Marvel Tōkon Gamescom Latam Preview: A Masterclass In Fighting Games

1 hour ago 8

Published May 1, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT

Bruno Yonezawa is a Gaming Senior Writer for Screen Rant. He's been practicing professional journalism for over 10 years, and is also a communications specialist. He's played games all his life and turned that passionate hobby into a passionate career, in an industry where he's worked as a writer, editor, analyst, and more.

Announced nearly a year ago, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is a new tag-team fighting game developed by Arc System Works, featuring tons of characters from the Marvel comic universe. With a unique take, inspired by anime art style and animation, Marvel Tōkon is a new Marvel game in development, to the liking of Marvel’s Wolverine, Marvel’s Blade, and Marvel 1943: Rise Of Hydra. Marvel Tōkon is set to release in August this year.

While the game is still a few months away from release, we already know a lot about Marvel Tōkon, including the playable characters, gameplay style, and more. During Gamescom LATAM 2026, Screen Rant playtested the upcoming fighting game, trying out a few of the confirmed characters for Marvel Tōkon and checking out how gameplay is set to look when it arrives on August 6.

Marvel Tōkon’s Gameplay Feels Rewarding At All Times

Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls 4v4 battle between two teams of multiple characters

From the get-go, Arc System Works’ new tag-team fighting game already feels fantastic. You’ll start by building a team of four characters, each occupying a role in the party, such as the leader or the shooter. The preview offered characters like Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, Doctor Doom, Ms. Marvel, Storm, and Ghost Rider. At a competitive level (and a bit more time to explore the game), I imagine that these characters in Marvel Tōkon will be best when set in specific roles for triggering assists in battle.

What immediately makes Marvel Tōkon stand out is how fluid, quick, and dynamic its combat feels. It’s not too fast-paced to the point you lose your senses and are unable to predict moves, but not too slow to the point it feels stiff. There is a high level of mobility, both horizontally and vertically, which allows for several ways to approach your opponent or move out of their way. Moreover, the fighting game feels extraordinarily responsive.

At Gamescom LATAM, I also played Invincible VS, a tag-team fighting game that felt a lot less fluid and responsive than Marvel Tōkon, so the upcoming title by Arc System Works set a renewed standard with modern competitors.

Even though the playtests had some limitations regarding characters, the roster of about 10 characters felt extremely varied, and even in a short time, I was amused with the different types of tactics I could employ – especially with how easy it is to swap characters and adapt to your opponent’s strategy. There are plenty of familiar gameplay elements from other IPs, and I do believe Marvel Tōkon has what it takes to represent a big shift in fighting games as a whole.

One of the things that really made my experience positive was how easy it was to get into it. Contrary to my experience with Invincible VS at Gamescom Latam, I started stringing combos seamlessly, without much of an effort. The game feels like it will be rewarding even for newer players, who will see themselves doing something, even when they aren’t completely sure if they’re landing the right inputs. It’s different from Invincible VS, which felt punitive when you messed up a combo input.

Marvel Tōkon Is A Piece Of Art In & Of Itself

Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls Star-Lord using Ultimate attack to create huge explosion

Of course, what really grabs your eye right off the bat is how gorgeous the game looks. With stylish anime-like visuals and a great investment in character animation and design, Marvel Tōkon is a beauty to behold. The promotional material released so far had already teased how gorgeous it is, but playing it really set it in stone for me, letting me truly analyze both the characters and the maps in real time.

I’m not the biggest fan of fighting games, but I have been playing them for decades. This is probably the first time in over a decade that I feel compelled to keep up with a fighting game’s release and possibly even grab it at launch, because it feels great and looks gorgeous. I’m particularly excited about Marvel Tōkon in a way I haven’t been, and I encourage everyone to check it out, given the chance.

Screen Rant’s attendance at Gamescom LATAM was sponsored by Abragames.