You probably know this if you spend any amount of time on TheGamer dot com, but I’ve been playing a lot of MultiVersus lately. Like, a lot. Like pages on the calendar falling off at a comically rapid pace levels. Like - okay you get the picture. In the more than 26 hours I’ve spent with MultiVersus so far, I’ve mostly played with a few select characters, specifically Bugs Bunny and Batman, who I consider to be my mains and the fighters I can usually bet on winning a match with.
But there’s one character who rises above the rest, which isn’t too surprising given my love for the series - Steven Universe. After getting him to Level 15 recently and christening him as my one true main, it’s clear, without a shadow of a doubt, that he’s MultiVersus’ most overlooked fighter. One with some of the most interesting moves and setup possibilities, and a fighter that most players simply have no idea how to react to, mostly because it seems like no one else is interested in playing as him in the first place.
I’ve played close to 500 matches of MultiVersus since launch and in that time I’ve come across tons of Shaggys, far too many Finns, a few Aryas, and plenty of Harley Quinns. I’ve even fought a few rare Tom and Jerry mains out there. Do you know how many Steven Universe players I’ve come up against? Zero. Nada. Zilch. Our boy deserves better.
It’s not too surprising considering the hefty 3,000 price tag and ‘Expert label slapped on Steven’s name, but it’s a massive shame because while all the normies are practising Finn’s backpack swing and basically just being massive dicks, they’re missing out on a character that has even more troll potential than even Bugs Bunny.
Although MultiVersus likes to label Steven as a “support” class character, this couldn’t be further from the truth - the dude is a total tank. He might be one of the smallest characters on the roster, but pretty much all of his attacks have massive kill power and knockback capabilities, especially his up and down attacks. Steven is easily capable of eliminating a fighter when they’re below 100 percent damage, something that a lot of other characters struggle with.
Power isn’t all that Steven has to offer either, as he’s pretty speedy too. Not in the traditional sense like Finn or Taz, but with Steven’s air down special, he can ride on his shield like a sled, which can propel him from one side of an arena to the other while also dealing damage to anyone he comes in contact with. With this move, you’re basically able to slingshot a character with as much heft as Superman with half the effort.
So far, so standard though, there are plenty of heavy-hitting fighters on the MultiVersus roster. What makes Steven so unique, and what also makes so many fighters panic and mess up when fighting him, is his ability to place shields and create bubbles.
Steven’s side special allows him to place a shield in front of him, acting as an instant stop to any attack or projectile coming his way. You can also summon a shield to stand on as Steven’s up special, which means that playing against Steven means that you’re always having to compete with random obstacles blocking your path and occasionally just sending you flying out of bounds.
Here’s where Steven gets really interesting. His neutral special allows him to place a Steven Bomb that explodes near enemies with decent knockback potential, which can be paired with the shield to essentially trap an enemy and cause them to ping pong between shields and raise their damage percentage. While all of that is going on, a smart Steven will be using his final ace in the hole - the ability to create a Watermelon Steven helper that not only heals you, but also helps kick the snot out of other players.
All of these abilities combine to make Steven one of the most difficult fighters to come up against in the whole of MultiVersus. Well, I’m assuming that little fact since I’m apparently the only Steven Universe player in the world and I keep kicking everyone’s butt. Consider that a challenge to anyone reading - come face Tiger Millionaire in battle.
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If you read editor-in-chief Stacey Henley’s recent piece about how there’s nothing quite like winning at a fighting game, you’ll know that we have gaming social nights at TheGamer. Well, yesterday was finally the MultiVersus round, and I unleashed the full capabilities of my Steven against the rest of the staff to find that, just like I’ve been saying, no one really understands what he can do and how to counter it (well, except for a certain Tom and Jerry main who shall go unnamed).
I like to think I’m pretty good at MultiVersus by now with how much time I’ve put into it, but there are enough skilled gamers at the site that I feel like if I’d have picked a more known character like Shaggy or Batman, I might not have won as much as I did. The simple fact is that Steven is MultiVersus’ least popular and least understood fighter, something I don’t think is going to change as more and more popular characters get added. He’s doomed to obscurity.
Still, if it keeps me using my shield and bubbles to endlessly annoy opponents into victory, I wouldn’t have it any other way.