With decades of story across comics and TV, a roster of charismatic heroes and villains, and superpowered superhumans with a wide variety of brutal attacks and abilities, it was inevitable that the world of ‘Invincible’ would find itself in a video game. That it’s being adapted into a 3v3 tag fighting game by Quarter Up – Skybound’s first in-house game development studio – is likely to be a case of “two great tastes that taste great together.”

Invincible VS is a fighting game that draws inspiration from well beyond its source material. In my hands-on time with a build made for the Xbox Games Showcase, I detected elements from a wide range of fighters, all draped in the colorful, vibrant, and very bloody world of “Invincible.” While playing, I was reminded of Killer Instinct, Marvel vs Capcom titles, Mortal Kombat, even Super Smash Bros.

Invincible VS is a fighting game that feels like it was built for consoles vs. being adapted from the arcades for home play. Light, medium, and heavy attacks are mapped to X, Y, and B, respectively. A is your special attack button, but the output changes depending on which direction you’re inputting on the D-pad at the same time, much like how most moves work in the Smash Bros. games.

Fighting effectively in Invincible VS is less about memorizing complicated inputs, and more about chaining simple inputs into increasingly complex combinations of cool-looking moves to keep your opponent off balance. Most good sequences start with an “autocombo” (activated with several presses of X) before transitioning to special attacks with the A button + a direction and you’re off and running. With such approachable controls, Invincible VS hits that sweet spot where players will be able to pick up the controller and very quickly feel like they’re pulling off flashy moves – perfect for newcomers or in a casual party situation.

Now, here come the layers: most characters have a move where holding a face button results in a Charge attack. Landing this can put an opponent into stun state, allowing for a powerful Snapback attack to literally blast your enemy out of the arena into another place entirely – say from the surface of the moon to… Chicago.

Now let’s add another dimension: as a 3 v 3 fighter, the LB and LT buttons bring in assist teammates, with the manner they come in affected by the directional input. If a player is under assault and holding the back button when calling in an assist, their teammate may help them escape the pressure. For players on the offensive, tagging between heroes opens up the ability to unleash devastating combos.

For all the familiar elements that Invincible VS builds on, its take on overtime is wholly original. When time runs out, the game goes into sudden death, and all of the remaining health from the surviving fighters goes into the character who’s on the field. Then, to raise the stakes, each player’s life bar starts bleeding out – unless they are landing hits on the opponent. With both players going all-out on attack, death will indeed be sudden.

Add in big Ultimate moves, combo breakers, and the fact that many characters can fly – Invincible VS may be approachable, but its depth ensures that the Fighting Game Community will be encouraged to push these systems to the limit.

At the same time, it’s a game that lives up to the ‘Invincible’ comics and Amazon Prime TV show: brutal, flashy, fast-paced, and oozing with style… and blood. At the end of a match, characters are typically spattered in red. Finishing a battle with a big enough move leads to a flashy, visceral Overkill. And if a lethal hit lands in the middle of battle, well. that combatant is going to die right there and then… and the fight goes on. No time to mourn – the battle continues among the puddles of blood. But get over it, the fight’s not over.

With my hands-on experience limited to Vs. mode with Mark/Invincible, Atom Eve, Thula, Bulletproof, and blank spots on the roster for many, many more, we’re getting just a taste of what the final Invincible VS will offer when it arrives in 2026.

Find out more by following Invincible VS on Instagram, X, TikTok, YouTube and online at InvincibleVS.com.

Invincible VS

Skybound Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Invincible VS is a brutal superhero 3v3 tag fighting game set in the Invincible universe, where you can battle to the death as a team of fan-favorite characters in iconic locations. Unleash bone-breaking combos through fast combat and smart defensive tactics to leave a trail of blood and destruction. Land vicious Super moves and Ultimates to leave your opponents in a mess of blood.

Invincible VS features a variety of game modes including a captivating cinematic story mode with an original narrative from a writer of the animated series. Jump into Arcade and battle with your team, hone your combos in Training mode, and test your skills against the world in competitive and casual multiplayer. Show, comic fans, and fighting game lovers will experience unparalleled heroic brutality, where every earth-shattering blow will leave you feeling… Invincible.

This is the debut title from the newly formed Quarter Up—the first in-house studio at Skybound—led by former members of the core Killer Instinct (2013) dev team.