Marvel Rivals: Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival brings Splatoon style gameplay into the Marvel universe 

As Marvel Rivals’ first limited-time mode, Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival takes cues from another well-known video game franchise, Splatoon. The game mode isn’t as mechanically complex as Nintendo’s inky IP, but those looking to take a break from regular scraps will find it a nice change of pace. 

What is Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival? 

Marvel Rivals Jeff

In Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival, two teams of four Jeffs spawn into the Yggsgard: Royal Palace Domination map. Players need to cover as much of the map as possible with their team’s frost, which can be applied using Jeff’s abilities (except for his Hide and Seek mobility skill and Oblivious Cuteness passive). Jeffs can also damage and eliminate opponents, which gives them time to cover the map while defeated foes are waiting to respawn. The team that covers the most space in frost at the end of the round is the winner. 

Most of Jeff’s abilities get a unique twist in this limited-time mode

When you aren’t covering the map in frost, you’ll be fighting the opposing team for control of territory. Jeff’s primary attack is his Aqua Burst, which can hit enemies from afar. Though he cannot heal teammates in this game mode, he can use his Joyful Splash and Healing Bubble abilities (which are used to heal allies in other modes) to deal small amounts of damage. This makes knowing the locations of health packs extremely important as they are the only source of instant healing (Jeff can also recover a certain amount of health when he isn’t taking damage). 

The “It’s Jeff!” ultimate ability is the pinnacle of Jeff’s offense, defense, and frost application. Not only can it suck in enemies and allies like in other game modes, but it can be used as a defensive tool when an enemy Jeff uses their ultimate ability. This creates a meta-game wherein players must weigh the pros and cons of using their ultimate, as it can be countered in the same way. Regardless of whether the ultimate catches anybody or not, “It’s Jeff!” will cover the surrounding area in frost. 

Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival is even more casual than Splatoon 

Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival doesn’t have different weapons and sub-weapons, Splatfests, or even more than a single map like the Splatoon games. What it does is take Marvel Rivals’ most beloved character (or hated, depending on who you ask), multiplies him by eight, and drops him into a map where he can spray frost to his heart’s content. 

Now that Jeff players don’t have to worry about healing their allies as a Strategist, they can change things up by covering the place in frost while searching for the enemy team. Unlike Splatoon, where playing passively is an option, the small size of the map and the amount of space that Jeff’s ultimate ability can cover in frost incentivizes combat. You want to build your ultimate ability as fast as possible so that you have a way to turn the tables against the enemy team. 

Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival may have simple gameplay, but don’t let that dissuade you from trying it out. Completing challenges in Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival awards you with some nifty Jeff-based cosmetics that you can’t get anywhere else, and what better way to celebrate the holiday season than by gobbling up your enemies and tossing them off the map? 

Marvel Rivals is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC (Steam). Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival will be playable until January 9, 2025.