I’m trying to find a modern beat ’em up with a low level of complexity and no RPG mechanics, so I can have light gaming sessions with friends and my wife.

I’m considering Cosmic Invasion, but since it’s a recent release, it’s hard to get a good sense of it.

If you had to choose between Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge and Marvel Cosmic Invasion, which would you get?

For whatever this is worth, Turtles made me nostalgic for Double Dragon, while Cosmic Encounter made me nostalgic for the X-Men Arcade game. Both fine, just hit different.

It is helpful. How do you feel about the graphics? I was checking some videos and Cosmic Invasion was looking a bit more polished.

I like Shredder's revenge, and have played it a fair bit. It's pretty fun, and simple enough to be accessible for any age/skill level.

I've only played the demo for Cosmic Invasion. It kind of seemed to be more of the same, but just a different flavor (they have the same developers, of course). It was a lot of fun too.

You could consider the Scott Pilgrim games as well, and there's also a new one coming out very soon.

If you haven't played Shredder's revenge would you maybe choose Cosmic Invasion instead? I used to play Turtles in the arcade, and it was a lot of fun, but I’d like to see a modern evolution of it. I asked the other contributor about the graphics, did you feel that Shredder’s Revenge was a bit too pixelated compared to Cosmic Invasion?

I also looked at Scott Pilgrim, and it doesn’t really get my heart pumping. The aesthetic isn’t very appealing to me, and it’s not about nostalgia, because I actually kind of like the Absolum style. Absolum just looks like a more engaging game, and maybe even one that’s built more for single-player campaigns.

Yes, if I hadn't played either and I was going to choose one then I think I might go with Cosmic Invasion. My reasoning is that the developers have had some time to iterate, and the overall experience could potentially be a bit better because of this. As for the pixelation, I really didn't notice one being substantially better or worse than the other. They both looked great to me. I like Dotemu's pixel art in general.

Maybe think about what they(your friends, and wife) might be into. In my line of thinking, cosmic invasion will probably have a more general appeal character wise than the turtles. With the turtles you either do like them, or you don't. If cosmic invasion isn't quite your thing, at least you have plenty of different characters to choose from and thus more of a chance to find one you like possibly?

A couple of other factors to consider:
price = $25(shredder's revenge) vs $30 (cosmic invasion)

review score = Overwhelmingly positive (shredder's revenge) vs very positive (cosmic invasion)

Yeah, Absolum got great reviews and looks like a great game. I'm not really into roguelikes myself, so I skipped on that one, but it definitely makes me want to consider giving them a second chance though. Lol

That is really good advice. Thank you!

You're welcome, hope you guys have fun! 😁