Ever since I was a kid superhero games have always been some of my favorites. Partially because of the familiar characters, but mainly because of the attention-grabbing gameplay. It was just in the nature of superheroes games to provide gamers with big special effects and constant action. Superheros save the world in many ways, but as gamers with only care about the intense action.
Over the years many of these games have been released, but the best have always been the beat em’ ups. Because of this, the gaming industry has never strayed far from the simple but winning formula. Allow the player to single-handedly smash through mass amounts of enemies with ease. By taking on a large number of enemies, games were able to let players feel like a real superhero.
Top 10 Modern Superhero Games
10. Lego Superhero Games
Instead of picking a specific Lego Superhero game, I decided to just include them all. With all the game sharing almost identical gameplay, the real question comes down to “Marvel or DC?”. With six games to choose from, all with equally fun gameplay and childish humor, you can’t really go wrong. These games are perfect for anyone in the mode to play a superhero game, without the full commitment. You can jump in and out of the attack as you please without feeling the need to see it through. Another added bonus is that the Lego superhero games are always a big hit on date night. Their simple parody approach makes them easily enjoyed by comic fans and others equally.
9. South Park: The Fractured but Whole
South Park: The Fractured but Whole is fun to play a game based on the tv series “South Park”. It serves as a sequel to Stick of Truth but follows the kids as they take on alter egos as superheroes. The game also embraced the crude humor and 2.5D animation style the show is known for, making it feel good to play. The game received positive reviews citing its unique gameplay and faithfulness to the source material as the primary factors. We added South Park: The Fractured but While because of its original superheroes and amazing sense of humor.
8. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is the oldest game on the list, being released 11 years ago in 2009. The game itself featured large amounts of violence and had gameplay influenced by high selling games like God of War and Devil May Cry. Despite the similarities, X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a hit in the eyes of both gamers and comic fans alike. The high-speed action really felt like it was able to capture the main character’s primal ferocity, which is hard to do. One of the coolest parts of the game was the including of Wolverince regeneration abilities. As the player takes damage, you see the physical toll it had on the Wolverine body. But as he regenerates health, you actually see his muscle and skin regrowing. Something that has never been done before, and is pretty awesome to watch.
7. DC Universe Online
DC Universe only is the only MMO I included on the list only because it can still be played alone. With its fully fleshed-out and grabbing story, I have no doubt that at times you will forget its an MMO altogether. Sometimes the grinding gameplay can be kind of slow, but the intense boss battle rewards you for your time. So far this continuously growing game has already had 38 interesting episodes for gamers to play through, with more on the way. If you are a fan of comics for just long games, DC Universe Online is just begging to be played.
6. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Marvel vs Capcom is one of the most beloved fighting games franchises of all time. When the first game was introduced it blew gamers’ minds with its original concept. As the series grew, they introduced more and more playable characters and added small but needed quality of life mechanics to the gameplay. These upgrades have made Marvel vs Capcom 3 the best in the series, if not one of the best fighting games of all time.
5. Injustice 2
Injustice 2 is a 2017 fighting game based on characters of the DC Universe. It’s a sequel to Injustice: Gods Among Us and to expand the franchise the game added a new gear system. It allowed players to collect costume pieces that would be used to customize their appearances and alter their statistics. This deepened combat and brought characteristics of the online shooter genre(character customization, loot, leveling) into fighting games. The game has 38 different playable characters and an additional 20 skins, allowing the player to choose from 58 heroes. The game is fun for any fan of fighting games and comic lovers with love the storyline.
4. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 was a game I waited a long time for. After being a big fan of the Xmen Legends games and the first two games in the Ultimate Alliance series, I knew it was going to be great long before playing it. The game takes place in an alternate Marvel universe and follows various heroes’ attempts to stop Thanos. The game features the same beloved style of gameplay as the first two installments but has seriously overhauled the graphics. I put Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 on the list because of its grand plot and huge roster.
3. Marvel’s Avengers
Marvel’s Avengers is the newest game on the list with it coming out just a couple of months ago. It follows the Avengers, a group of heroes made popular from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in an original storyline. Marvel’s Avengers has high-speed action-filled gameplay that will have you feeling like a superhero in no time. It always for players to unlock various skins for the heroes and has both single-player and online play. Meaning you can put together a team of your friends and take down global threats like you were the real avengers, how cool is that?
2. Spider-Man
Spider-Man an action-adventure game released exclusively for the PS4 in 2018. Based on the loveable wall-crawler from Marvel comics, Spider-man is truly an amazing game. The speed you feel as you swing through the city alone will have you zipping around for hours. Many people would argue that it belongs in the number one slot. In many ways, we agree but also see it as a reskinned version of the next game on the list. Because of its popularity, Sony is re-releasing the game on the PS5 with the ability to play as Miles Morales.
1. Batman: Arkham City
While all games from the Arkham franchise are good, Arkham City was without question the best. Released in 2011 as a sequel to Arkham Asylum, Arkham City is often considered the best superhero game ever made. This is because it gave players something they never thought they would get, an open-world Batman game. Arkham City allowed players to explore a large city from the rooftops, dropping in on enemies as they saw fit. To this day, you won’t find a game that better allows you to embrace what it feels to be Batman. The last game on the list, Spider-Man, incorporated a lot of the best parts of the Arkham franchise into their game, but no one beats Batman.
Did we include your favorite modern superhero game? Do you think there is a superhero game that should have been included on the list but wasn’t? If you answered YES to either other these questions we would love to hear about it in the comments.
