NetEase Games' commitment to releasing a new Marvel Rivals hero every half-season hasn't stopped a talented player from creating their own playable Doctor Octopus.
Reddit user WickedCube recently shared a 30-second gameplay video showcasing a remarkably well-realized Doc Ock within the Marvel Rivals engine. The footage, seemingly from a testing environment, depicts a pre-Hulk Bruce Banner suspended mid-air, but the focus is undeniably on the eight-armed villain. The video demonstrates a surprisingly polished concept of Doc Ock's movement and abilities, including his signature tentacles used for traversal and combat. His abilities, named "Havoc Claw" and "Wrecking Grip," showcase both melee and ranged attacks. The video has garnered significant attention, exceeding 16,000 upvotes.
WickedCube explained their inspiration, citing Doc Ock's unique design and the lack of similar implementations in other games. The project, developed in Unity, was undertaken during a PSN outage, spurred by seeing impressive Doc Ock fan art online. The developer, an indie game creator with experience at Keen Software House, is currently seeking contract work and focusing on prototyping game mechanics.
The overwhelmingly positive response has been incredibly rewarding for WickedCube, who hopes NetEase might consider their design. While not planning further refinement, they intend to release a playable version and share the development process through a YouTube tutorial series and open-source the code on GitHub.
NetEase is releasing two new official characters this Friday: Human Torch and The Thing, following the recent addition of Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman. This rapid pace surpasses competitors, but the vast Marvel universe offers endless possibilities for future additions.
WickedCube's project stemmed from the community's desire for more Vanguard-type characters. While there's no official word on Doc Ock's inclusion, WickedCube is already developing concepts for Nightcrawler and Professor Xavier. They praise NetEase's game design, highlighting the fun factor as a key achievement.
Marvel Rivals' Season 1 mid-season update arrives tomorrow, February 21st, including the new characters, balance adjustments, and other gameplay improvements.
