based gameplay

Defeating Hydra never felt so good

At the core of Midnight Suns’ gameplay loop are combat encounters where you send three heroes out on a mission to defeat Hydra soldiers or antagonist Lilitth’s demonic monsters. It’s full of captivating combat mechanics, like “quick” cards not costing a move if they kill an enemy and powerful team-up attacks between heroes. Each combat arena is filled with opportunities to use against your opponents, like crates to throw or barrels to explode. Bosses like Crossbones or a corrupted and mind-controlled Scarlet Witch offer tough challenges requiring strategic thinking on your part and some tough-as-nails heroics.

The roster of heroes all play differently as well. Spider-Man is great at leveraging the environment to take out enemies quickly and efficiently while Wolverine can heal himself to ensure he’s always standing strong in a fight. My personal favorite hero, both in and outside of combat, is Magik. She has complete control of the battlefield with her portals and knockback abilities, allowing you to dictate the terms of battle and synergize well with teammates.

Expansive roster of your favorite Marvel heroes

A great mix of X-Men, Avengers, and more

Midnight Suns features 12 heroes from all corners of the Marvel universe you can recruit to your home, the Abbey. The roster has a little something for everyone, from Avengers to X-Men to even a Runaway.

I especially like how it balanced some of Marvel’s most popular heroes with some of its lesser-known ones, like Nico and Robbie Reyes as Ghost Rider. They offer new perspectives to the Abbey and allow you to play as heroes who likely wouldn’t otherwise show up in a Triple A game. Of course, no game would be complete without pets, and Midnight Suns has two hanging around the Abbey: the loyal hellhound Charlie and the elusive black cat Ebony.

Marvel heroes in Midnight Suns

• Blade
• Captain America
• Captain Marvel
• Doctor Strange
• Ghost Rider
• Hulk
• Iron Man
• Magik
• Nico Minoru
• Scarlet Witch
• Spider-Man
• Wolverine

While the Abbey houses your new best friends, it also houses you. You’ll create your own Marvel hero, The Hunter, and lead them into battle against Lilith’s demonic forces. The character-creator isn’t Baldur’s Gate 3 levels of detailed, but it’s enough to make your character feel unique. You’ll also snag various cosmetics around the Abbey, giving your Hunter their own personal style–in battle and outside it.

Hang out with the heroes

Who doesn’t want to be besties with Magik?

Midnight Suns’ battles are excellent and a ton of fun, but the downtime spent at the Abbey is just as engaging. Bookending the combat missions are chances for you to get to know the Marvel heroes. You’ll be able to chat with them about issues they’re going through in their private lives, help them solve dilemmas, give them gifts, and invite them to Havens. You’ll discover the serene Havens, like hilltops and clearings, by exploring the area outside of the Abbey. Each Haven can only be used once, so make sure you get to know what a hero likes and dislikes before inviting them to a Haven. Same goes for post-mission hangout activities, like playing video games or having a drink, though they aren’t limited in use. Hanging out with heroes levels up your friendship with them, which offers perks in battle and new cosmetics for the characters.

Benefits to friendship levels

• Hero ability cards
• Increased character stats
• Hero passive abilities
• Increased number of combo abilities
• Compliments

Some of the best parts of Midnight Suns are its clubs. You’ll join the Emo Kids club, Shop Class, and Blade’s book club (where you’ll learn which hero the Daywalker is smitten with). Whether you’re repairing a car with Robbie, Peter Parker, and Tony Stark or exploring The Hunter’s lost memories with Nico, Magik, and Stephen Strange, these clubs are great showcases for the strong character writing present in Midnight Suns. They let you develop your Hunter’s personality and character as well.

DLC that’s worth it

Add more heroes to the mix – and vampires!

Plenty of games have skippable season passes, but not Marvel’s Midnight Suns. Its DLC elevates the main game and brings four more fan-favorite characters to the game. Well, three fan-favorites and meme king Morbius. Deadpool, Venom (Eddie Brock), Morbius, and Storm take up residency in the Abbey, each on a mission to end a growing vampire threat. The vampire enemies add new wrinkles to combat by inflicting the bleed status on your heroes, which may trigger a transformation for an enemy, turning it into an elite vampire. Some missions also have hemaliscs, cocoon-like sacks that spawn more vampire enemies, while others task you with protecting civilians from being killed by vampires.

Each new hero comes equipped with differing movesets offering unique advantages in fights. Deadpool can quickly down enemies, Venom acts as a tank, Morbius takes advantage of bleeding foes, and Storm can hold her attacks in reserve as they grow more powerful. They each play differently, and with four new heroes you can make sure your battle lineups never feel stale. Plus, with all four characters now released, you’ll have plenty of time to maximize your friendship levels with all of them throughout the game.

Midnight Suns DLC

• Marvel's Midnight Suns - Blood Storm: Storm uses her mutant abilities to weaponize the weather and aid the Midnight Suns in battle. Add Storm to your roster along with new story missions, an Abbey upgrade, and more.
• Marvel's Midnight Suns - The Hunger: Morbius joins the Midnight Suns to combat a vampyre threat sweeping across New York City. Add Morbius to your roster along with new story missions, an Abbey upgrade, and more.
• Marvel's Midnight Suns - Redemption: Venom joins the Midnight Suns to chew through evildoers and feed his insatiable hunger. Add Venom to your roster along with new story missions, an Abbey upgrade, and more.
• Marvel's Midnight Suns - The Good, the Bad, and the Undead: Deadpool, everyone's favorite merc with a mouth, teams up with the Midnight Suns! Add Deadpool to your roster along with new story missions, an Abbey upgrade, and more.
• Doctor Strange Defenders Skin: Send Lilith back to the underworld in style with the Defenders Skin for Doctor Strange in Marvel’s Midnight Suns, inspired by his classic look in the Defenders comics.

It’s frequently on sale

You can snag Midnight Suns for 20 bucks or less

To get all Midnight Suns had to offer at launch, it would have cost you a clean $100. That’s not the case anymore. Bargain-hunting and patient shoppers can frequently pick up Marvel’s Midnight Suns for $20, or even less if you want to forgo the DLC. But, let’s be honest–who doesn’t want to kick some vampire butt as Storm? Frequently discounted to $20, the Legendary Edition offers countless hours of fun and friendship (I put in 100 myself) and is easily one of the best deals you’ll find for any game.

The base version of the game is often on sale for $9 across Steam and the Xbox and PlayStation stores. For just a buck fifty more, you can snag the Enhanced Edition when it’s on sale. It includes a premium skin each for Captain America, Captain Marvel, Magik, Nico Minoru, and Wolverine. Fans of Rick Remender and Jerome Opeña Uncanny X-Force run will surely want to grab the Enhanced Edition for Wolverine’s black and white X-Force skin alone.

Those who want the game on disc are in for a treat too as Midnight Suns can be found for $20 at retailers like Amazon and Gamestop. The season pass also sees frequent discounts and can be yours for under $20 when the time is right.

Midnight Suns is as good an RPG as any

Despite underperforming sales-wise, Midnight Suns and its blend of a Persona-like social schedule, excellent turn-based combat, and colorful cast of Marvel heroes genuinely ranks as one of the best games I’ve played in years. It concluded with a post-credits scene that teased one of Marvel’s most famous–and dangerous–antagonists, and I can only hope that someday Firaxis is allowed to revisit their masterpiece (however unlikely that is). At least we have another great character-driven, turn-based RPG to look forward to in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.