Pressing any of Cap’s Light, Medium and Heavy attacks in quick succession will unleash some pretty hard-hitting combos. It’s when you use Trick Shield that things get interesting, as it can ricochet vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. Even better is that when it returns, you can hit it again to send it flying back at an opponent.

This also works with the dedicated projectile attack, Shield Strike, and is perfect for setting up combos that chain into other skills like Soaring Justice. It comes into play during one of his Assist types as well, and since you can actively swap during the same, it’s a great way to keep the other side guessing.

Of course, even with his five-star ease-of-use, there’s plenty more complexity to Captain America. The guide also offers a look at Tōkon Assemble, a comeback mechanic available when losing the current round would end the match. It lets you call in the Fighting Avengers for a four-on-one beatdown before ending in a massive Soaring Justice.

With Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls out on August 6th for PS5 and PC, expect even more Character Guides ahead of launch. There are also more characters yet to be revealed, namely Ghost Rider’s team, so stay tuned for a possible shadow drop in the coming weeks.

As a long-time nemesis (and sometimes ally) of the X-Men, Magneto utilizes magnetism to deal significant damage from afar and up close. Spider-Man’s arch-enemy keeps away and focuses more on bombs, while his other big-time foe, Carnage, leaps in with brutal strikes and an unhinged mentality. Suffice it to say that the heroes will have their hands full, especially when trying to defeat the Champion.

Launching on August 6th, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls will be available for PS5 and PC. Previous trailers have confirmed groups such as the Unbreakable X-Men with Wolverine, Storm, Danger, and Magick, and the Fighting Avengers with Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man and Black Panther.

Beyond the online play, there’s also a story in Episode Mode where heroes and villains alike must participate in a tournament against the mysterious Champion with the world at stake. Though there was confusion about whether it would have any playable battles or remain non-interactive like Guilty Gear Strive, Arc System Works quickly clarified that they’re actually “everywhere.”

As for post-launch, the Year 1 Characters and Stage Pass is slated to include four new playable characters and a new stage.

Well, it finally revealed more details in a recent interview with 4Gamer. The publication initially asked producer Takeshi Yamanaka about a “substantial story mode.” While he said it was “difficult to directly compare the volume of content” to previous games’ stories, there is indeed an Episode Mode for enjoying the story.

“We had a manga artist draw the base manga, and then we added movement to each panel to advance the story, which is a fairly time-consuming way to present it.” With five playable teams, he claims it’s enough to offer “nearly 10 hours of gameplay in total.” It even utilizes the DualSense’s Haptic Feedback and includes voice acting in 10 languages (as opposed to the usual three).

Problems arose, however, when the publication reported that there wouldn’t be any actual gameplay battles. This was later corrected at the behest of Arc System Works, and the response now notes, “In Episode Mode, playable battles are included everywhere. The battle that leads to the content of the story is developed, and it is designed to be casually enjoyed by anyone as if reading a manga, so that you can experience the story more interactively.”

A mistranslation? A mistake, be it from the developer or the publication? Whatever the case may be, such a story mode wouldn’t be out of nowhere. Guilty Gear Strive’s narrative, for example, is completely non-playable.

Regardless, it’s good news for those who want a hefty single-player mode when Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls launches on August 6th for PS5 and PC. It’s entering the “final stages of development,” but there are still more characters to be revealed, so stay tuned for updates.

While the developer is bringing the newest build with these characters to Combo Breaker 2026 on May 22nd and Hong Kong Comic Con on May 29th, there are still plenty of reveals to come. That said, producer Takeshi Yamanaka confirmed on the PlayStation Blog that development is “entering its final stages” and that “the entire team is working hard every day to deliver the best possible experience at launch.”

Thus far, 13 characters and five stages (including Wakanda) have been revealed – all playable at the above-mentioned events. Based on rumors, there seem to be 20 characters at launch, so there’s still plenty of time before their reveals. We may even see the new additions included in the Year One Characters and Stage Pass alongside an open beta at some point.

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is available on August 6th for PS5 and PC for $59.99. It sees Earth’s mightiest heroes (and a few villains) teaming up to take on each other en route to facing The Champion, an Elder who craves combat and will destroy a planet if he’s not satisfied.

Instead of T’Challa, it’s his sister Shuri who’s taken up the Black Panther mantle and opened up Wakanda as a stage. Possessing incredible agility and razor-sharp claws, she further distinguishes her fighting style with the use of a spear. And that’s not enough, she even relies on an armor-clad panther to rush foes.

As for Hulk, well…he’s Hulk. Grabbing enemies, slamming them into the ground with aggressive grapples (even telling Wolverine to “heal from this, runt”) and losing his temporary. His appearance and dialogue seem to suggest this is his World War Hulk avatar, so hopefully the story mode will shine more.

The Fighting Avengers join the Amazing Guardians and the Unbreakable X-Men as the available teams. Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls launches on August 6th for PS5 and PC, and will reportedly feature 20 characters at launch. Four more characters will arrive post-launch in the Year One Characters Pass, so stay tuned for even more reveals in the coming months.

There’s also the mysterious Promoter, an Elder known as Xirena Awhina, who organizes a tournament between Earth’s superheroes and villains to determine the planet’s fate. Of course, whether she’s the key antagonist or simply another pawn in this galactic free-for-all remains to be seen, but her power is the real deal.

As for Peni, she brings a “wide range of gadgets and unique tools” to the fight courtesy of SP//dr, which combos pretty well with the other Guardians. Knowhere also joins the stage roster – a welcome addition for Guardians of the Galaxy fans.

Interestingly, Arc System Works also added a new feature to the game – Automatic Team Name Generation – which can generate a team name for your unit. Each combination is tied to Marvel lore and even gets announced before fights.

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is out on August 6th for PS5 and PC. It’s undergone numerous improvements since the last closed beta, which you can learn more about here (hurray for no more Link Attacks on whiffed moves). EVO Japan 2026 players can try it from May 1st to 3rd in Tokyo while also playing as Peni Parker and other recently unveiled heroes like Wolverine, Magik and Danger.

Get your checklist out because some of these are a doozy:

• Tagging now has reduced frames and animation time, so extending combos feels a lot snappier.
• You can now cancel attacks to trigger non-Rush assists. Oh, and assists can now be triggered consecutively, so feel free to call in the entire squad for help.
• Ground assists can now be called while airborne. Great for keeping your opponent guessing and creating some space to retreat.
• Super Skills will no longer trigger wall breaks. Furthermore, characters will now enter a full knockdown state after a wall break.
• Link Attacks, aka auto combos, can’t be activated if you whiff. Truly a brave new world.

Of course, as producer Takeshi Yamanaka notes on Twitter, these aren’t all of the changes (the frequency of area transitions has also been tuned, for example). Those who want to go hands-on and try out all 11 characters, including Wolverine, Magik and Danger, can do so on March 20th at the ARC World Tour in Seoul. The development also has plenty to announce, from other characters to new modes, so stay tuned.

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls launches on August 6th for PS5 and PC.

If you’ve played Marvel Rivals, then much of Magik’s attacks will look familiar, as she conjures the Soulsword to deal massive damage. Wolverine is pretty much the heart of the squad with his unbreakable Adamantium Claws, while Danger can unleash projectiles and traps, in keeping with her past role in training the X-Men.

ArcSys also revealed the first details on Episode Mode, created in collaboration with Marvel Games and adapting existing characters and settings. The X-Men’s story involves facing a new threat, but otherwise, there doesn’t seem to be any gameplay.

Instead, it’s a motion comic with art by various “celebrated artists,” though the DualSense is supported. While not an extensive campaign, considering ArcSys’s previous efforts, including Guilty Gear Strive and its complete lack of battles in Story Mode, it’s par for the course at this point.

Initially leaked through its Steam listing earlier this week, the launch roster in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls consists of 20 characters. ArcSys is likely saving other reveals for later but you can also take control of Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, Ms Marvel, Star-Lord, and more. Online lobbies will also accommodate up to 64 players, which is pretty extensive, though more details are required.

While the entirety of the launch roster hasn’t yet been confirmed, trailers for Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls have revealed that Steve Rogers as Captain America, Doctor Doom, Robbie Reyes as Ghost Rider, Iron Man, Kamala Khan as Ms Marvel, Peter Parker as Spider-Man, Star-Lord and Storm will be among them. For online multiplayer, lobbies will each support up to 64 players, but those who prefer single-player experiences can look forward to the Episode mode. It promises provide deep dives for each of the team’s dynamics and their lore.

The timing for this errant Steam listing update is an interesting one, since Sony has announced a State of Play showcase for February 12. The company confirmed that the event will focus on “news, gameplay updates, and announcements” from its worldwide partner studios, as well as those under the PlayStation Studios banner. The show is slated to be over 60 minutes in length and will start at 2 PM PT/5 PM ET.

Back in November, Marvel Games general manager Haluk Mentes had noted that the goal of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is to “reinstate Marvel as a pillar of the fighting game community.” It is worth noting that Arc System Works’ upcoming fighter will be the first Marvel game in the genre since 2017’s Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. Mentes also spoke about the anime-inspired art style of the upcoming game.

“Working with ArcSys and PlayStation has been a dream,” said Mentes. “From inception, the goal was to reinstate Marvel as a pillar of the fighting game community, and to do it with a unique, anime-inspired art style and some of the best tag-team fighting mechanics out there. From the get-go, we collectively started pushing the envelope in terms of design to bring out that unmistakable ArcSys identity. I particularly love how Iron Man looks in the game – super unique but instantly recognizable. We’re incredibly proud of Marvel Tōkon and I think players are in for a real treat when it comes out next year.”

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls was unveiled in June last year, and is being developed for PC and PS5. It doesn’t yet have a release date, but the Steam store page update indicates that we might see a major announcement at this week’s State of Play showcase. In the meantime, check out a gameplay showcase of Spider-Man and Ghost Rider from during Tokyo Game Show 2025.

There are eight new characters in total, alongside two new stages and three arenas, including X-Mansion, where Colossus, Angel, Psylocke, Nightcrawler, and Beast are visible in the background. Potentially hinting at other playable characters? We’ll have to wait and find out. As for why Arc System Works chose Robbie Reyes as Ghost Rider instead of Johnny Blaze, it’s due to story reasons (which it can’t divulge yet).

The closed beta will also include online lobby matches, rollback netcode, Spectator Mode and offline battles against CPU opponents. Say what you will about the mechanics of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, but it looks absolutely gorgeous. Marvel Games’ goal of “reinstating Marvel as a fighting game community pillar,” rallying Marvel vs. Capcom fans, is also notable, especially if it gets ten years of support.

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls launches next year for PS5 and PC.