A Marvel Rivals Player Created a Playable Doctor Octopus Concept and Fans Love It

NetEase Games' commitment to releasing a new Marvel Rivals hero every half-season hasn't stopped one creative player from bringing their vision of a playable Doctor Octopus to life. Reddit user WickedCube recently unveiled a 30-second gameplay video showcasing a remarkably polished, fan-made Doctor Octopus for the popular hero shooter. The footage, seemingly from a testing environment, features a pre-Hulk Bruce Banner suspended in mid-air, providing a compelling backdrop for this eight-armed villain. This impressive recreation captures the essence of the classic Spider-Man antagonist, showcasing a well-developed concept of Doc Ock's potential movement and abilities within the Marvel Rivals universe.

His arms, capable of magnetizing the player to and around obstacles, essentially allow for flight when near stable structures—a clever adaptation for a game with destructible environments. WickedCube's creation even includes named abilities: Havoc Claw for melee attacks and Wrecking Grip for ranged combat. With over 16,000 upvotes at the time of writing, this impressive feat of solo development is both playable and highly praised.

WickedCube explained their inspiration, stating, "Doc Ock has always been one of the coolest Spider-Man villains, and his tentacles would be a challenge to implement. As far as I know, they haven't been fully implemented with playable 3D movement in a game before." The project stemmed from a period of downtime caused by a PSN outage. "It all started when PSN was down and I couldn’t play Marvel Rivals. While browsing Twitter, I came across some really cool Doc Ock fan art. I thought, ‘Since I can't play right now, why not make it myself?’"

The overwhelmingly positive response has seen thousands of players advocating for NetEase to incorporate WickedCube's design into the official game. WickedCube describes the reception as "incredibly rewarding," expressing their willingness to see their ideas implemented. While there are no plans to further polish the current design, a playable version will be released soon. "After seeing the response on Reddit, I want to share this and future concepts as a YouTube tutorial series," WickedCube added. "I also plan to open-source the code on GitHub and make the playable versions available on Itch."

NetEase continues its post-launch momentum with the release of two new characters this Friday: Human Torch and The Thing, following the successful launch of Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman. This rapid expansion showcases a strong start, exceeding competitors in the genre. However, the vast potential of Marvel's universe of heroes and villains continues to fuel fan creativity.

WickedCube's post highlights the community's desire for more Vanguard-type characters. Although there's no official word on Doc Ock's inclusion, WickedCube is already developing concepts for other potential heroes, including Nightcrawler and Professor Xavier. "The character roster at launch is large enough to keep the game enjoyable for a long time, and the rate at which they’ve promised to release new characters is mind-blowing," they added. "The designers clearly understand how to make a fun game, which, in my opinion, is the hardest thing to get right."

Marvel Rivals' Season 1 mid-season update arrives February 21st, bringing the aforementioned characters, balance changes, gameplay tweaks, and more.