Developed by Firaxis of XCOM fame, Marvel’s Midnight Suns is about the titular group working together to stop Lilith and her nefarious schemes. It involves awakening the Hunter, Lilith’s child, and battling her forces, which includes an enthralled Venom. Despite featuring turn-based combat, it’s deck-based, with each hero having unique abilities and capable of knocking enemies into environmental hazards.

However, despite praise from some critics (we gave it a 6 out of 10 in our review), Marvel’s Midnight Suns didn’t perform well commercially. Director Jake Solomon and studio head Steve Martin would leave in February 2023, followed by reported layoffs at Firaxis in May.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns is also available for PS5, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns. FREE this week.

‘Nuff said. pic.twitter.com/9z6Ym7J6z9

— Epic Games Store (@EpicGames) June 6, 2024

A representative for 2K Games, the publishing label for Firaxis, which falls under Take-Two Interactive, said the cuts were the result of a “sharpening of focus, enhancements of efficiencies, and an alignment of our talent against our highest priorities.” It also assured that the studio remains “focused on developing critically acclaimed video games.”

Such layoffs are sadly becoming common nowadays. Earlier this year, Microsoft laid off 10,000 employees, with The Coalition, Bethesda, and 343 Industries reportedly affected. Sony closed Pixelopus of Concrete Genie fame and reportedly cancelled Final Strike Games’ unannounced sci-fi shooter for PS5 and PC, leading to layoffs. There’s also The Molasses Flood, working on The Witcher spin-off Project Sirius, which suffered several cuts earlier this month.

What this means for Firaxis, especially with the departure of its director Jake Solomon and studio head Steve Martin, remains to be seen. As always, stay tuned for more details.

Storm’s mission involves searching for a new mutant with Wolverine and Magic, as Red Skull’s granddaughter, Sin, opposes them. Capable of weather manipulation, Storm can channel lightning and powerful winds to damage enemies. Her cards have the Next Turn mechanic, where holding them for a turn increases their damage and effectiveness.

The DLC also includes three Hero Skins and seven Abbey Outfits for Storm. It also provides the Enhanced T.H.R.E.A.T. Room upgrade for the Abbey, providing more customization to training encounters (including the option to rematch bosses).

Marvel’s Midnight Suns is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. It’s also out today for Xbox One and PS4, but the Nintendo Switch version has been cancelled.

After drawing Storm cards, those with the Next Turn keyword become stronger if held and used on the next turn. For example, Arc is a Chain 1 card, but when held till the next turn, it adds two more chains. Storm Shield applies two Resist to all allies. However, Storm gains one Resist for each turn it remains in your hand. When upgraded, it also grants Counter to other characters.

Next Turn also pairs well with her Passive, Rising Storm. It has a ten percent chance to apply Stun with Attacks and Heroics. When upgraded, this increases by five percent for each Storm card in your hand. If you want to use abilities powered by Next Turn immediately, then Goddess’ Blessing is the ticket. It draws one Storm card and activates the Next Turn mechanic on all Storm cards in your hand. When upgraded, you can draw two Storm cards instead of one.

Storm also brings the Enhanced T.H.R.E.A.T. Room to The Abbey. It allows for adjusting the number of heroes, difficulty, enemy type, and mission level and even fighting villains when training.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns: Blood Storm goes live on May 11th with the Xbox One and PS4 versions. The base game is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. Check out our review here.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns will launch for PS4 and Xbox One on May 11, though the planned Nintendo Switch version has been cancelled- so those who’d been waiting to play the game on the hybrid handheld will have to make other plans.

The game’s last-gen launch will go hand-in-hand with the launch of its fourth and final DLC, Blood Storm, which, as its name suggests, will add Storm to the game’s roster, add new story missions and cosmetics, bring another upgrade for The Abbey, and more.

Players who finish all four DLCs – the last three of which have added Deadpool, Venom, and Morbius – will be able to experience “a final showdown against an age-old monster of myth”. Check out the trailer below for a glimpse at the Blood Storm DLC.

Earlier this year, publisher 2K revealed that though Marvel’s Midnight Suns was received strongly by critics and audiences, it failed to sell to expectations. The months following the game’s launch have also seen some key figures departing Firaxis.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns is currently available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Check out our review through here.

Pairing him with Blade, who can inflict lots of Bleed on enemies, is a good idea. Morbius also has the Hunger meter that fills when playing his cards. When filled, Bloodlust becomes available, which provides Block and buffs all damage cards to apply Bleed. If his Block is gone, then Bloodlust disappears as well.

Some of Morbius’s attacks include Claw, a single-target melee attack which deals extra damage to a bleeding enemy. Savage Swipe knocks an enemy back, but upgrading it applies Quick if the target is bleeding. Charm targets an enemy minion and causes them to attack a random ally. Upgrading it removes Exhaust.

As for his passive – gained by hanging out with Morbius in The Abbey – it reduces the cards needed to fill the Hunger meter from three to two. At level 2, damage abilities apply two Bleed instead of one. Finally, his Heroic card, Undying Fury, can inflict six times the damage to a Bleeding enemy, and upgrading it removes Exhaust.

Storm is the final DLC character for Marvel’s Midnight Suns, so stay tuned for more details on her soon. The game is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC, with Xbox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch versions still in development.

Ravenous serves as Venom’s resource, with each charge increasing base offense by 17 percent. He starts each fight with three charges, allowing for quick burst damage. For instance, Lethal Embrace, his highest damage card, deals 1.5 more damage to full-health targets. When upgraded, targets no longer must be full health to take more damage and KOs grant Block. Combined with a full Ravenous meter, it can cause some serious hurt.

Ravenous charges decrease with each Venom attack or Heroic ability but refill a bit each turn. Hanging out with Eddie Brock enhances his passive, “We Are Venom.” It has a 25 percent chance at level 1 for Ravenous charges to not be consumed when playing Venom attack cards. At level 2, the first Venom attack card played won’t consume any Ravenous.

You can also use Insatiable Hunger, where Venom gains one Ravenous charge immediately, and another at the start of the next turn. When upgraded, it becomes Free, which means it doesn’t consume a card play.

There’s a lot more to look forward to, from new story quests to outfits for Venom, so stay tuned for the DLC’s release. Marvel’s Midnight Suns is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC, with two more DLC heroes – Storm and Morbius – still to come.

On Twitter, he said, “I fulfilled two lifelong dreams in making XCOM (and XCOM 2, and War of the Chosen) and Marvel’s Midnight Suns. I’m the luckiest kid who ever lived.” Solomon expressed gratitude to Firaxis co-founder Sid Meier, his teammate, and 2K Games. As for what’s next, he said, “My brain is on fire with a new dream. Time to go chase it.”

If that weren’t enough, Firaxis studio head Steve Martin also announced his departure. Martin has been at the studio for 27 years across more than 32 game releases. He tweeted, “I am tremendously grateful for the opportunity to have championed and led the work of such a talented group of people for the past couple of decades at the greatest studio in the world.” Martin looks forward to “cheering on Firaxis in its next chapter.”

Both departures come in the wake of disappointing sales for Marvel’s Midnight Suns, as confirmed by Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick. However, he noted the positive critical response and believed it had a long tail like other Firaxis releases. Time will tell, but a free weekend on Steam is ongoing, and a new paid DLC that adds Venom is coming next week.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns is also planned for Xbox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch, but there’s no update on the release window. Stay tuned in the meantime.

All gratitude. pic.twitter.com/pqe56mVvd5

— Jake Solomon (@SolomonJake) February 17, 2023

pic.twitter.com/7mH6vEYIRY

— Firaxis Games (@FiraxisGames) February 17, 2023

However, for those who haven’t tried the game, it’s free to play on PC via Steam. Players can access the Standard Edition until February 19th, 10 AM PT. All progress, purchased items, and virtual currency carry over into the full game. For PS5 players, a two-hour trial of the Enhanced Edition is available for PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers.

You can check out our review of Marvel’s Midnight Suns here. It’s still slated to arrive for Xbox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch at some point, though their release windows haven’t been discussed lately.

There’s no better time than the present to try Marvel’s Midnight Suns! Play the game this weekend on Steam at no cost to you, from now until Feb 19 at 10am PT. pic.twitter.com/vzaUv9IoCn

— Marvel's Midnight Suns (@midnightsuns) February 16, 2023

Unfortunately, they won’t get access to Deadpool, recently added as DLC in The Good, The Bad, and The Undead. The Merc With the Mouth has unique abilities, fueled by En Fuego stacks gained after knocking out enemies. He can deal massive single-target damage, wipe out several enemies at once, and much more. The DLC also adds new story missions, an upgrade for the Abbey, and outfits for Deadpool.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns is available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC – check out our review here for more details. It didn’t set the sales charts on fire at launch, but even more DLC characters like Storm, Venom and Morbius are on the way. Stay tuned for more updates in the meantime.