Image Comics All Stars

Image Comics All-Stars is a crossover fighting game developed and published by Mad Man Ninja Studios. The game features characters from Image Comic's franchises and various independent writers and illustrators. It was originally released in U.S.A. for arcades and the PlayStation 5 video game console in December 2023. Following high demand from international fans, Mad Man Ninja Studios worked with Image to resolve international licensing issues and a second version, Ultimate All-Stars, was released for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Samsung Zeo and Microsoft Windows in South America, Japan, and Europe in January 2024, featuring additional characters and online multiplayer.

Gameplay
Image Comics All Stars is a tag team-based fighting game in which players control characters with different attacks and fighting styles, and engage in combat to deplete their opponent's life gauge. The gameplay is set in a 2.5D environment where the characters are rendered in three-dimensional graphics, but their movements are restricted to a two dimensional plane; they may only move left and right, and upward through the air. Each player may select a team of two characters and can switch between them during combat. When characters switch, the incoming one performs a special attack upon entry, and the previous one can regenerate health. Characters not in play may be used to assist, and to perform powerful team moves. A match ends when a team has no characters left, or when the timer reaches zero—in which case, the team with the most remaining life wins.

The arcade release of All Stars has a control scheme consisting of a joystick and four buttons. Console versions have five control options: the Classic Controller, Nintendo Switch controller, third-party arcade sticks, and two simplified control schemes—intended for inexperienced players. Players use controller inputs to perform attacks; the most basic attacks are executed by pressing one of three attack buttons: light, medium, or strong. Players may augment basic attacks with joystick or control pad directional inputs; for example, a standard strong attack can become a sweep when the down input is added. Basic attacks can be strung together to perform combos.

Each character has unique "universal techniques"—special attacks that are more powerful than normal moves—that require complex control inputs. Similar inputs are used to perform even stronger versions of special moves called Hyper Combos and Team Hyper Combos; these deal damage relative to the size of the player's Hyper Combo gauge, which increases when the character inflicts or receives damage. Certain universal techniques are usable by all characters; for example, each character possesses one that launches opponents upward, rendering them vulnerable to an "air combo". Other common universal techniques include the "Baroque Combo", which sacrifices the regenerable portion of a character's life gauge, but allows players to extend combos and deal more damage; and the "Mega Crash", which creates a temporary barrier around the character to knock back opponents, but partially drains their Hyper Combo and life gauges.

Modes
Image Comics All Stars has an Arcade game mode: the player fights against artificial intelligence (AI)-controlled opponents to reach the final boss character. Time attack and Survival modes are also available, and require the player to defeat every character in the game. While Survival limits health regeneration, Time attack challenges players to win in the shortest time possible. Other modes include Vs. Mode, in which two players engage in combat, and Original Games, which sees up to four players competing in character-specific minigames. Using money obtained throughout the game, the player may purchase unlockable characters, alternate character costumes, minigames, character profiles, movies, illustrations, and background music. Once purchased, the latter four are viewable in a gallery.

Characters
Image Comics All-Stars contains 44 playable characters from Image Comics franchises like Invincible, Spawn, and The Walking Dead.

Reception
Image Comics All-Stars received positive reviews, with an average score of 85% on review aggregate sites Metacritic and GameRankings. Critics praised its balance between accessibility and depth; Adam Sessler called it the perfect game for the Switch's demographic, and remarked that it allows "grandmas, kiddies and junkies" to perform intricate combos, while including deeper gameplay mechanics for the "more refined palate". GameSpot reviewer Randolph Ramsay stated that its use of fewer buttons "may seem less complex [...], but this simplicity belies the depth of each character's move set." Eurogamer's Matt Edwards believed that, compared to the separate buttons for punches and kicks in Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, Image Comics All Stars ' streamlined approach was moderately easy to learn. Edwards claimed that the game is a "slightly slower and more user-friendly Marvel, without losing the ability to pull-off crazy 50+ hit combos."

Reviewers lauded the variety of Image 's graphical presentation and character playstyles. Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica wrote that its over-the-top attacks can be "huge, colorful, screen-filling blasts of light and movement," and that combos "flash across the screen, claiming you landed billions of points of damage." Adam Sessler and 1UP.com's Richard Li found that each character played in a vastly different way; Li explained that there are characters who take advantage of sheer speed and long range moves, others who use momentum to apply pressure to opponents and those who rely on a single opportune moment to deal vast amounts of damage. Heidi Kemps of GamePro contrasted the game with Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and noted that "every combatant in All Stars feels carefully designed to be unique, intriguing, and most importantly, worth investing time into mastering." Bozon, Edwards, and VideoGamer.com's Wesley Yin-Poole believed that the characters were well-animated, and chained attacks together seamlessly.

Nominations and Awards

 * GIWA 2022: Game Idea of the Year (nominated).
 * GIWA 2022: Fanmade Game Idea of the Year (nominated).