The 10 Best Superhero Video Games, Ranked According To Metacritic

After years of underwhelming video games based on people’s favorite superheroes in the early 2000s, video-game developers finally started to pick up on exactly what fans wanted from the games. Whether it was a simple fight ‘em up, a customizable role-playing game, or fun for all the family, superhero games began to increase in quality.

By the late 2000s and 2010s, the quality was ramped up tenfold, and eventually, superhero games became the gold standard of video games in general. And now other developers are looking to Batman and Spider-Man games for how to make quality third-person action releases. With so many released year after year, there are a lot of great superhero video-games, but critics think these are the best.

10 LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (2013) – 83

LEGO has turned a lot of franchises into great video-games, and Marvel is no exception. Given that most gamers felt that LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is better than LEGO Marvel’s Avengers shows just how great the LEGO game is, as Marvel’s Avengers was a solid effort, as well.

Like Lego Marvel’s Avengers, LEGO Marvel features Iron Man, Hulk, and Captain America as playable characters. But that’s not all, as where Marvel Superheroes really takes the edge is the inclusion of Spider-Man, Wolverine, and a ton of other fan-favorite Marvel characters. And with the added dollop of that classic LEGO game humor, it makes for a hilarious but sweet game.

9 X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse (2005) – 84

Though the movie might have been a disappointment for some fans, X-Men Apocalypse may have faired a little better if it took some cues from X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, which is by far the best X-Men game.

And it isn’t just the narrative that unfolds around one of the most threatening villains of the mutants, as the gameplay stacks up too. Legends II is a turn-based role-playing game, and players can control one of many different characters from the series, including Wolverine.

8 Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020) – 85

Being somewhat of a half-sequel to 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man, Miles Morales’ own spin-off game is around half the length and features the same open-world New York, only with a dusting of snow, given its Christmas setting.

However, the game completely stands on its own, regardless of similar gameplay, as the story is completely fresh and there are loads of new abilities and an enormous amount of unlockable suits and other features.

7 Spider-Man (2000) – 87

Spider-Man might be the very first truly great superhero game, as it was released over 20 years ago on the PlayStation and it wasn’t a tie-in game, meaning there was a noticeable amount of effort put into it, compared other games of the time.

Though it isn’t open world, players are able to swing from rooftop to rooftop and crawl up buildings, and it really set in motion the mechanics that pretty much every other Spider-Man game would adopt. The game is even narrated by the one and only Stan Lee, which is more than enough certification for how good of a game Spider-Man is.

6 Injustice 2 (2007) – 87

Though this is purely a fighting game, and while gamers are usually either fighting game enthusiasts or not into them at all, this is one of those fighting games non-fans of the genre could still enjoy.

There’s so much stuff going on, whether it’s building a grand multiverse, the incredible visuals, or playing as some of the best DC characters, and it’s one of the most exciting DC games that doesn’t have Arkham in the title. It’s also one of the most customizable games in the genre too.

5 Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) – 87

The universe might be getting a reboot, but at this point, Rocksteady has taken the series as far as it can possibly go. Batman: Arkham Knight is one of the most perfect Batman games and a tasteful cap on the Arkham series.

The game allows players to actually drive the Batmobile, and though it’s more like a tank, it’s all fans have ever wanted. Arkham Knight even introduced a brand new villain, which was a huge risk considering how Batman has the best rogues gallery ever. And instead of it being set in Arkham, players are finally given an open-world Gotham City to glide around in.

4 Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018) – 87

With so many different mediums for Spider-Man content that it seems to be non-stop, between all the different movie series, where there are even two running concurrently right now, it wouldn’t be surprising if fans of the hero got a little fatigued. However, that isn’t what happened in the slightest, and even given how many Spider-Man games there have been in the past, critics ate the 2018 game up.

Not only does it have some of the best fighting mechanics, but it also has one of the best video game narratives that actually rivals the movies.

3 Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 (2000) – 90

With all of the “vs” games on the market that pit two franchises together, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is by far the most fun and exciting, even despite its age. Even though it was rated this high over 20 years ago, the game still totally holds up, and there’s so much content too considering how a Dreamcast game obviously doesn’t have as much space for memory.

The game features over 56 characters to choose from, and even for gamers who aren’t fans of Marvel, they can choose from Jill from Resident Evil, Servbot from Mega Man, and so many more.

2 Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) – 91

Arkham Asylum completely changed the way stealth and fighting games were made, especially when it comes to superhero games. The reason Marvel’s Spider-Man and its spin-off are so good is due to heavily borrowing mechanics from Asylum.

The game’s combo system when fighting is unrivaled, even by games outside the superhero genre. And the ability to freely roam around the giant, dense asylum at will and casually run into some of Batman’s biggest villains is one of the best Batman experiences ever. But the very best parts of the game come in the form of the Scarecrow levels, as players have to tackle so many obstacles with a skewed perspective, while a giant Scarecrow terrifyingly stands in the middle.

1 Batman: Arkham City (2011) – 96

Arkham Knight is generally considered to be the very best comic book game, but it was Arkham City that laid the groundwork for the games that came after. Arkham Asylum may have given players a fair amount of freedom, but Arkham City gave players exactly that, a whole city that perfectly captures how gothic the world of the caped crusader should be.

Players are able to glide around at will with secrets and Easter eggs hidden around every corner. On top of that, the gameplay is terrific, the voice acting is phenomenal as always, and the added gadgets are amazing.