Although not extinct, open-world superhero games are becoming increasingly rare, way more so than they were during the 2000s and early 2010s. Nowadays, we might get a new Marvel or DC romp every couple of years, and the days of mid-tier releases that deliver a fun couple of hours of gameplay are long gone.
Honestly, I miss those days, and quite a few great releases have slipped into relative obscurity or are incredibly difficult to buy. “Perfect” might be hyperbolic, but these superhero open-world games accomplished what they set out to do about as well as they could have, considering the circumstances. If you want to have a blast while feeling powerful as heck, these gems will get you there.
OK, many people remember playing these games, but they have been forgotten in the grand scheme of things (or in a very specific way).
Web of Shadows Is The Best Spider-Man Game Of The Activision Era
A Post-Apocalyptic Superhero Open-World Game
- Great dual-suit system, morality choices, and solid combat.
From 2004 to 2012, a new Spider-Man game was released every single year, with Activision publishing most of them. Oversaturation and rushed production cycles eventually resulted in a decline in quality, but this period produced a couple of fantastic games. Obviously, Spider-Man 2 is an all-time classic, Shattered Dimensions ranks among the wall-crawler’s best adventures, and Ultimate Spider-Man is short but sweet.
Of all of Spidey’s escapades, Web of Shadows tends to be the most overlooked and underappreciated, a situation amplified by its delisting in 2014. Arguably acting as a culmination of the ideas that started with Spider-Man 2, Web of Shadows featured the most fluid movement and combat in any Spider-Man game up to that point, along with presenting a darker-than-usual story for the character. We actually get to see Manhattan essentially turn post-apocalyptic throughout the campaign.
The whole game revolves around Peter struggling to decide whether to embrace the symbiote or remain his true self, and you can even swap between the two suits and their unique movesets in the middle of combat. Web of Shadows features a morality system tied to four endings, and your decisions genuinely matter.
If you decide to pick this up, make sure to get the PS3, Xbox 360, or Wii versions, not the PS2 one. The PC port cannot be purchased nowadays, and it is generally regarded as the worst of the next-gen releases. If you are lucky, you might somehow be able to acquire a copy of that version from somewhere, but I wouldn’t know anything about that.
Infamous: Festival of Blood Is A Bloody Good Time
A Gothic Superhero Open-World Game
- Cool powers, turn into bats, and a charming Gothic aesthetic.
Do you remember when Cole MacGrath became a vampire? Considering Infamous is all but retired nowadays, Sony seems to have misplaced a franchise that was absolutely massive for like 5 years (seriously, Infamous lasted for a cup of coffee). The core games are too popular to be described as “forgotten,” but the same cannot be said for the two standalone expansions: Festival of Blood and First Light.
Although an argument could be made that First Light is the better game, Festival of Blood is treated more as a footnote in the franchise’s legacy, despite being Cole’s swansong (not counting PlayStation All-Stars). The concept of blending electrical powers with Gothic vampire goodness sounds incredible on paper and, thankfully, functions well in practice. With a single button, you transform into a cloud of bats… I mean, what more do you need?
Festival of Blood embraces the wackiness of its premise, giving New Marais a fun Halloween-style makeover while introducing a cool new villain in Bloody Mary. The combat retains the gratifying explosiveness of Infamous 2, albeit tweaked with vampire abilities that complement Cole’s base kit. I wouldn’t necessarily call Festival of Blood a masterpiece, but it’s a well-done expansion that delivers exactly what its title promises.
Festival of Blood is part of PS Plus Premium, but it can only be streamed because it’s a PS3 game. If your internet connection allows for it, the expansion more than warrants a playthrough, especially since it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Play First Light, too, if you haven’t.
Justice League: Cosmic Chaos Is The Best Justice League Game
An Open-World Superhero Game Starring The DC Trinity
- Well-done RPG mechanics, cute visuals, and silly but fun story.
Typically, I wouldn’t include anything released during the 2020s in these articles, as we need some time to forget them. However, I’m making an exception for Justice League: Cosmic Chaos, a game that came and went without really attracting much attention. You would think that an open-world DC game starring Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman would do gangbusters, but Cosmic Chaos suffered from the dreaded “kids’ game” label.
Let’s immediately set realistic expectations: Cosmic Chaos is a family-friendly action RPG brawler with a chibi art style and a lighthearted tone. Don’t expect Arkham, but you also aren’t getting Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. For what it is, Cosmic Chaos is a fantastic little co-op game that celebrates DC’s primary team while offering more depth than might initially be apparent.
Players can swap between the DC trinity with a button press, and they can summon other characters for assistance. Each hero comes with their own abilities that make them useful in both action and exploration, along with having individual skill trees that are surprisingly robust. Anybody who considers themselves a die-hard DC fan should really give Cosmic Chaos a go.
Click on the game with the higher OpenCritic rating.
Megaton Rainfall Is The Ultimate VR Superhero Experience
A Game That Puts Earth And The Universe In Your Grasp
When virtual reality started to become a thing, many of us dreamed of the endless possibilities. We could finally swing like Spider-Man, fly as Superman, transform as Goku, and scowl like Batman. While Arkham Shadow and Deadpool are the best superhero VR games, Megaton Rainfall was the first to showcase the technology’s potential to craft a truly larger-than-life experience, and it is fully open-world.
Now, I will say that the gameplay loop is fairly simple and almost primitive in places, but that doesn’t matter much because of the sheer scale of everything. Megaton Rainfall makes you feel like a god-like being who can travel beyond the moon and through the cosmos, visiting surprisingly impressive planets. The story, however, takes place on a proper recreation of Earth, which needs to be defended from an alien threat.
Megaton Rainfall excels in destruction, both caused by enemies and yourself. You see buildings crumble, cities disappear, and even perhaps humanity’s extinction.
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction Is The Only Hulk Game That Matters
Hulk Smash Everything
- You can turn two cars into boxing gloves. I rest my case.
I talk about The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction whenever an opportunity presents itself, as we probably will never get a better Hulk game than this forgotten 2005 masterpiece. As further proven with its Prototype games, Radical Entertainment mastered the art of open-world destruction, and no other “superhero” fits this type of sandbox better than the angry green monster himself. Ultimate Destruction lives up to its name by just letting The Hulk do what he does best: Smash.
With two distinct areas to rampage through, the campaign gets down to business pretty quickly and rarely tries to slow things down through unnecessary padding. The Hulk moves by building momentum, allowing him to leap up or even over buildings like they are nothing. He has a wide set of moves and combos that let him pull off brutal attacks, and he can even turn the environment into a weapon.
Full disclaimer, I have quite a bit of nostalgia for Ultimate Destruction, so I might have rose-tinted glasses. However, I played it fairly recently, and it is still a ton of fun. I probably prefer the Prototype games, but all three are a blast.
Batman: Arkham Origins Doesn’t Exist According To Warner Bros
An Open-World Superhero Game That Deserves Way More Respect
OK, I know Arkham Origins isn’t exactly forgotten by actual players, and I would even say its reputation has grown in recent years. However, this one is a special case, as Warner Bros seems determined to pretend this Batman prequel doesn’t exist.
Batman: Return to Arkham only included Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, while Batman: Arkham Collection stopped at Rocksteady’s trilogy. Instead of porting Arkham Origins, Batman: Arkham Trilogy instead featured Arkham Knight, which barely worked on the Nintendo Switch. Why is Arkham Origins treated like the black sheep of the franchise?
“Perfect” is certainly an overstatement due to Arkham Origins‘ known bugs, and it is the least special of the main five entries in the series (Asylum, City, Origins, Knight, and Shadow); however, there isn’t a significant difference in quality between this release and Arkham City, the best Batman game of all time. Snow-covered Gotham looks absolutely gorgeous, making for a surprisingly unique atmosphere despite the reused map. The boss fights are among the strongest in the franchise, and the story is roughly of the same quality as Arkham Knight.
