Starting with the middle of the first decade of the 21st century, there has been a noticeable rise in popularity concerning superheroes. Long forgotten are the times when Superman was nothing but a laser-shooting alien goof wearing undies over his costume. These days, everything superhero related is put out there to show us that they mean serious business – starting with the achievements of the interconnected universe created by Marvel and ending with the array of superhero video games that keep us occupied in-between releases.
So, because they deserve just as much exposure and fame as comics and movies, we’ve decided to give superhero video games a chance to shine. Here are the Top 8 Best Superhero Video Games Released So Far.
#1 Batman: Arkham Knight
Despite the name of this entry, we are also considering the other installments in the series: Arkham City, Arkham Asylum, and Arkham Origins. The reason for this game’s insane popularity and critical success is shared with the explosion in quality provided by cinema. It showed that it means business. Arkham Knight enchanted us all with its graphics, gameplay, and the openness of the world.
#2 Spider-Man 2
For a very long time, Spider-Man 2 was considered to be on top of the list with the best superhero video games. It shares this honor with its movie counterpart, actually. The game was innovative through the vibes it transmitted, fueled by the openness of a world that made the feeling of swinging above Manhattan difficult to reproduce since.
#3 Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3
Fighting games are either a hit or a miss and, thankfully, Marvel VS Capcom 3 was the former. The game gives players the opportunity to form teams of three superheroes chosen from a varied roster. Then, they pit them against other superheroes, all of which have their unique set of moves.
#4 Infamous: Second Son
Superhero video games aren’t limited to the DC and Marvel icons we are all familiar with. Sometimes all we need is to step in the shoes of a powered character to have some fun. Infamous: Second Son was released in 2014 for the PS4 and it brings to the table all the goodies of a new generation open world adventure with superpowers.
#5 Freedom Force
Although this game was released in 2002, it manages to nicely hold up even today. It’s one of those superhero video games that want to take it a notch further than the typical fighting adventure, it’s a deeply strategic game with a lot of unique characters. Some people even dare to go as far as to call it an earlier version of everything we loved about Bioshock.
#6 Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, released in 2006, represented the first step towards the goals that spawned the successful formula which helped the genre explode to new peaks of popularity today. It brought together numerous famous characters and let players evolve them to their best. It’s not just the array of hero choices that’s impressive, but the villains as well.
#7 Lego Marvel Superheroes
Legos are successful, superhero video games are successful – why not combine them both? This is what one game developer must have thought one day. Turning popular franchises and concepts into Lego-related games isn’t something novel or revolutionary but, time after time, it continues to prove to be successful.
#8 X-Men
No other parts are added to the title of this one. X-Men was released in the 90’s and it was one of the first superhero video games to cause waves of hype among fans. Released for the arcade, it brought people together around the consoles for a four-player co-op game that involved channeling unique (yet limited) powers in order to defend humanity against the array of Sentinels spawned to venture your way.