MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR MARVEL’S MIDNIGHT SUNS AHEADMass Effect 2is often considered a masterclass in companion-based RPGs, as it avoids many pitfalls that others fall into and delivers an ending that makes the entire narrative come together, from a story and gameplay standpoint. All too often, players in games with companions will find themselves alone too much (especially in an ending) or just carrying the same squad they used through the entire game to the end. There are plenty of factors here as to why, as games likeDragon Age: Inquisitionhave to contend with companions potentially leaving, but that doesn’t makeMass Effect 2’s suicide mission any less special, nor does itMarvel’s Midnight Sun’s.
While many players may use aMass Effect 2guide to see all heroes live through the suicide mission, doing so without one is incredibly rewarding no matter how it unfolds. Players need to complete loyalty missions, upgrade the Normandy, and begin the IFF installation at the right time. Missing one thing can result in a character dying before players ever exit the Normandy, and even with all of this in mind, players need to keep each character’s skills in mind as they pick who will lead certain initiatives. Choosing the wrong one results in a character’s death, and whether players manage to save everyone, keep most/some of their party alive, or basically end up all alone, all of that weight falls on the player’s mastery of the companions, game mechanics, and more.Marvel’s Midnight Suns' approach is a little different from Mass Effect 2, but its final mission is as good of a suicide mission asMass Effect 2, which is not praise allotted lightly.
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Midnight Suns' Final Mission Tests The Hunter and Their Companions
WhatMidnight Sunsdoes as well asMass Effect 2is bringing out the best of its companions. Once players save Hulk from Lilith’s clutches and complete the Godkiller research, players can complete the final mission. This opens up with Tony Stark giving everyone their Midnight Suns armor, making the moment incredibly special. Players are able to talk to everyone before the mission begins, and their responses make it clear how many of them feel like death is imminent. Talking with these characters one final time before the battle comes means players can accept likely death, ensure others that this won’t be the end and that they’ll talk more (they won’t), and it is a bittersweet, yet encouraging moment for the party of players.
Once players bust their way into Wundagore, they see Lilith attempting to fulfill the prophecy—but with the intent to kill Cthon as he returns. Her motivation the entire time has been her child, The Hunter, and the game slowly reveals through the plot, through character interactions, and throughevents on the Abbey Groundsthat Lilith sold her soul to Cthon so that the Hunter could live. It’s admittedly a weaker point, as it makes the whole corruption, murder, and all that more quizzical, but no narrative is without its flaws. It still builds well on everything up to the point, the point where The Hunter understands this, Lilith breaks their collar, and Cthon takes the Hunter’s body as a vessel. What follows is a twist boss fight against the very player-made hero.
The final mission is one of the most complex structures throughout the whole game, but done in such a unique way that it’s easy to follow and helps realize the power of the player heroes. The first part sees the players attempting to save the Hunter from Cthon’s control, despite many of their comrades being captured by Cthon as well, and the second part sees the heroes constructing seals to ensure Cthon does not escape his eternal slumber. It is this gameplay, what Firaxis is known for, where the game truly comes together.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns' Final Mission is a Suicide Mission Realized Through Gameplay
The first part of this mission sees players given a unique mission card called Tag-Out. While players are not in control of every hero, they are able to rotate their squads mid-fight with the tag-out card as necessary. This puts the heroes on the frontline to defeat the Hunter and the Lilin who surround them, bearing the full weight of the Midnight Suns against the forces of Cthon. This rotation adds an element of fun to the final battle, but it also helps realize how dire the mission is. Based onwhat difficult players are on inMarvel’s Midnight Suns, this fight can be a real test of individual heroes, but the rotating Midnight Suns cards add to this feeling as well.
Every hero has a Midnight Suns card associated with their armor, one that sees them unleash an incredibly powerful and game-changing move. Here, players can take mission cards from their enemies that let them draw their Midnight Suns card and play it in battle. No matter what, the forces of Cthon and the Hunter can take multiple Midnight Suns cards before they fall in this battle. This uniqueMarvel’s Midnight Sunsgameplaymeans that not only do players need to have some mastery of each character throughout the rotation, but at their very best and with their strongest moves, this mission still requires even more of the characters and the player.
Beating the Hunter frees them from Cthon’s control, where players must then reconstruct five seals to ensure Cthon cannot rise. This changes up the structure of the fight, pitting players into rotating 2v2 battles alongside two Avengers characters and two OGMidnight Suns characters(the others are trapped and/or take their place in the creation of the seal). Players must defeat incredibly powerful, Infested enemies, alongside the other Lilin, alongside one hero, creating very intimate battles that increase the desperation of the situation. It’s no easy feat, and once players succeed, they take their place in the Seal as well.
Midnight Suns' prophecy is obscure throughout the game, but as Cthon cites it for the heroes' sacrifice in regard to his resurrection, these battles see Hunter twist that prophecy into sealing away Cthon. It shows how the narrative can be flipped, how the combat can be flipped, and how yet everything can feel so well constructed and intimate, even in moments of clear desperation. This battle and surrounding narrative push every foundational element ofMarvel’s Midnight Suns' combat.
Gettinghigh friendship levels inMidnight Sunsmeans players unlock passives that can go a long way here, making use of the environment helps control the battlefield, and Battle Items are more beneficial than ever. The gameplay of this final battle is second to none, and even in managing all of that, it ends with a strong payoff on the heroic fantasy the game has presented the entire time.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns' Suicide Mission Has a Bittersweet Ending
It’s no secret that Firaxis Games initially sawMidnight SunsasXCOMwith heroes, but throughout its development, it slowly changed into a different beast. The fantasy of a fallible soldier and a hero are fundamentally different, and that influences much of the game’s combat philosophies, such as why heroes are downed instead of killed. This hero fantasy is important throughout every moment of the game, but so too in its ending. While perhaps comics and even some Marvel movies bring characters back too much, there is certain fantasy and expectation around a hero’s death. BringingIron Man back to the MCU after his death inAvengers: Endgamewould undermine that death; hero deaths have to matter. So,Midnight Sunscouldn’t just have potential hero deaths here likeMass Effect 2does with its companions, but it still realizes this fantasy.
As Cthon and the realm they are in collapse around the heroes once the mission is complete, the Hunter approaches their dying mother. Lillith saves the Hunter’s friends, but realizes she cannot send her child away. The Hunter reveals this is because when they died before, Cthon fundamentally changed them too. The Hunter and Lilith die together, there with the Darkhold in Cthon’s realm. Not only does this death work well intoMarvel’s Midnight Suns’hero fantasy, but it shows how much the Midnight Suns as a whole were truly family, with the Hunter’s final thoughts flashing focused on their family.
InMass Effect 2’s ending, whatever ending players get in terms of character deaths, it feels deserved and fitting to the player’s leadership abilities.Marvel’s Midnight Sunsmay only have one ending, but it feels deserved, fitting to the player’s leadership abilities and fulfilling of the hero fantasy it hinges its entire design on. This puts it on the same level asMass Effect 2’s suicide mission, a long-lasting staple and masterclass of companion-based endings, and that bodes well for the longevity ofMidnight Suns' DLCand potential sequels.
Marvel’s Midnight Sunsis available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X, with PS4, Switch, and Xbox One versions in development.
