The newly-released Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is being review-bombed just days after its highly anticipated launch, with fans on Steam incensed by the game requiring a linked PSN account. Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls has already dropped to a Mixed score on Steam with plenty of bad reviews.
Arc System Works has been a mainstay of the fighting game genre for nearly three decades, built up by the success of series like Guilty Gear and BlazBlue. The company has collaborated with multiple different franchises on licensed fighting games, including a variety of fan favorites, such as Persona 4 Arena and Dragon Ball FighterZ. Naturally, fans were excited when Arc System Works announced it would be teaming up with Sony to create Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, featuring some of Marvel’s most iconic characters. However, fan reception to Marvel Tokon has been far from perfect, with the game already subject to review bombing.
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Players Are Not Happy
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Game Rant | Source Images: Steam, Arc System Works -
Game Rant | Source Images: Steam, Arc System Works -
Game Rant | Source Images: Steam, Arc System Works
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls has been hit with a massive review-bombing campaign, dropping the game’s score to “Mixed” on Steam. Many of the negative reviews cite the requirement for players to have a PSN account linked to the game, with the Arc System Works-developed fighting game published by Sony. The PSN requirement is reportedly accompanied by multiple instances of Sony’s SDK running in the background, which are causing performance issues when playing Marvel Tokon. Several fans have also reported that Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is unable to run on SteamOS and is incompatible with the Steam Deck and Steam Machine.
Click on the game with the higher OpenCritic rating.
The Sony account requirements are not the only sour point being criticized by fans of Marvel Tokon. The game’s netcode has been heavily scrutinized by players, with many claiming that hardware-based lag has created a subpar online experience and even resulted in “total desync between players.” Marvel Tokon‘s lack of Linux support has also been a sticking point for fans, with the game’s anti-cheat system preventing players from running the game through Valve’s Proton software. Arc System Works has commented on fan complaints about the game’s performance, though no mention was made of the Sony account requirement.
Marvel Tokon requiring a PSN account is not the first game to feature similar restrictions. Sony was at the center of a major controversy surrounding Helldivers 2, with a similar push for account linking being met with harsh negative feedback and later being dropped entirely. Sony originally planned to require fans to link a PSN account for the PC version of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, though the feature was ultimately made optional with additional rewards for connecting a Sony account. Sony has not been free of account requirements from other developers on its own platform as well, with a Microsoft account required to play Forza Horizon 5 on PS5.
Arc System Works clearly has major plans for Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, despite its early controversy. The company has already teased the Year 1 Character and Stage Pass for the game, confirming Phoenix Cyclops as Marvel Tokon‘s first DLC fighter. Future updates to the DLC pass are set to include three brand-new characters being added to the game, as well as a new stage, throughout the first year of the game’s life. Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls fans can only hope that Arc System Works and Sony work quickly to resolve the controversy surrounding the game, with plenty of new content in store for the fighter.
- Released
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August 6, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen / Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Publisher(s)
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Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing
