The Marvel franchise has gained popularity over the past decade, leading to many films, TV shows, comics, and video games.
Even before the MCU took the film industry by storm, Marvel games were popular, dating back to the PlayStation 2 days in the early to mid-2000s and even earlier. Here are the 7 Best Marvel Games.
Today, there’s even a Marvel pinball series out there!
Due to its accessibility, it’s easy to jump in, swing around, do a few missions, and hop out — without ever feeling like it’s too much to manage.
Many open-world games struggle in this regard, but not Marvel’s Spider-Man. After all, this game is full of heart and will be remembered for years.
Table of Contents
7 Best Marvel Games
1. Marvel vs. Capcom 2: A New Age of Heroes
This game does require much more skill than Marvel vs. Capcom 2: A New Age of Heroes. It’s not the newest one, but it’s undoubtedly one of the most beloved.
Even though it’s over twenty years old, it still has a timeless art style and some of the best crossover fighting game gameplay to date.
In this team fighting game, players collect a team of three characters across the Marvel and Capcom universes to be the last squad standing.
There’s a reason Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is regarded as one of the best 2D fighting games ever. Unfortunately, finding a physical copy has become increasingly more complex, and it’s not available on digital storefronts anymore, making this one hard to track down.
2. Lego Marvel Super Heroes
On the other hand, Marvel games are also known for helping you play with others. And that’s precisely what you can do in Lego Marvel Super Heroes.
It features 180 heroes from the beloved comic book universe. The most compelling aspect of this game is that it’s easy to play with friends and family, regardless of skill level.
With so many characters to select from, it’s easy to spend lots of time trying out everyone’s move set and abilities.
Although video games are sometimes very skill-dependent, the barrier to entry with Lego Marvel Superheroes is relatively low. This means even inexperienced gamers can find enjoyment in this one.
Related Read: 9 Best Superhero Games of All Time
3. The Punisher (PS2, Xbox, PC)
While several Marvel games are famous for being family-friendly, some, like 2004’s The Punisher, are not for children. Even if you are an adult, you’ll probably find a lot to love with this game.
Before Volition became famous for the Saints Row series, it made a name for itself with The Punisher, a game loosely based on the 2004 Thomas Jane film of the same name, and also with elements from the comics and original ideas.
It’s a hilariously violent third-person shooter with all types of weapons to choose from and various open levels to find.
One of its most noticeable mechanics is that it allows you to investigate your enemies with your surroundings. It’s not one of Marvel’s most popular games, but it is a hidden gem that shooter fans should check out.
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4. The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
The following year, after we got Spider-Man 2, Radical Entertainment and Vivendi Universal Games released The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.
In several ways, Spider-Man 2 laid the framework for Ultimate Destruction, giving us an open-world Hulk game with fully destructible buildings and atmosphere.
This game accomplished impressive things on the PS2 and Xbox. It offers a compelling story with voice acting and some of the best level traversal we’ve seen from a superhero game.
Ultimate Destruction is a game that did Hulk justice, and since then, we haven’t gotten another game of equal quality.
5. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order (Nintendo Switch)
While the Lego Marvel games are built more for a casual market, the Marvel Ultimate Alliance franchise offers more depth.
Specifically, the third instalment, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, is the best of the pack, combining and refining all the mechanics and features from the earlier ones.
You can gather a team of heroes (or villains) to explore levels, gather experience to level up characters, and unlock many new moves and abilities.
While it can be played solo, it’s much more fun with friends. Since there is no shortage of characters, there are several variations when playing alone or with a group.
The wild thing is that Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3 is a Nintendo Switch game created by Team Ninja, the studio behind the Ninja Gaiden and Nioh series.
Because of this, it never reached the broader audience of the first two games, but that doesn’t make it any less fun.
6. Marvel’s Iron Man VR (PS4)
This game offers one of the most unique experiences on this list. It was built specifically for virtual reality (VR).
In it, you play Tony Stark from a first-person perspective, with stages that send you soaring through the sky to take out enemies and reach your objectives.
In addition to the immersive action, there’s also an intriguing story to enjoy, with well-acted characters and engaging writing.
Of course, the main star of the show is the gameplay. With shooter elements and a satisfying upgrade system, the VR is still in its infancy, so it’s not perfect. Still, Iron Man VR accomplishes its objective of making you feel like you’re a superhero.
Since you can’t go out and fly around in an Iron Man suit in real life (yet), this is the next best thing, and it works surprisingly well.
7. Spider-Man 2
Before we had Marvel’s Spider-Man, there was the movie tie-in series known simply as Spider-Man (and its sequels). Spider-Man 2 is based on the 2004 film of the same name and sends players to an open-world version of New York with tons to do.
Open worlds are now abundant, but in 2004, exploring such a large city as Spider-Man’s was a dream come true. In it, you can take on missions inspired by the film and new scenarios explicitly designed for this game.
Typically, movie tie-ins are tolerable at best, but in this case, developer Treyarch made a considerable effort to develop one of the best superhero games of its time.
It might not hold up as well in recent times, but without this game, we wouldn’t have some of today’s tremendous open-world superhero games.