Invincible VS: the fighting game we finally deserve

There are universes you protect.

Invincible is one of them. At InsertCoins, we have the comics in paper, every single one. We followed Mark Grayson from the beginning, from high school, from before he understood what he really was. We watched the universe expand, grow complicated, tear itself apart. We read the ending. And we were sad, a clean and clear kind of sadness, the kind you feel when something good truly comes to an end.

That "truly" matters. Because Invincible, co-written by Robert Kirkman, the same man who created The Walking Dead, had the good taste to know when to stop. Issue 144, cleanly, with an ending that respected the story and the readers. That's a rare thing. A precious thing. And something that cannot be said of everyone: not Game of Thrones, not The Walking Dead itself, both narratives that lost the thread so completely they turned years of emotional investment into slow-burning disappointment. Kirkman, at least, knew when to put the pen down on Invincible.

This universe deserved a game worthy of it. It seems it finally has one.

What Invincible VS is

Invincible VS is a fighting game that takes seriously what kind of universe it draws from. Not a skin delivery mechanism. Not a generic brawler with recognisable costumes slapped onto it. A game that appears to understand that violence in Invincible isn't spectacular: it's brutal, consequential, and never gratuitous.

That distinction matters in designing a game of this type. A fighter built on Marvel or DC can afford to be flashy without depth because the source material normalised that. Invincible, on the other hand, was a landmark comic precisely because it showed the real consequences of hits. Every fight had weight. Every loss left marks. When Mark got beaten down, you saw it for issues afterwards. Early impressions suggest the game has integrated this logic into its art direction and game feel.

The playable characters

The announced roster is a statement of intent.

Mark Grayson, obviously. Invincible himself, with all the duality the character carries: raw Viltrumite power and the human vulnerability that constantly counterbalances it. Playing him, according to those who've had early access, feels exactly like that tension between what he can do and what he chooses to do.

Nolan Grayson, Omni-Man. The father. And if you've read the comics or watched the animated series, you know what this character represents: the same power as Mark, but without the same moral restraint. Playing him should be a different experience. More direct. Colder. Several early testers noted that both Graysons share base mechanics but diverge in their situational reads, a way of translating ludically what the universe tells narratively.

Atom Eve, Rex Splode, Cecil Stedman. Guardians of the Globe characters. Other faces of the universe we won't detail to preserve the surprise of the full roster, but whose presence confirms the development team did its homework in the source material.

The gameplay: what we know

Early test sessions produced consistent feedback across several points.

Speed first. Invincible VS is fast. Not the kind of speed that masks a lack of depth, but speed that matches what these characters are in the fiction. Beings capable of crossing the atmosphere in seconds cannot fight like they have lead in their boots.

Readability next. The challenge of a fighter with characters of this power level is making exchanges readable without making them slow. Screenshots and gameplay footage show a strong visual direction: impacts with weight, effects that back up the power without drowning the information. It's a difficult balance. It seems to be held.

Depth finally. The combat systems beyond the first layer of accessibility haven't been fully revealed yet, but feedback from those who had hands-on time with a build suggests momentum mechanics and state-based systems that will take time to master. That's what we want from a fighter that aims to speak both to fans of the universe and to competitive players.

What we feel

We won't pretend to be neutral.

At InsertCoins, Invincible is something personal. We've had the comics in hand for years. We've spent time with these characters, we know their contradictions, their strengths, their weaknesses. Seeing that translated into a fighting game, well translated, with the apparent respect the team brings to the universe, is a particular kind of satisfaction.

And there's something moving about the fact that this universe keeps living after the comics ended. The Amazon animated series first, now this game. Invincible is finished as a comic but it keeps existing, expanding, finding new audiences. It's a way of giving it a second life without betraying the first. That's well done.

We can't wait. Genuinely.

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Preview based on available information and early test impressions. No score assigned.