Gaming with the Kids: Marvel Heroes Omega
A kid friendly coop action role-playing game with Marvel characters
Marvel Heroes Omega is a third person isometric game in the vein of Diablo, with a whole heap of playable (and even more non-playable) Marvel characters. It has recently been released on console after being around of PC for a while.
This right here is pretty much the definition of a gaming with the kids game. It has cooperative play, no camera to worry about, the controls are simple, it has flashy attack animations, it’s not too hard, there is fun dialogue and there are all the Marvel characters that your kids will be familiar with, along with all the more obscure ones (aka: non-Marvel Cinematic Universe characters). Oh, and it’s free to play.
While Marvel Heroes Omega is classified as a MMO, there is no worries about voice chat unless you choose it. Also, having other players run around the world makes the game easier. For my kids, it doesn’t get much better than when there are multiples of the same character fighting right along side us. There have been plenty of “Go Hulks!” cried out.
Giving a helping hand
One of my favourite things to do when playing Marvel Heroes Omega with my kids either playing or watching is to ham up the on-screen dialogue in true Marvel comic fashion. If your little ones want to play this on their own and can’t read, they’ll need some help from time to time, but will mostly be fine. There are snippets of dialogue but objectives are generally given as text on screen.
The other thing that you’re little one will need help with is inventory management. This is by no means a deal breaker. When I play with my son, I just grab his controller off him before we move into a new zone and we swap out items. Most things have been given fun names, which is often how he chooses.
Free (and fun) to play
Marvel Heroes Omega is a free download across all platforms. This comes with some restrictions as you’d expect, but as a gaming with the kids game it’s perfectly awesome as is. Without spending any money, characters can only be levelled up to level 10. I’ve found I usually hit level 10 before completing one of the story chapters, so my kid and I just bounce back to a headquarters zone and then change to one of the many characters available. Switching is fun, with different abilities and more than enough characters on offer to spend a heck of a lot of time in the game without levelling up everyone.
There are obviously things you can spend your money on, including loot boxes, costumes and the ability to buy characters to keep their level going up and having access to beyond level 10 features, inventory items and moves. Honestly, for how good this game is you’ll be happy to drop some coin.
If you are keen to stick with one character and let your little one swap to their heart’s content (or vice versa), play as Daredevil who is a free download or drop a few dollars and buy the character you are after. I really recommend trying everyone out though, as you’d be surprised whose move set really speaks to you (it was Psylocke for me).
Being in Australia, I had to change my Xbox region to US in order to download it. Aussies can find it on the PS4 store and PC without any fuss.
Get your game on
Our motto at Versus Player is Games, life and everything in-between. GAMING WITH THE KIDS is an ongoing series where we look at games that you can play with kids, to help you balance life (and everything in-between) with your gaming time.
If you liked this you might like another of our previous GAMING WITH THE KIDS picks, Lego Video Games, which includes some more Marvel goodness.
You also might want to check out our CAN I PLAY IN FRONT OF THE KIDS articles, which includes Nier: Automata, Horizon Zero Dawn and GTA V.
Happy gaming!