Fans dived into a dark new take on the Marvel universe with the release of Marvel’s Midnight Suns. The tactical role-playing card game brought together popular Marvel heroes with supernatural warriors to fight a deadly new threat. Midnight Suns has continued to wow fans since its release, earning an impressive early rating on Metacritic.
The Metacritic score features both critic and user ratings out of 100 that fans can use to sift through the huge selection of Marvel video games. From impressive adaptations of heroes like Spider-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy to successful LEGO games set in the Marvel universe, these video games are sure to impress new and returning fans.
10/10 Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Metacritic Score: 82
Following the success of games like X-Men Legends, developers improved the team-based action role-playing setting for 2006’s Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. The game brought together Marvel heroes from across the universe instead of just members of the X-Men.
Heroes like Spider-Man and Captain America joined a huge roster of playable heroes as they fought against Doctor Doom’s latest plot for world domination. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance kicked off a successful franchise of games that mostly followed the same formula, though none impressed fans quite like the first.
9/10 LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
Metacritic Score: 83
Fans have been able to explore their favorite fandoms in unique settings thanks to the LEGO series of games. 2013’s LEGO Marvel Super Heroes featured an original story and a huge roster of characters assembled against a group of villains led by Loki.
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes used a successful blend of Marvel and LEGO humor to create a fun and action-packed adventure. It contains a huge Marvel universe for comic fans and gamers to enjoy and replay and is largely considered to be one of the best LEGO video games ever.
8/10 Spider-Man 2
Metacritic Score: 83
2004’s Spider-Man 2 released on consoles like the Xbox and Playstation 2. It was a tie-in to the successful live-action film and a sequel to the original tie-in game. Spider-Man 2 holds a place in history as one of the first open-world superhero games ever.
Spider-Man 2 followed a similar story as the movie but included a number of new scenes, characters from the comics, and villains that didn’t appear in the film. Spider-Man 3 and almost every other game starring Marvel’s wall-crawler later emulated the game’s open-world setting. Spider-Man 2 also featured the voice talents from the film to further entice fans to the game.
7/10 Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy
Metacritic Score: 84
Eidos Montreal developed 2021’s beautiful space-set story that captivated fans in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Players stepped into the role of the Guardians leader Star-Lord as the team dealt with the threat of the Universal Church of Humanity.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy featured unique takes on established characters that allowed the game to explore the cosmic side of Marvel in its own way. The amazing soundtrack helped drive the emotional story, and the challenging gameplay kept fans coming back for more.
6/10 X-Men Legends II: Rise Of Apocalypse
Metacritic Score: 84
One of the most memorable Marvel games first impressed fans back in 2004 when X-Men Legends hit consoles like the GameCube and PlayStation 2. It proved so popular that a sequel called X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse followed shortly after in 2005.
The action role-playing game featured a huge selection of playable characters working in teams of four. X-Men Legends: Rise of Apocalypse was loosely inspired by the Age of Apocalypse comic that redesigned the X-Men. It maintained and improved upon the successful aspects of the first game while increasing the character choices, team options, and power capabilities.
Metacritic Score: 85
The fan-favorite fighting game series appeared on next-gen consoles in 2011 with Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. The character sprites made the jump to 3D models, though the game retained the usual 2D fighting style of the previous entries.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds featured a simplified control scheme that made the game a bit more accessible to new players. It featured a diverse cast of characters assembled from each respective media universe including new characters and classic favorites. The game was later updated and released again as Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
4/10 Spider-Man
Metacritic Score: 87
One of the best games featuring Marvel’s web-slinger was 2000’s Spider-Man which was first released on the original Playstation. While it hadn’t yet adopted the open-world setting of later games, players still traveled across New York in the hit game.
Spider-Man featured a fantastic narration by Stan “The Man” Lee as players fought a number of bosses from the comics. Doctor Octopus and Carnage were the main villains, and the pair even formed together to create the unique “Monster-Ock” character. Spider-Man gave players one of the best experiences as the wall-crawler, even compared to some modern iterations.
3/10 Marvel’s Spider-Man
Metacritic Score: 87
Insomniac Games put their own spin on Peter Parker and his related characters in 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man on the PS4. The third-person open-world adventure game perfected almost everything about previous Spider-Man games.
Players could stylishly move through the streets of New York with advanced new web-slinging controls. Fights were also equally improved with a new combat and gadget system. Marvel’s Spider-Man proved itself as a great adaptation by featuring a huge amount of collectibles, wearable costumes, and downloadable content to keep fans happy.
2/10 Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Metacritic Score: 88
The successful release of Marvel’s Spider-Man also teased the debut of Miles Morales as a web-slinging hero. Fans got to play through his journey in 2020’s Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which served as a spinoff/sequel to the 2018 hit.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales further elevated the fighting mechanics and character upgrade system. Miles Morales had dangerous villains and exciting new abilities to keep things fresh for fans of the original game. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales featured remastered characters for the next generation of consoles that set the stage for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Metacritic Score: 90
One of the best video game crossovers occurred in a popular fighting game series that impressed fans for decades. It first launched into arcades in 1996 as X-Men vs. Street Fighter before transitioning to the Marvel vs. Capcom series. The best entry was Marvel vs. Capcom 2: Age of Heroes, which hit arcades in 2000.
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: Age of Heroes ported to consoles in 2002, where it continued to develop a loyal fanbase. Players could control a huge roster of characters from the Marvel universe and games like Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, and Mega-Man. The enormous cast, detailed level backdrops, and frantic gameplay continue to hold a place in the hearts of fans.
