Marvel Rivals still can't escape the Overwatch comparisons as it introduces a very familiar limited-time mode for its Spring Festival event: "Can't believe we're getting Lúcioball again"

Marvel Rivals The Spring Festival trailer screenshot showing Star-Lord with a ball.

Marvel Rivals has announced a new limited-time game mode to accompany its upcoming Spring Festival event, and it looks, uh, a tad familiar. 

Announced today, Marvel Rivals developer NetEase games has unveiled Clash of the Dancing Lions – a soccer-like mode that'll be available to play from this Thursday, January 23. Ever since Marvel Rivals was first shown off, it's been unable to avoid comparisons to fellow hero shooter Overwatch, and it's not escaped that fate here either, because, yeah, it's hard not to think of Blizzard's own Lúcioball when you look at this. 

Lúcioball is the star of Overwatch's annual Summer Games event – a Rocket League-style 3v3 mode that has players tear around a soccer field, blasting an enormous ball around with Lúcio's abilities to score goals. It's fantastic fun, and a nice change of pace from the regular modes, but needless to say, seeing another hero shooter put a soccer mode in as a limited-time seasonal event is giving players déjà vu.

"We got Lúcioball in [Marvel Rivals] before GTA 6," one fan responds to the trailer on Twitter. "Can't believe we're getting Lúcioball again," writes another. 

🌟 HERE COME THE DANCING LIONS! AND THEIR CLASH! 🌟 Marvel Rivals is welcoming the joyous Spring Festival, and you're invited to join the celebration! What awaits you this Spring Festival?🌟 New Limited-Time Game Mode: Clash of Dancing Lions 🎊 A Gallery Card… pic.twitter.com/Uvy8BwfqIlJanuary 21, 2025

To be fair, other than the fact that it's another seasonal soccer mode, Clash of the Dancing Lions does look pretty different to Lúcioball in terms of how it plays. For a start, the ball itself isn't comically large, and it generally looks like it'll control in a more precise way than its slightly chaotic Overwatch counterpart. Soccer is soccer, of course – the very literal goal appears to be the same, but it does appear that there'll be different strategies to implement here. 

Beyond the mode itself, there are also some neat seasonal skins to grab, if they take your fancy. The Star-Lord one is actually set to be a free reward according to the trailer, which is particularly brilliant for anyone who mains the Duelist – don't miss out when the event starts later this week. 

While you're here, be sure to check out our tier list of the best Marvel Rivals characters.