WhileMarvel’s Avengershas tons of content to play these days, even the most dedicated fan of the game can want a bit of a change of pace from time to time. For those that don’t want to change the pace fromMarvel’s Avengersall that much, there are plenty of superhero games out there to play. Some are going to stand out as better than others. Some will offer that team feeling that Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics' latest offers. Some are more of a single hero storyline. That allows players to get into whatever type of superhero game they want to play.
Marvel’s Avengersis a different type of superhero game altogether because it’s really the first live-service game in this genre. Starting out with a set of heroes and adventures that depict the original team of heroes,characters like Black Panther and Spider-Manare coming to the game at a later date. The growing list of heroes that are in this game does have similarities with at least one other Marvel game that came along not all that long ago.
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Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
LikeMarvel’s Avengers,Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Orderfeatures a team upof some of the greatest heroes of that universe. Also like the newer title, this game also started out with a group of heroes to play with, and then added more in DLC, though that’s where the similarities mostly end.
InUltimate Alliance 3there are more heroesalong the way that can be unlocked as players go through the story. There’s also the feature of being able to switch back and forth between four heroes in any one fight. That’s a big advantage overMarvel’s Avengersthat locks players into one character per mission, even if three other teammates are fighting alongside the player’s pick. There is also the fact that this is exclusive to the Nintendo Switch. That was a pretty big deal when it released and remains the only game of this type on that platform.
Marvel’s Spider-Man
If someone doesn’t want to wait forSpider-Man to come toMarvel’s Avengers, there’s another game where they can take on the role of the friendly neighborhood hero right now.Marvel’s Spider-Mangave Peter Parker a brand new set of avengers to play through on the PS4 just a couple of years ago. Then a remastered version of the game came to the PS5.
In addition to being able to web their way through the game’s version of New York, the game also brings a nice story with it. Thankfully,Marvel’s Spider-Manalso offered some DLCthat enhanced and added to Parker’s travels that included so many of webhead’s most iconic enemies and allies. In many ways, this game can be pointed to as the one that sparked the resurgence of superhero video games.
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Spider-Man: Miles Morales
IfMarvel’s Spider-Mancreated the resurgence in superhero games, thenMiles Moralesadded more fuel to that fire. Not only is this follow-up to the first game actually better than its predecessor, but itprovided Insomniac Games a PS5 launch game. This game took what made Spider-Man so good and tweaked it just enough to make it something different enough that it deserved to be played on its own. Sadly, the one big difference between both its predecessor andMarvel’s Avengersis thatMiles Moraleshasn’t added any new content beyond the base game. With a title as popular as this one was, there’s always a reason to hope. In the meantime, it’s worth playing through at least once.
Infamous: Second Son
Infamous: Second Sonis a very good superhero game, even if it isn’t the kind of title some people think of when talking about superhero games. Rather than being a guy that puts on a costume and fights crime, protagonist Delsin Rowe is actually viewed as a criminal by the authorities of Seattle in this game world.
However, his origin story feels like that of most of Marvel’s most-loved characters. He didn’t go out looking to get himself any powers. They just happened upon him. This game is also unique in that players can decide whether or not he really becomes a hero, or turns to the “dark side” and instead becomes a supervillain.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
While there are a slew ofDC Comics-based games coming to the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, it’s still going to be a bit of a wait. For those who might prefer DC to Marvel heroes, there are still some titles playable on the newest consoles to tide them over. At the top of the heap isBatman: Arkham Asylum, which is the first and the best of a Batman trilogy. This particular title is 12-years-old now and still holds up rather well.
Asylumputs users inside the iconic mental hospital during a prison break staged by the Dark Knight’s greatest foe. Batman has to fight through a series of goons, some run-of-the-mill inmates, and some super-powered villains. There’s something to be said for the closed environment of this game compared tobothBatman: Arkham OriginsandBatman: Arkham Knight. The follow-ups both offer a more open world, but to some degree that is one of the reasons they aren’t able to live up to the original. Having to stay on a particular path keeps the game’s flow more focused.
While games likeMarvel’s Avengershave set the tonefor this generation of superhero games,Arkham Asylumhas left it’s mark. The combat mechanics in that game have been mimicked in plenty of other titles and it certainly seems as thoughMarvel’s Spider-Manat least borrowed some aspects of how Batman fought his way out of a crowd of enemies.
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