Despite only being released a month ago, Marvel Rivals has solidified itself as a shooter to overtake long-standing giants like Overwatch. The new team-based shooter shocked the gaming world on release with thirty-three playable characters on its initial roster, multiple game modes, and a wide variety of skins. Players have been blown away even further by the new additions to Season 1 of Marvel Rivals, with the Lunar New Year Event in particular drawing comparisons to Lunar New Year Events from Overwatch’s past.
Comparisons between Marvel Rivals and Overwatch have run rampant since the newer shooter’s release. With Overwatch 2 already under heavy fire from its player base due to its management, many Overwatch players are making the switch to Marvel Rivals. This could be a case of Marvel Rivals still being in its honeymoon phase, but other offerings outside its gameplay could lead to the mass exodus from Overwatch to the new shooter.
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Marvel Rivals' Spring Festival Event
Marvel Rivals kicked off its Lunar New Year–or Spring Festival–event slowly on January 3 right at the end of the game’s Season 0, with costumes for the game’s “Immortal Dragon” collection. The first two Lunar New Year costumes, Squirrel Girl’s Cheerful Dragoness and Moon Knight’s Lunar General were part of this release. A week after Marvel Rivals’ Season 1 launch, two more Lunar New Year skins were added to the game. Doctor Strange’s Sorcerer Immortal and Mantis’ Jade Maiden skin were added to the game on January 17.
Four total skins for the Lunar New Year event would probably satisfy most gamers considering that Marvel Rivals is essentially two months away from its initial launch, but NetEase and Marvel once again shocked players by announcing even more festivities for Marvel Rivals’ Lunar New Year event. In addition to the four Immortal Dragon costumes, three more skins as part of the new Clashing Lions collection have been added.
These Clashing Lions skins are themed to a new game mode in celebration of the Lunar New Year. Clash of the Dancing Lions’ gameplay is reminiscent of Rocket League or Overwatch’s own Lucioball but is themed to the traditional lion dances of Chinese New Year celebrations. Three players can compete in the mode with only three characters available: Iron Fist, Star-Lord, and Black Widow. All three characters have costumes in the Clashing Lions costume collection - Lion’s Mane for Star-Lord, Lion’s Heartbeat for Black Widow, and Lion’s Gaze for Iron Fist. The Clashing Lions update officially kicked off the Lunar New Year festivities under the Spring Festival Event title.
Overwatch's Events Have Declined in Quality
With the heavy emphasis on skins, new game modes, and character additions to Marvel Rivals in only its second month and season, Overwatch players are comparing the two shooters firsthand. Overwatch has notably also had its own Lunar New Year events and skins in the past, with its more recent celebrations showing how far the game has fallen.
However, it's quite easy to track the decline in the quality of Overwatch’s Lunar New Year celebrations over the years. 2017 had the most Lunar New Year skins in the game, with thirteen new costumes. From then on, each year added about six to eight new Lunar New Year skins to Overwatch. 2023 was a blow, with only a single Mei skin added for the festivities. This is representative of a lack of content in Overwatch’s events since the switch to Overwatch 2.
Overwatch is returning in full force this year for its Lunar New Year celebrations with the return of events like Mischief & Magic, Capture the Flag, and Bounty Hunter. This expansion is largely in part because the shooter is finally returning to China on February 19. Fortunately, an announcement on Xiaohongshu (Red Note) confirmed that a whole set of Chinese mythology-themed skins will be added to Overwatch in its next season in addition to the game modes, but the decline of Lunar New Year festivities throughout Overwatch’s history is yet another reason why people are flocking to Marvel Rival s.
Overwatch 2
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WHERE TO PLAY
Overwatch 2 is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based action game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 battlefield brawl. Power up your railgun and disrupt the battlefield as Sojourn, or yield your axe and command attention as Junker Queen. Battle to take control of a robot and move it toward the enemy base in the new Push Mode. Bring the fight to new destinations across the globe in iconic locations like New York, Rome, Monte Carlo and Rio. Daily challenges and frequent updates mean there is always something new to play.
