NetEase Games' commitment to releasing a new Marvel Rivals hero every half-season hasn't stifled the creativity of its players. A Reddit user, WickedCube, recently captivated the r/MarvelRivals community with a 30-second gameplay video showcasing a fan-made Doctor Octopus.
The video, initially appearing to depict a pre-Hulk Bruce Banner in a testing environment, reveals a surprisingly well-realized playable Doctor Octopus. This eight-armed version of the Spider-Man villain demonstrates impressive movement, utilizing his tentacles to navigate obstacles in a manner reminiscent of flight. The concept even includes named abilities: Havoc Claw (melee) and Wrecking Grip (ranged). With over 16,000 upvotes, the creation is a testament to WickedCube's skill and the community's enthusiasm.
WickedCube, an indie game developer, explained his inspiration, citing Doc Ock's unique design and the lack of similar fully-realized 3D implementations in other games. A recent PSN outage and exposure to compelling Doc Ock fan art provided the final impetus.
"Doc Ock has always been one of the coolest villains in Spider-Man, and his tentacles would be a challenge to implement," WickedCube stated. "As far as I know, they haven't been fully implemented with playable 3D movement in a game before. It all started when PSN was down and I couldn’t play Marvel Rivals... I thought, ‘Since I can't play right now, why not make it myself?’"
The positive reception has spurred WickedCube to share his process through a future YouTube tutorial series, and he plans to open-source the code on GitHub, releasing playable versions on Itch.io.
This Friday, NetEase will officially release the Human Torch and The Thing, continuing its impressive post-launch momentum. However, the community's enthusiasm for fan-made content like WickedCube's Doctor Octopus highlights the vast potential within Marvel's universe. WickedCube himself is already developing concepts for additional heroes, including Nightcrawler and Professor Xavier.
Marvel Rivals' Season 1 mid-season update, scheduled for February 21st, will include the new characters, balance adjustments, and gameplay refinements. Despite this, the community's creativity continues to shine, showcasing the game's potential beyond its official releases.
