Game intel
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls
Assemble your team of legendary Marvel characters in the ultimate 4v4 tag team fighter from PlayStation Studios, Arc System Works and Marvel Games. Immerse you…
When PlayStation closed June’s State of Play with Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, my first reaction was, “Wait, Arc System Works… with Marvel… as a PS5 exclusive?” After a weekend with the beta, I get the hype. It’s a 2D tag fighter that looks like Dragon Ball FighterZ collided with Marvel vs. Capcom, then got filtered through ArcSys’ modern cel-shaded anime pipeline. The real question is whether it’s just flashy or genuinely built for both newcomers and the competitive grind. So far, it’s aiming for both.
Tokon is a 2D tag fighter where you draft a squad of four, but you don’t field all four from the jump. You start with one active and one in reserve; the remaining characters “unlock” mid-match by either knocking your opponent out of the stage or dropping a round. It’s a clever momentum system: dominate and you expand your options; struggle and you get new tools to mount a comeback. It immediately sets Tokon apart from the usual MvC 3v3 or FighterZ 3v3 flow.
On the controls, ArcSys leans hard into approachability. There are three main attack buttons that each trigger their own auto-combo archetype-one fast, one with more reach, one that cashes out damage-plus character-specific specials you can execute with classic motions or a single button plus direction. Supers follow the same philosophy, and there’s a dedicated dash button so you’re not double-tapping under pressure. It’s the FighterZ lesson applied again: make the flashy stuff a low barrier so people actually stick around long enough to learn the harder parts.
Even in a limited test, the combo theorycrafting started to show. Launchers into air strings, assist calls to extend, and long corner routes felt straight out of ArcSys’ playbook. The catch: there was no training mode in this beta, which meant experimenting was mostly live-fire chaos. Fun, yes, but it made it hard to lab defensive answers or optimize routes-something ArcSys really needs to support aggressively before launch.
This is where Tokon impressed me most. Auto-combos aren’t just “press square to win.” They’re situational tools that trade speed, range, or damage, and choosing the right one matters. The motionless inputs are there, but the game still rewards traditional execution with tighter confirms, better routing, and smarter assist timing. It’s the same tightrope FighterZ walked in 2018—invite newcomers in, then give them meaningful headroom to grow.
Readability is the one red flag. Tokon is gorgeous—ArcSys’ cel-shading plus an anime reinterpretation of Marvel heroes is a knockout—and the super animations hit like a comic panel come to life. But when four characters start flying in and out, things can get noisy, especially with ring-outs in play. Guard direction and screen awareness already felt testy in the heat of it. ArcSys has done a better job than most keeping effects readable, but this many bodies onscreen will test that philosophy.
Let’s be real: the series looming over Tokon is Marvel vs. Capcom. After Infinite stumbled, many of us wrote off a modern Marvel tag fighter. Instead of Capcom, PlayStation tapped ArcSys—the studio behind Guilty Gear Strive’s best-in-class rollback and Dragon Ball FighterZ’s accessible chaos—to try again with a new identity. That’s a smart bet.
Two elephant-sized questions remain. First, PS5 console exclusivity. If Tokon stays locked to a single console, the competitive scene could fragment—or shrink. If “console exclusive” means a PC version exists or arrives later, that helps a lot, but ArcSys and PlayStation need to clarify. Second, online. In 2026, there’s no excuse not to ship with solid rollback netcode and sane matchmaking. Strive proved ArcSys can do it; FighterZ eventually got there. Tokon needs to start there, with crossplay if possible, or its gorgeous setplay won’t matter.
Offline content will make or break Tokon’s staying power for casuals. A real tutorial, mission trials that teach system mechanics, and a practice mode with frame data are must-haves. Given the team size and unlock mechanic, a robust single-player mode could be great—so long as it isn’t MCU filler and actually teaches fundamentals like assist timing and ring-out awareness.
Roster and monetization also matter. Four-character teams imply we’ll need a deep bench to avoid mirror fatigue. If ArcSys goes the predictable route—season passes and costume drops—that’s fine as long as they’re upfront and the base roster feels complete. The beta’s stylish readability plus strong fundamentals give me hope, but I want transparency before we all buckle in for 2026.
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is a flashy, anime-styled tag fighter that mixes FighterZ-like approachability with promising depth and a unique “unlock fighters mid-match” twist. If ArcSys nails rollback, clarifies platforms, and delivers serious training tools, Tokon could be the Marvel comeback we didn’t expect—just don’t underestimate how hard readability and PS5 exclusivity could hit the scene.
Get access to exclusive strategies, hidden tips, and pro-level insights that we don't share publicly.
Ultimate Gaming Strategy Guide + Weekly Pro Tips