In the pantheon of comic book-based video game adaptations, few properties have had as much exposure and success as Marvel's X-Men. The X-Men have had a long history of licensed video games, and over the years the team of powerful mutants has appeared in some iconic entries. Whether it's the Capcom fighting crossover X-Men vs Street Fighter or the RPG action of the X-Men Legends series, the beloved characters and their comic book heroism translate beautifully to the world of interactive entertainment. However, despite the continued popularity of the property, the X-Men have been noticeably absent from the world of games for years now.
In fact, it's been 7 years since the X-Men have had their own starring role in a game, with the last entry, 2014's mobile entry Uncanny X-Men: The Days of Future Past serving as the last opportunity for fans to play as the iconic mutant heroes. With the recent success of Eidos Montreal's Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy showing fans what a modern superhero team-up could look like, now is the perfect time to bring back one of Marvel's greatest teams for a new video game adventure. Not only is Guardians a great game, it could serve as a blueprint to bring back the X-Men in style.
One of the easiest routes for a new X-Men game to find success would be to follow the exact setup of Guardians and place players in the shoes of a member of the famous mutant-powered team in an adventure with a focus on cooperative action. Guardians' choice to focus mainly on one playable character worked because it still used its mechanics and narrative to bring its motley crew of misfits together with team-up attacks. This idea would likewise suit an X-Men game and could even recreate the team-up attacks featured in X-Men Legends and Marvel Ultimate Alliance series that allowed players to use moves like the Fastball Special and more.
Much like the Guardians of the Galaxy, the X-Men have a long history in comics from which to draw a narrative. The natural inclination for a new game could be to follow in the X-Men movie's footsteps and feature a retelling of some of the X-Men's most classic stories like The Phoenix Saga and its galaxy-spanning battles, but these familiar arcs are not necessarily the right choice for a new game. Instead of retreading familiar material, the new game could focus on some lesser-known storylines, much like Guardians did for its narrative. In a sense, a new X-Men game would be an opportunity for a studio to reboot the team, creating a fresh new perspective, and an original story that focused on one or two villains could be the perfect fit.
Although following the Guardians' blueprint for a new X-Men game could work mechanically and narratively, it needs to deviate from this setup in one key aspect. Players should be able to choose one mutant from a small lineup and be able to experience the campaign through the eyes of a variety of characters. This character choice could still lock players in for the campaign duration, but should not be limited to one character alone. One of the main draws of the X-Men as a team is that it is full of drastically different personalities and heroes who have completely unique abilities as well. Guardians makes sense to put players in the shoes of Star-Lord, as he is the most relatable character, but an X-Men game with the right roster could have many fan-favorite heroes that fans should be able to utilize.
As far as possible lineups go, the best middle ground would be to bring back the classic lineups of the '90s, which thanks to the X-Men: The Animated Series is still the most widely known to fans. A game that featured new versions of Storm, Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine, Cyclops, Beast and Jean Grey could keep the roster small but still deliver a solid team full of classic and fan-favorite mutants. This small team size could provide a more intimate venue for the characters to interact over a narrative, and give players ample replayability options.
With PlayStation 5 fans eagerly awaiting the next Marvel's Spider-Man game, and Insomniac recently announcing its own Wolverine solo game, Marvel fans are more excited than ever at the prospect of new interactive adventures featuring the classic comic characters that many know and love. A new X-Men game that followed the blueprint laid by Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy could deliver just the experience fans have been waiting for.
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