Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls – Review

Developer: ARC System Works
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Reviewed On: PS5
Available On: PC, PS5
Release Date: August 6, 2026
Review Copy Provided By: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Marvel has returned once more to the center stage of fighting games by working with one of the best fighting game developers in the world. Together with Arc System Works, both companies have released their latest fighting game called Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls and created a big impact among those who are active in the fighting game community.

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is a 4v4 fighting game that is composed of multiple iconic Marvel characters such as Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Magneto, Doctor Doom, and many more. All of them are redesigned with a stylish anime twist that is suited for games developed by Arc System Works. The story of this game takes place in the Marvel world where an unknown celestial being known as the Champion has come to seek out the Earth’s greatest warriors and face them at a time. Whether they are heroes or villains, they must face each other in order to reach the grand stage and defeat the Champion, or else Earth will be destroyed.

The gameplay of this awesome Marvel fighting game is unique and nostalgic, as it reminds me of playing Marvel vs. Capcom 3, but it is better with a unique twist. At the beginning of the match, players don’t begin a match trying to control four fully active characters at once. Instead, your squad gradually assembles as the fight develops, opening more assists, crossovers, and team options. That gives every match a great sense of escalation and helps reduce some unexpected dizziness that one might experience in the game.

Another thing that every fighting game has is super combos and ultimate moves, and when Arc System promises to deliver, they really do, especially with one certain character, and that is Deadpool. Literally, there is no one like him in any gaming franchise that can literally break the fourth wall. His moves are so random that it literally disassembles other fighting games, and I have got to give it to the developers that they made an amazing gameplay with all the characters and gave them their respective roles in this game. Team composition plays an important role. Depending on what your fighting style is, you can make use of either the hero team that the developers have introduced through the trailers or make your own. An example would be the team I made, which consists of Spider-Man, Star-Lord, the Hulk, and Loki. In this team, I focused on having balanced team members,, as Spider-Man excels in providing close-range and agility-type moves against my opponents, with projectile support from Star-lord and Loki; they can provide iconic combos that help lengthen and easily carry on the assault on my opponents. Choosing the Hulk is also a good idea since my team has a ton of agile movement, it is best to have a heavy tank fighter that can provide finishing damage easily.

Aside from the detailed lore of each character found, players can get a chance to see what are the iconic stages they will visit in this game, like the Savage Land, New York City, Knowhere, and more. Plus, there are hints that there will be additional stages added in the coming future updates.

The game also includes five short Episodes that explore why Marvel’s heroes and villains have been brought together. The 5 Episodes are Fighting Avengers, Amazing Guardians, Unbreakable X-Men, Samurai Outriders, and the Knights of Doom. While they’re relatively short, they serve as a fun introduction to the roster and provide an easy way to sample different characters before settling on your favourites. Upon playing the Episodes, players will get to play their story in various comic book panels with different art styles. Some have a western touch to them while others have a blend of anime/ manga art. Plus, the feeling of watching the cutscenes and reading the panels is so good it is as if I am reading a digital comic book that is coming to life.

Speaking from experience, Multiplayer Mode is expected to be chaotic, but not for this game, as Marvel Tokon has shown us that it can heighten the experience and balance itself out. Playing it on the PS5, the matches I had, whether it was Ranked or Free Match, were very smooth as the server rooms are huge. Usually, there are only 5-6 server rooms that are based on the continent, but here in this game, it’s totally different, as there are various servers that are not just dedicated to which continent you are living in but to which country you live. There are servers such as Southeast Asia, Japan, China, Korea, Brazil, and other countries. Whether I am winning unanimously or losing against stronger opponents, the feeling of playing this game over and over again and facing tougher opponents online is not fading.

The DLC that this game has to offer is quite simple, and we are expected to get more iconic Marvel characters as well. However, I am hoping that they will release more teams to enjoy and hope that they have their own Episodes. Let’s be real, this is a Marvel game, and what kind of game would it be if there is no story behind these DLC characters joining in this unique fighting tournament?

My only concern about this game is that the base movement feels noticeably slower than that of Dragon Ball FighterZ and the Guilty Gear franchise. The developers may have intentionally done this to slow players from rushing in too much.

My final verdict is that Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls is one of the best ways to redeem Marvel from its fighting game experience in Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite. It delivers a unique way to introduce newcomers to getting into fighting games developed by Arc System Works. The 4v4 tag system looks challenging, but it is surprisingly very easy to learn, and combined with a great roster, easy tutorials, and visual presentation, the game feels like it is suited for everyone. The only thing left to note is how this game can stay alive, and that would be one of the challenges that the developers will need to overcome despite the DLCs they have planned for the future. Only time will tell.