After having previously encountered Venom as a Fallen villain inMarvel’s Midnight Sunsit seemed fairly obvious how the character would be approached as a playable hero. However, much of his gameplay design as a boss seems to revolve around the use of Bind and the status effect Symbiote Skin, though Bind is only a minor mechanic of the playable character’s design if players want it to be, while Symbiote Skin is left to his boss iteration. Thankfully, there are some interesting changes to this design that also reflect how differentMarvel’s Midnight Suns' Venomis once he is free from Lilith’s spell.
The news of Venom joining the roster was unsurprising due toScarlet Witch and Hulk becoming playable inMarvel’s Midnight Sunsafter they were reformed and rehabilitated, but Venom is more of a traditional antagonist. Still, Venom has been known to take on the role of a protector, though his antihero antics are sometimes preceded by the alien symbiote’s hunger or the inevitably more interesting narrative of Venom and Spider-Man’s rivalry.Marvel’s Midnight Sunsplays on this at the Abbey, but Venom’s tactical gameplay distinguishes him as a character that players will want with them in general missions.
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Venom’s Ravenous Meter Reflects the Symbiote’s Hunger in Midnight Suns
The symbiote’s need to consume organic matter is a favorable characteristic of Venom, and it is well-represented as a fundamental mechanic associated with him inMarvel’s Midnight Suns. The Ravenous meter is unique to Venom and represents how much damage he is capable of, with three full bars of Ravenous depicting him at his strongest—resulting in a roughly 50 percent base damage increase.
Venom begins each encounter with a full Ravenous meter, but with each attack and heroic card played that meter will be consumed and ultimately decrease his damage output. Venom replenishes one bar of Ravenous at the start of each turn, but it is still a rare resource unless players have the cards to supplement it further.
This becomes incredibly important when considering which cards to play; Venom has a couple of abilities that dish out damage with the Chain effect, for example, which would otherwise seem insignificant if not for the damage output increase that is possible with a full Ravenous meter.
Therefore, if players hang ontoVenom’s Devouring Strike heroic carduntil they have all three bars of Ravenous replenished, they will be able to fully exploit his damage output with four hits chained together. Likewise, Devouring Strike does not consume a bar from the Ravenous meter on KO when upgraded, making it an essential heroic card to have if players want Venom to maintain as much damage output as possible.
Venom’s Marvel’s Midnight Suns Passive Ability Has OP Potential
Venom’s Ravenous meter continues to be invaluable when it comes to the character’s passive ability, which is earned and upgraded by befriendingEddie Brock inMarvel’s Midnight Suns’ Abbey. Paired with Venom’s Insatiable Hunger skill card, the effects and shelf-life of the Ravenous meter can be exceptionally rewarding.
Playing Insatiable Hunger grants one Ravenous bar to the meter, and also grants one additional Ravenous at the beginning of the next turn, meaning he will start the next turn with at least two bars of Ravenous out of three. But that is not all—on upgrade, Insatiable Hunger does not cost a card play. Lastly, YouTuber Christopher Odd detailsVenom’s goldenMarvel’s Midnight Sunsability, Assimilation, which is notably a skill card and not a heroic card.
Other characters’ golden abilities are high-damaging with heroism costs to consider, but Venom’s Assimilation seems foundationally integral to his overall gameplay. Once played, Assimilation applies the Quick effect to Venom’s attack and heroic cards with KOs drawing attack or heroic cards until the end of the turn. This card has Exhaust like all other golden cards that are awarded for achieving friendship level capacity with each character, but Assimilation can also grant one bar of Ravenous when upgraded.
Marvel’s Midnight Sunsis available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, with PS4, Switch, and Xbox One versions coming later.
