Yuber Finishing a high-tension battle with Mark Grayson by using his ultimate move and yelling, “Let’s see how you like this!” feels oh so satisfying. When he ends the move with a devastating headbutt, sometimes leaving only pieces of the opponent, the tone is set. Indeed, Invincible VS can be very brutal, gory, and extremely satisfying. However, distinguishing itself in a very niche game genre will be the ultimate challenge for Quarter Up’s debut.
Invincible Who?
Invincible VS, the first major fully licensed video game in the Invincible franchise, was developed by Quarter Up, a new studio primarily comprised of industry veterans, including talent from Killer Instinct (2013). Alongside the original comic books and the animated series, it now attempts to set foot in the niche fighting game genre. However, for those unfamiliar with the world of Invincible, it might be tough to get a grip on what is going on.
The story of Invincible VS starts at a critical juncture in the series, somewhere around the end of Season 2 or the beginning of Season 3. A “what if” scenario is pulled out of a hat, eagerly making use of alternate timelines and dimensions. Let’s just say it serves its main purpose: justifying a free-for-all 3v3 tag-team brawler. You can look at the campaign as an extra episode in the Invincible lore, which you will easily breeze through in a few hours. The story doesn’t have a conclusive ending either, heavily hinting at future story DLC.
Three Times as Bloody
Yes, Invincible VS is a tag-fighter. You choose three characters from a roster of 18, which is a bit on the small side for a 3v3 game, in my opinion, and then you can dive into a handful of offline and online modes. The available options don’t take long to explain because, frankly, there isn’t much choice.
Aside from the story mode, which wraps up after just an hour, you have Arcade ladders. The Quick ladder consists of five fights on a difficulty of your choice. The Standard, Guardian, and Invincible ladders make up the rest, featuring Normal, Hard, and Viltrumite difficulties.
I managed to reach Viltrumite difficulty quite smoothly, but that’s where the real challenge starts: your health bar no longer fully refills between fights, which proved to be a bit too much for me. Offline, you can also play Versus mode against a friend on the couch, and there is a basic tutorial alongside a Practice mode with plenty of options for the training dummy. Unfortunately, a Combo Trial mode to help you learn character synergy is sorely missing.
The online offerings are equally bare-bones. You have the standard Ranked and Casual matchmaking, or you can choose to host or join a lobby. And that’s about it.
Fighting games are a niche genre to begin with. With Invincible VS, I get the distinct impression that the developers mainly wanted to deliver an esports-worthy competitive title, putting all their focus on online play. However, successful fighting games usually rely on a massive base of casual players, and that is exactly where this game stumbles. Even though sparks literally fly during gameplay, there is very little meat on these bones. Playing a ladder is fun for a little while, but after that, Invincible VS quickly runs out of steam. Recent major releases like Street Fighter 6, Mortal Kombat 1, and Fatal Fury have so much more to offer for the casual crowd. Not everyone wants to boot up a game just to become a punching bag for “online sweats”.
In the Thrill of the Fight
The downside of 3v3 fighting games is that you have to master three different characters. For many players, managing just one is already a handful! Fortunately, most characters share a similar mechanical foundation. You have light, medium, and heavy attacks, while the fourth face button is dedicated to special attacks. You can perform various special moves using simple directional inputs, keeping the barrier to entry relatively low. However, for true veterans, there is an option to use full motion controls, such as quarter-circles, which reward you with a small damage boost.
Additionally, you have tag buttons mapped to the left shoulder buttons, allowing you to call in an assist or switch teammates in and out. The right shoulder buttons handle dashes, which can be executed both on the ground and in the air, and a dedicated “Enhance” button that alters the properties of your special moves.
Super moves are executed by combining the special, heavy, and forward/backward buttons, while Ultimates require the enhance, heavy, and special buttons. Both require resources from the super meter at the bottom of the screen, which builds up to five bars: a Super costs one bar, and an Ultimate costs three. Then there is the Boost Gauge, consisting of three bars that refill over time. You use this gauge to enhance special moves or to execute various parry and combo-breaker options.
Once you get the hang of the mechanics and start using different characters to extend your combos, the game feels truly amazing. The input windows are quite forgiving, and above all, the gameplay runs incredibly smoothly. Winning a match always feels rewarding. Online performance was generally solid too, aside from the occasional rage-quitter or high-latency opponent. For Ranked, you have to play 10 placement matches, and then the grind officially begins!
When the Blood Runs Cold
Liters of blood are constantly splattered across the screen. Very often, when a character is defeated, they might lose their head, limbs, or get completely chopped to pieces. No, this is definitely not a game to play with your toddler. That said, the comic and animated series never shy away from graphic violence, so it fits the game perfectly.
However, after playing a few matches, you barely notice the gore anymore. It’s not like Mortal Kombat where you trigger an elaborate, cinematic finisher; it functions more like the instant “Brutality” effects from later NetherRealm games.
Quarter Up opted for a cel-shaded art style, which for me, feels like a bit of a departure from the animated show. The game features full 3D models built entirely in Unreal Engine 5, but I personally would have preferred a style that more closely mimics the crisp 2D look of the series. Then again, that’s a matter of personal preference.
Final Thoughts
Invincible VS is genuinely fun to play. Pulling off seamless combos is highly rewarding. While the basic attack strings are uniform across most characters, their unique special moves bring enough diversity to keep things interesting, all while a satisfying amount of violence is unleashed across the screen.
What the game lacks most is substantial single-player content. Playing arcade ladders gets boring quickly, and the story mode is simply way too short. At the very least, combo trials should have been included at launch. For players who have no interest in going online, the content will run out incredibly fast.
Ultimately, the question remains: who is this game actually for? For a major IP like Invincible, which primarily targets its fans, this package feels very bare-bones. For a tag-team fighter, they easily could have expanded the roster. Despite these shortcomings, the core gameplay is incredibly satisfying, and when you have a buddy on the couch next to you, it offers some fantastic, high-action fighting fun.
Additional Information
Release Date: April 30, 2026
Reviewed On: PS5. Download code provided by the publisher and PR agency.
Developer: Quarter Up
Publisher: Skybound Games
Relevant links: Available on PlayStation Store (NL-BE, NL-NL, US) and Steam.
