More so than any other property in recent memory, Robert Kirkman’s Invincible has been begging for a fully-fledged video game adaptation. While most fans envisioned an open-world game where you fly around as Mark and fight crime, I’ve always thought a more traditional fighter would be perfect for a series that’s made a name for itself with shockingly brutal battles.
Like Omni-Man blitzing through a Flaxan planet, Invincible VS has sped onto the scene to not only give us the triple-A game this series has been missing, but also prove that I was right all along. VS is a great tag fighter with satisfying mechanics, a surprisingly varied roster (despite all the Viltrumites), and an unending appreciation for the bloody yet beautiful world of Invincible.
Invincible VS might be the most ‘by fans, for fans’ game I’ve ever played. There are some stumbles, like a story mode that ends too early and with far too much confidence, that stop it from being a true peak for the series, but like Invincible himself, those shortcomings don’t stop it from emerging victorious.
Invincible VS’ Story Mode Is Good But Bittersweet
Like most modern fighting games, the main attraction of Invincible VS is its story mode, which offers up an original narrative loosely based somewhere in the show’s timeline. I can’t say too much about the campaign - it’s so short that most things would be considered spoilers - but it’s an entertaining side yarn that gives most of the character roster a chance to interact and, as is par for the course, beat the snot out of each other.
One of the biggest strengths of the story mode, which also sums up Invincible VS as a whole, is how much it feels like an episode of the show. Characters are written and interact exactly as you’d expect, and there are so many in-jokes, references to Invincible’s meme culture, and easter eggs that make it incredibly clear how much developer Quarter Up loves the source material. It even goes beyond the show at times, with a gorgeously detailed art style and, aside from Allen the Alien’s rough-sounding replacement, standout sound design across the board.
I have to give a massive shout-out to Aleks Le in particular, who absolutely kills it as Invincible. You have to listen really closely to hear a major difference from Stephen Yeun.
Invincible VS’ campaign being only slightly longer than an episode of the show is going to bug some people, but it’s so well executed (including an awesome original character I hope to see in the show at some point) that I almost didn’t care at first. Unfortunately, that changed in its final moments when it ended on a massive yet unexpected cliffhanger completely out of nowhere.
I’m not sure if this will be resolved with an expansion a la Mortal Kombat 1, future update, or if Quarter Up is already banking on a sequel, but it’s a bold move that doesn’t pay off. All it really does is remind you how short the story mode is, which is a shame since it does so much else right.
“We Knew We Had To Get Him In The Game”: Invincible VS Devs Talk The Game’s Most Surprising Character Yet And Share First Details On Its Story Mode
Cecil Steadman will finally get his chance to fight Omni-Man in Invincible VS, and the game’s developers tell us how it all happened.
VS Has Great Mechanics And Characters That Are Easy To Learn, Tough To Master
Even if the campaign left a sour taste in my mouth, Invincible VS is such a blast to play that I didn’t stay mad for long. It strikes the perfect balance between being easy for anyone to hop into, mash buttons, and see gory finishers as their favourite character, and having tons of depth in both its mechanics and characters for those who want to truly master its 3v3 battles. Whatever side you’re on, the hard-fitting combos and smooth movement ensure that VS just feels great to play.
While I initially thought that VS’ tag-fighter vibes would be closer to Marvel vs. Capcom, the gameplay flow and focus on active tags to get the most out of combo strings felt more like Dragon Ball FighterZ, with a bit of Killer Instinct thrown in for good measure. Even with so many different mechanics like boosts, snapbacks, tag counters, and even stage transitions, VS never feels overwhelming since they all work together so well.
The Killer Instinct vibes make sense since several Quarter Up devs previously worked on the 2013 reboot. Executive producer Mike Wilette is also the announcer in both games.
What surprised me most is the variety of Invincible VS’ character roster, despite how many spaces are taken up by Viltrumites and strong flying characters. Every fighter on the roster (including Lucan, of all people) earns their place thanks to how well-developed their movesets are. My favourites of the bunch were Mark, the jack-of-all-trades type, Rex-Splode, for how in-character his annoying projectiles are, and Dupli-Kate, who is the most unique character the game has to offer thanks to how her cloning powers are worked into her combos and special moves.
There isn’t a single weak link in the entire launch roster, and Quarter Up has done a standout job representing each character and their personalities through how they fight and interact with one another. The only downside is that 18 characters feels a little slim overall, which is felt even more if you’re only interested in offline play, since there’s not all that much to do beyond arcade ladders. VS is clearly more focused on its online modes but, considering the many hours I spent playing its beta, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Although the story mode lets itself down a bit and the offline offerings are slim, I still had a great time with Invincible VS and expect to lose even more hours to it when the servers go up. The excellent and welcoming mechanics, well-developed roster, and tons of fan service not only make Invincible VS a stand-out tag fighter, but also the game that the series has deserving for a long time.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 78/100 Critics Rec: 71%
- Released
- April 30, 2026
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Quarter Up
- Publisher(s)
- Skybound Games
WHERE TO PLAY
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Number of Players
- 1-2 players
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- PC Release Date
- April 30, 2026
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- April 30, 2026
- PS5 Release Date
- April 30, 2026
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- Perfectly captures the style and tone of the show
- Satisfying and welcoming combat mechanics
- Varied roster, even with all the Viltrumites
- Short story mode ends on a cliffhanger
- Offline offerings are a little slim
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