NetEase Games' commitment to releasing a new Marvel Rivals hero every half-season hasn't stopped a talented player from creating a playable Doctor Octopus.
Reddit user WickedCube recently shared a 30-second gameplay video showcasing a surprisingly polished Doc Ock within the Marvel Rivals engine. The footage, seemingly from a testing environment, depicts a pre-Hulk Bruce Banner and a remarkably well-realized eight-armed Doctor Octopus. While rough around the edges, the character model and movement are instantly recognizable. Doc Ock's abilities include "Havoc Claw" (melee) and "Wrecking Grip" (ranged), utilizing his tentacles for magnetizing and traversing obstacles, effectively granting him a form of flight near structures. The video has garnered significant attention, exceeding 16,000 upvotes.
WickedCube, an independent game developer, explained his inspiration: Doc Ock's unique tentacle mechanics presented a compelling development challenge, previously unaddressed in 3D playable characters. A recent PSN outage and exposure to impressive Doc Ock fan art provided the impetus to create the character in Unity.
The positive community response has been incredibly rewarding for WickedCube, who hopes NetEase might incorporate some of his ideas should Doc Ock be officially added to the game. He plans to release a playable version and share the development process through a YouTube tutorial series and open-source code on GitHub.
NetEase is releasing Human Torch and The Thing this Friday, continuing a strong post-launch character rollout that surpasses competitors. However, the vast Marvel universe offers endless potential for future heroes and villains. WickedCube himself is already brainstorming concepts for Nightcrawler and Professor Xavier. He praises the game's design and the developers' understanding of fun gameplay.
Marvel Rivals' Season 1 mid-season update arrives February 21st, including the new characters, balance adjustments, and gameplay refinements. Despite recent layoffs at NetEase's Seattle studio, the game's future looks bright.
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