Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order Is... Only Available On Switch?!

And comes with a VERY Avengers 4: Endgame inspired roster.

By Josh Brown /

Team Ninja

To the surprise of everyone, Marvel unveiled a new entry into the Ultimate Alliance series, titled The Black Order, at The Game Awards. But there was a catch: it’s only coming to the Nintendo Switch. Not only that, but the developers in charge are Team Ninja, the guys behind Ninja Gaiden and low-key contender for game of the generation, Nioh. Also The Black Order are the villains? And it looks kinda… just ok? There’s a lot to break down, so let’s just get into it.

Advertisement

First up and most pressing is the exclusivity angle. Nintendo are publishing the game, and it is a shame that the previously multi-plat series is now being tied to a specific console, but it does kinda make sense, at least from a business perspective. Although Ultimate Alliance had a following, it wasn’t a huge franchise even back in the day, and now, so many years later, it’s not the kind of experience that most major developers would take a risk on - Marvel branding or no. Put simply, if EA weren’t willing to take a risk on a story-driven Star Wars game, then a throwback Marvel beat-em-up would have been an even more difficult sell.

Nintendo on the other hand have more to gain from aiding the game’s creation. The Switch is already a huge success, but if they can bring some Ultimate Alliance’s die-hard fans over to their console, then that more than justifies the investment, even if it’s not a Breath of the Wild level hit.

Advertisement

Even stranger than the exclusivity though is the choice of developer, Team Ninja. Though they haven’t been averse to taking on established franchises before - and of course teamed up to Nintendo to work on Metroid: Other M - how they ended up on this project is a complete mystery. At the very least it should guarantee some pretty solid combat, in a game that will live or die on whether or not it has pretty solid combat.

Advertisement

Of course, when it comes to a game in this series, the first thing that fans want to know is who’s on the roster. Well, it appears as though the superhero lineup - just like the story in general - is going to be closely associated with the MCU. The trailer showed off a roster that could have nearly entirely been ripped out of this year’s Infinity War, with Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Guardians of the Galaxy, Nick Fury, Spider-Man, Black Widow and the Hulk all being present. At least Wolverine was there for a bit of non-MCU representation.

Whatever happens, fans won't have long to wait before they get their hands on the long-awaited sequel, which launches early next year.

Advertisement