Why Midnight Suns Deserves Better From Fans
- Friendly NBHD Show
- Apr 1
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 28


Where have all the good superhero games gone, where are all the superhero game gods?
Sung to the tune of “Holding Out For a Hero”
I know I’m not the only one who has thought this and is still thinking it.
Marvel, at least, is beginning the push the mold again while creating successes, and in multiple genres such as:
Marvel Cosmic Invasion - 2D Platformer - 2026
Marvel Rivals - Third Person Shooter- 2024
Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics - Arcade Fighter - 2024
Spider-Man 2 - Single Player Open World - 2023
And finally, Midnight Suns - released in 2022, a turn-based RPG with elements of open world single player gaming and deckbuilding.
Out of all the Marvel games listed above, what would you say is the least successful of them? And then what would you say, in your option, is the least great out of all of them?
Many will say Midnight Suns. And I get it - it was a commercial failure.
What many fans may not understand is that Midnight Suns should have been a commercial success, had we- myself included - given it the chance soon enough.
There’s a reason it was such a critical success; it deserves to be a fan success, too.
Why Didn’t Fans Give It A Shot?
From the start, many fans, including myself, were immediately disinterested the second we heard that Midnight Suns was turn-based. UGH. I just felt my own stomach churn at the idea.
However, after over 35 hours of gameplay in Midnight Suns, not only can I say it’s a triumph from Marvel and 2k Games, but it’s not even all turn-based like we thought.

Were there other hesitations? I’m not sure- again, all I heard and thought of was turn-based = lame. SMDH @ myself.
Okay- I’ll humor you. What the heck is Midnight Suns all about, anyway?
Midnight Suns takes heroes/anti-heroes from multiple Marvel Superhero Teams - Avengers, X-Men, The Runaways - and places them in the supernatural world of The Midnight Sons team. Their goal: come together to defeat Lilith. The how? Revive The Hunter from her previous death. Ya know, cause The Hunter defeated Lilith last time.

It just so happens you are The Hunter… and Lilith is your mother.
You can imagine the layers of complication and trauma that unfold… good thing all the characters in this game have their own trauma, too!

At the start of the game, you can customize your gender and look. You live in the base of operations called The Abbey - a place supernatural, magical, and filled with secrets and lore.
Midnight Suns consists of a combination of open-world single player gameplay, RPG, and turn-based.
In the day phase, you awake and can go throughout The Abbey completing tasks - leveling characters, cards, and abilities up, getting new items and upgrades, and going on missions to get more resources, engage in combat, and more.

In the night phase, you get to hang-out with your fellow heroes/anti-heroes and level up friendship… and explore The Abbey!
As you can see, Midnight Suns - not even considering actual combat play - already offers options of gameplay for different types of gamers, all wrapped up in one!
For example, I was not a fan of exploring The Abbey - too much work and not very clear directions. To me, it felt too much like trying to find Riddler Trophies in the Batman Arkham Games. However, my brother LOVED exploring The Abbey, and I had a great time leveling up characters, cards, getting new items and upgrades, leveling friendships up, and going on missions!
Midnight Suns has gameplay options for everyone - and again, that’s not even considering the combat options.
Okay, But Is The Turn-Based Combat Bearable?
The short answer: Yes, in fact, the Turn-Based Combat is actually a huge plus and I see why they choose it for this game!
The long answer: As someone who is not a fan of playing games like Yu Gi Oh or otherwise since I was in 5th grade, I usually detest Turn-Based and strongly desire free-flowing combat like the Batman Arkham Games. However, I DO love deck builders.. & Midnight Suns has changed my perspective on Turn-Based for the better.

In combat, you pick and choose cards for each hero to play. But the magic happens as you play each card - as you play cards, you get to see AND feel the fantastic visuals and effects take place. I can’t emphasize how much this revolutionizes the Turn-Based Combat Experience.
One of the cons of starting the game off, combat-wise, is that it very much feels like a deck builder in that it takes a while to get it going. The starter decks and characters can take a while to get the flow going of combinations of attacks, defenses, skills, and more.
However, once you do start to feel the flow, it’s so worth it. And it definitely doesn’t take forever. My advice: give it some story time. The second you get frustrated with the game and lack of flow, either a) eat your pride and lower the game difficulty level (I did this!!) or b) push through and you’ll be on the other side just as soon as you thought you’d quit.

Some of my favorite combinations to play with are Hunter, Captain America, Captain Marvel, or Iron Man (even though I despise Tony Stark), Captain America, Blade, or Wolverine, Nico Minoru, Ghost Rider… basically, anyone with solid chains, healing, blocks, or straight-up easy attacks to do.

Characters Like Magik and Scarlet Witch I really struggled with. However, players with a different strategic mindset from me will 100% enjoy them and other characters more than I!
Okay, So It’s A Fun, Well-Made Game. But What Makes Midnight Suns Special?
Midnight Suns has some of the best story and character development I’ve seen in a long time in any Superhero video game. Though yes, there were times I skipped cutscenes and dialogue, Midnight Suns never completely lost me. I always had to know at least what was going on in the main story.

Despite Marvel not allowing more romance in Midnight Suns (BOOOOOO!!!), there is one little romance in the game that I enjoyed. Marvel, give us more!! And let ME romance the characters, dammit!!!
Above all, I finished the story mode feeling incredibly fulfilled as a player, and I STILL wanted to keep playing to level up all the friendships!! This is huge! I’m most often the kind of person that finishes the story and I’m done with the game. Yet, Midnight Suns rose above my usual demeanor and kept and still keeps me engaged beyond the story.
Final Takeaway
This game has more layers than I could ever hope to unravel in this article.
If you are like one of my other brothers and still have refused to give Midnight Suns a shot… it may feel too late, but it isn’t! Give it a shot.
Hell, if people give it the opportunity to shine, maybe we can get Marvel and 2K to give us the sequel that the end of the game so perfectly sets up.
I know, a wish and a dream. But I’ll continue hoping.
If we want games, and superhero games at that, to continue growing and evolving, we’ve all- myself included - gotta start trying out things we think we won’t like.
And HONESTLY trying them out.
You won’t be disappointed. And if you somehow are, I promise you, you won’t be disappointed by Charlie.

You can purchase Midnight Suns here. Also, check out your Local Video Game Store!
You can find Your Friendly NBHD Bi, Lauren, at all her links here
Midnight Suns absolutely deserved better. The love and labor the development team put into all the character interactions is palpable. There's plenty of deep cuts for the Marvel fans. There's layers of strategy for the cerebral gamers out there. There are genuinely touching moments in the story, and between the characters that make these superheroes feel human in a way few games before ever really have. And Charlie is the best girl. It's a shame the game just didn't sell better.
Thank you for this thoughtful review! I confess I've been very slow to play this game, but that's more because my time to play any game is really short. I've abandoned a lot of games, including some very well-regarded ones.
But I love it -- it's so interesting and sprawling and just fun! Definitely deserves some more love :)