Marvel Rivals’ new battle pass and accessories are its best yet

I’ve logged an unholy number of hours into NetEase’s hero-based shooter, Marvel Rivals, and to its credit, this time sink has largely been fueled by the strength of the gameplay. I’ve bought a couple of skins and unlocked a few things here and there, but for the most part, cosmetics for the characters I play — and by extension, the battle passes that have been available so far — have been underwhelming. The gothic season was outright ugly. But season 3? It’s looking sick.

It helps that the new season is themed around Knull, the creator of symbiotes. Knull is an eldritch supervillain, but more importantly, his color scheme is largely composed of black, white, and red. Accordingly, new skins in the upcoming battle pass all kinda look like Venom, and it’s a design that works for pretty much everyone. Jeff looks good. Squirrel Girl looks good. Rocket Racoon looks good. I hate to say it, but even Spider-Man is rocking the new threads. Beyond Knull, many of the new cosmetics revolve around Phoenix, so there’s a lot of fiery costumes in the battle pass as well; these are more hit and miss.

Another key inclusion in the upcoming season is the addition of plushies that add a whiff of Labubu to the superhero game. You can walk around with lil’ kawaii versions of Mary Jane and Groot, among other choices. I want them all. Truly, more games should let the girlies run around with handbags.

The next content drop will also add a couple of cute new hashmoji for Phoenix and Blade, so you can crash out at your teammates in style.

Season 3 of Marvel Rivals arrives on July 11. It’ll bring a new map, a new event that’ll net you Storm’s best skin yet, and a cool new “student perks” system that grants verified scholars trial access to 10 costumes. Not me about to redownload the game most likely to give me high blood pressure at an early age.