Midnight Sons is an open world Action-Role-Playing Hack and Slash game based on the Marvel comics superhero team and series of the same name developed by Omega Force and published by Koei Tecmo. It is the second Marvel-licensed game to be published under the new Marvel Games universe banner following the release of Insomniac's 2016 Spider-Man game.
Similar to their Marvel Television Universe (DareDevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, The Punisher), the game takes on a darker, grittier and more mature-themed format, having focused on the mystical side of the Marvel universe, a notable departure from their Activision-licensed games. It is directed by Tomoyuki Kitamura and produced by Hisashi Koinuma, who previously helmed the Samurai Warrior series and Attack on Titan (2016 game).
Midnight Sons was released on February 14, 2017 (Valentine's Day) for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows.
Synopsis[]
When a legion of demonic beings, led by the sorceress, Lilith and her spawn (Lilin) begin to manifest, S.H.I.E.L.D. captain Nick Fury enlists Dr. Strange to assemble a new team of supernatural beings to battle these new mystical threats that are beyond the main Avengers team's capabilities. Among them is none other than Johnny "Ghost Rider" Blaze, who, along with the vampire hunter, Blade, wages war against her kin.
Intro[]
The game's opening theme song is "Sons of Plunder" by heavy metal band Disturbed.
Disturbed - Sons of Plunder LYRICS
Game Modes[]
STORY MODE: Play a fully open-world episodic campaign. Eventually recruit a gang of supernatural heroes to battle Lilith and her swarms of demons and other undead.
SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE: A supplemental Samurai Warriors-themed mini-game. Roam through the streets of various locations via motorcycle as either Blade, Ghost Rider or Moon Knight depending on your closing character and squad after completing Story Mode (NOTE: completing Story Mode with both allows you to select either character, Moon Knight similarly becomes available if he's part of your squad upon completion). Attack large swarms of demons, vampires and other undead with your chain, shotgun, dual pistols, battarangs, SMG or glaives. Post your scores to online leaderboards to see how you stack up with the rest of the world's Soldiers of the Night.
Also available in VR exclusively for the PlayStation 4 via PlayStation VR headset.
CHALLENGE MODE: Complete a constant string of objectives against constant undead swarms in a dimensional portal world until you die. Enemies become stronger, faster and greater in number as time elapses. You're graded by time and number of challenges completed before dying. Option to upload your scores to online leaderboards is also available for this game mode.
CO-OP (ONLINE): Partner up with up to 4 players in an open-world game mode.
Playable characters[]
| Character |
|---|
| Blade
Real Name: Eric Brooks. Weapon(s): Silver-pladed sword, throwable glaives, dual knives, stakes and traditional firearms (shotgun and SMG) stocked with silver bullets which are especially lethal against vampires. Special Abilities: Acute sensibility-allows him to sense targets from much further distances, Blood Lust-feeds off of adrenaline when attacking foes, allowing him to attack and move faster with each hit, ability to heal by drinking the blood of his foes, sorcery-unleashes an astral tiger from his sword. Bio: A damphir (half-human, half-vampire) at birth. Brought into the world through tragedy when his prostitute mother was attacked and bitten by the vampire, Deacon Frost just before labor. This passed on a series of enzymes into her child as it was being delivered, turning young Eric into a damphir. As a result, Blade (Eric Brooks) was born with all of their strengths and none of their weaknesses and has made it his life's mission to rid the world of all vampires. |
| Ghost Rider
Real Name: Johnathon "Johnny" Blaze. Weapon(s): Chain, Shotgun. Special Abilities: Hellfire-mystical fire energy that can transform his arsenal (chain and shotgun) into soul-burning weaponry and create a mystical motorcycle, the ability to shapeshift his chain into various weapons (these include a saw, staff, lassso, and shurikens). Bio: Abandoned by his mother, Naomi Kale, Johnathon "Johnny" Blaze was adopted by stuntmen, Crash and Mona Simpson, who previously starred in a motorcycle stunt show with his biological parents. When his adoptive father, Crash was diagnosed with cancer, Blaze turned to sorcery, eventually learning of a spell that could summon Satan himself. Unbeknownst to Blaze, this actually summoned the demon, Memphisto, who bonded his soul to the fire demon, Zarathos in exchange for "saving" Crash, thus turning him into the Ghost Rider the night after his stunt show-related death. |
| Doctor Strange
Real Name: Stephen Strange. Weapon(s): Staff. Special Abilities: Cloaking-temporary invisibility and phasing through objects, flight, telekinesis (can throw nearby objects at enemies), illusion casting, mystic bolts, elemental magic. Bio: An egocentric doctor who fatally injured his hands in a car accident. Desperate to find a cure, after many failed attempts around the world, Stephen Strange eventually found the sorcerer, the Ancient One, in the Himalayas. After being attacked by his disciple, Baron Mordo, the old man taught Strange his mystic arts. |
| The Punisher
Real Name: Frank Castle Special Abilities: Guns and ammunition, using explosives, knives, and character-exclusive mutilations using any variety of the weapons in his arsenal (including severing limbs, exploding heads, and other means of torture). Bio: An ex-Marine and Navy SEAL, Frank Castle has dedicated his life to the complete annihilation of the criminal underworld after his family was killed in a mob hit, taking on the persona is the brutal vigilante, The Punisher. |
| Scarlet Witch
Real Name: Wanda Maximoff. Weapon(s): None. Special Abilities: Chaos Magic-Reality-warping hex bolts of energy, teleportation, flight, telekinesis. Bio: Born to Magda and Magneto along with her twin, Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver). After being granted mutant abilities by the Elder God Cthon, they eventually wound up in the care of two adoptive parents, Romani Django and Marya Maximoff. When they were separated by a tragic fire incident perpetuated by the townsfolk which claimed the life of their mother, they escaped and wandered through Europe on their own, eventually teaming up with the Avengers, acting under the direction of Nick Fury. |
| Hellstorm
Real Name: Daimon Hellstrom. Weapon(s): Trident. Special Abilities: Soulfire-Concussive blasts of fire energy. Bio: The son of Satan and a human mortal named Victoria Wingate, he was trained along with his sister, Satana in the art of magic by his father. They were later separated when their mother, having learned who her husband was, was institutionalized and their father sent back to Hell. After becoming an occult investigator later in life, he found himself battling his father's demonic forces. |
| Moon Knight
Real Name: Mark Spector. Weapon(s): Retractable claws, crescent boomerang, dual pistols. Special Abilities: Chi energy projection, speed and strength augmentation granted by moon. Bio: Born in Chicago, Illinois, Mark Spector became well-renounced in the art of street-fighting, having become a heavyweight boxer, U.S. marine and mercenary. However, after his teacher, Raoul Bushman killed one of his colleagues during an Egyptian heist, Marc tried to avenge his friend's death, but was defeated and left to die in the Egyptian desert. His body was discovered by an Egyptian cult, who took him to their temple. Set to rest before the statue of the Egyptian moon God, Konoshu, Marc is granted a second chance at life in exchange for becoming his vessel on earth, thus granting him special powers under the moon. |
| Morbius
Real Name: Dr. Michael Morbius. Weapon(s): Claws. Special Abilities: Psionic gliding through the air, hypnotising enemies against each other (drains special meter, doesn't work against bosses), wall-clinging, vampire creation-Morbius can turn a foe into a vampire by draining him/her/it of all his/her/its blood and thereby prompt it to attack other nearby enemies in unison. Bio: A Nobel Peace Prize-winning biochemist, Dr. Michael Morbius was diagnosed with a rare blood disease. Attempting to cure himself with an experimental treatment involving vampire bats and electroshock therapy, he instead suffered a far worse condition of "pseudo-vampirism," transforming him into a hideous creature of the night with a constant thirst for blood, albeit with none of the weaknesses of traditional vampirism. |
| Jennifer Kale
Real Name: Jennifer Kale. Weapon(s): None. Special Abilities: Ambient magical energy, special astral energy attack. Bio: The granddaughter of Joshua Kale, leader of the cult of the great Atlantean sorceress, Zhered-Na and cousin of fellow demon-hunter, Johnny "Ghost Rider" Blaze. Having gained an interest in witchcraft, she unknowingly used one of her grandfather's books to summon the demon Thog of the otherdimensional world, Sominus. After being saved by Man-Thing, they were eventually taken under by the wizard, Dakimh, who trained Jennifer in the art of sorcery after she successfully thwarted an invasion of Earth from Sominus. She now finds herself in the midst of fulfilling Zhered-Na's destiny in the eradication of demons. |
Gameplay[]
Midnight Sons takes place on an intercontinental, open world scale featuring a combination of classic Marvel comic/film story archs as well as new. You gradually enlist a team of up to 5 different mystical/supernatural heroes (including Strange) in a story-driven narrative based on choices made, each having a different set of events that affect the rest of the story in unique ways. In the game's opening, you have the option of selecting either Blade or Ghost Rider from a pair of pictures handed to you by Nick Fury, those being the first and last recruits dependent on your selection. Either character then has the choice of recruiting 1 of 2 different characters after finding their location by foot in an open-world setting after jumping into their campaign, followed by a choice of up to 3 different locations on a grid as Dr. Strange.
Teams of up to 5 can freely roam each area, either together or after splitting up. New areas and trophies/challenges can be unlocked, each containing a different set of foes and bosses, by completing side-missions. Each character has unique abilities and weapons (including a character-specific Special Ability) which can be crossed over in an assist using a complex, camera-centric combat system, such as sorcery, magic, rider powers (Ghost Rider), telekinesis and stylized, panoramic combat and swordsmanship with Blade, who also has an accompanying Blood Lust meter which gradually increases his stamina with chained combo hits. Additionally, Blade can replenish portions of his health by simply drinking the blood of his foes, even do so after launching them high off the ground, which similarly fuels his BLM.
A new feature sees the use of Challenge Maps, or special objectives that can be unlocked on an otherworldly dimension via portals located in a hidden location. After unlocking secret areas, you will inscribe a geoglyph that can unlock a portal to another dimension. You're given special objectives that test your various skills in a set time frame, whereby completing them could drastically alter the continuum of the Story Mode. For instance, completion of the first Challenge Map will summon the Marvel Zombies, where you can encounter Zombie versions of Sabretooth and Venom as possible bosses. There are 5 geoglyphs, one for each character. Successfully completing one Challenge Map will inscribe a piece of Mephisto's Pentagram. If all 5 pieces are unlocked, your fifth character (either Blade or Ghost Rider depending on your selected character at the opening of the Story Mode) will enter a secret area of Hell where you battle Blackheart as a special hidden boss after defeating Lilith.
In addition, many iconic locations from the character-featured films and comics, such as the nightclubs and vampire houses from the Blade movie and TV/anime series, are featured alongside new environments in the game. Sorcerer characters can learn new spells/elemental attacks from various books, such as the Darkhold. Characters' stats can also be leveled up individually by gaining XP, either through completing side missions or slaying enemies.
Bosses[]
- Cthon
- Blackout
- Bloodthirst
- Dracula
- Zarathos
- Hobgoblin (Phil Urich)
- Zombie Sabretooth (Secret Boss)
- Zombie Venom (Secret Boss)
- Vengeance
- Dormammu
- Satana Hellstrom
- Thog
- Lilith (Sub-Boss)
- Blackheart (Secret Boss)
- Shuma-Gorath (End Boss)
Cast[]
Trivia[]
- Samuel L. Jackson, famous for playing Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe reprises his role, serving as both the character model and voice actor.
- Amy Johnston, known for her live-action portrayals of Android 18 (Dragon Ball Z: Light of Hope) and Harley Quinn (Super Power Beat Down) is both the model and (English) voice actress for Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff.
- She was also the stunt performer for Marvel/Insomniac's PS4-exclusive Spider-Man game as well as a stunt performer/double for the MCU films Iron Man 3 (utility stunts) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Black Widow/Scarlett Johansson stunt double) and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1 episode).