The 20 Best Marvel Video Games (Since 2000)

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was largely considered a worthy successor to the beloved Marvel vs. Capcom 2 when it was released, but critics had a few major beefs with it, particularly with its lackluster online experience. This updated version of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 added a bunch of new characters to the roster and addressed a lot of issues that critics had with the original by improving the quality of online modes and making some mechanical adjustments to the gameplay that fans had asked for. Critics said the changes were generally all good, but the fact that these updates were sold as an entirely new game, less than a year after Marvel vs Capcom 3 came out, left a bad taste.

"This Ultimate version is better than the original Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and hardcore fighting fans should consider it a must-have, although only nine months have passed since the original launch and this may upset some gamers." —Jorge Cano, Vandal

Guardians of the Galaxy, which depicts an original version of the team while they're still getting to know each other, felt like an attempt by Eidos Montreal to take the MCU formula and translate it into a largely linear single-player story game—something, perhaps, a bit like Uncharted in space. Critics weren't as enthusiastic about Guardians as they are about the works of Naughty Dog, though, largely because its combat was considered a bit underwhelming, it lacked polish at launch, and some considered the format a bit dated. But the overall package is nonetheless considered well worth checking out, thanks largely to its well-told story and metric ton of personality.

"Guardians of the Galaxy is a competent, if not especially electrifying, action game that sails along on the back of strong voice acting and the sheer momentum with which it introduces new scenes and charismatic characters." —Christopher Byrd, Washington Post

This one is pretty much the Avengers: Doomsday of Marvel's LEGO video games, bringing together pretty much every Marvel hero you've ever heard of to battle Doctor Doom's attempt to take over the world. You might think that's an exaggeration, but Lego Marvel Super Heroes has 180 playable characters, which is, well, a lot. Even so, it's still very much a LEGO game of its day, which is to say it's pretty similar to a lot of other popular licensed LEGO titles, and critics pointed out that it even had some of the same bugs from those other games. But they ultimately had a hard time complaining too much about this package, which had something for everyone who might have interest.

"The series is in need of some lick and polish, but there's more than enough to put a smile of the faces of comic book fans." —Liam Martin, Digital Spy

A modern version of an old-style arcade brawler, Marvel Cosmic Invasion lets players pick from more than a dozen Marvel heroes as they do battle in solo or in co-op across all sorts of iconic Marvel locations. Cosmic Invasion comes from Tribute Games, which made a name for itself with the similarly-themed 2022 throwback game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. Critics didn't like Cosmic Invasion as much as they liked that TMNT game, though they didn't have many major complaints about it. It's just a little bit hard to be overly enthusiastic about the antiquated format at this point, even when it's as well executed as this one is.

"MARVEL Cosmic Invasion builds on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge with a more modernized approach, ultimately delivering strong combat feel and smooth, responsive action. But relying so heavily on well-worn, proven design also caps its ceiling, keeping it from ever reaching a truly impressive high." —Gamersky

In this brawler with RPG elements, players take control of Magma, a teen mutant who ends up under the care of Professor Xavier and the X-Men and gets caught up in an epic battle against Magneto's Mutant Brotherhood. What made X-Men Legends novel was that it could be played cooperatively with up to three other people, who could control other famous mutants like Wolverine and Emma Frost. It was like Raven Software took the old X-Men arcade brawler, made it 3D, and gave it a pretty decent story. Critics said the overall package is solid, with fun combat and a good story, but the enemy AI is weak and the combat gets repetitive.

"It's definitely better than your average hack n' slash game but the wonky AI will probably frustrate you to no end." —Da Gameboyz

Here, Raven Software takes the action gameplay from its X-Men Legends games and applies it to the greater Marvel universe. Players have nearly two dozen Marvel superheroes to choose from in an epic battle against Doctor Doom, and of course there's co-op as well. Of particular interest to Marvel nerds is that Ultimate Alliance has a bunch of optional objectives throughout the game that will have far-reaching consequences depending on whether they're completed—you can end up with a surprisingly depressing ending if you're not careful. While critics had plenty of nits to pick with this one, particularly since the gameplay is so similar to that of X-Men Legends, the massive scope and character roster won most of them over anyway.

"A must for Marvel fans, a good buy for everyone else, Ultimate Alliance is an epic in an old package, kind of like those massy boxes of comics you have hidden away in your attic, gathering ebay value like dust." —Game Revolution

This tactical RPG from Firaxis takes some components from that developer's XCOM games, pairs them with elements from deck-building titles, and tosses in some "hanging out with the pals" social gameplay in between missions. If that sounds unique and novel and a lot to deal with, that's because it's all three of those things. But it's also that scope that drew the most common complaints from critics, who tended to wish that Midnight Suns focused more on some individual aspect of its gameplay. They didn't exactly agree on which aspects needed to be scaled back, so perhaps this one simply tried to be too many things for too many people.

"Marvel's Midnight Suns is a huge experience. Firaxis mixed a lot of good things but mastered none. The experience is still enjoyable, the story is fun, and the gameplay is magnetic, but the feeling is there's something subtle that is missing to have a masterpiece." —Luca Forte, Multiplayer.it

Based on the Sam Raimi film of the same name, Spider-Man 2 follows Peter Parker's battle against his mentor Doctor Octavius. But the reason why this one made such an impression on its release was the first video game that let you properly swing around an open version of New York City as Spider-Man. That open-world web-slinging was pretty much the only aspect of the game that every critic liked, in fact, as every other key aspect of Spider-Man 2 drew some complaints.

"The structure itself is brilliant, but within it is nothing more than the padding of a relentless succession of ultimately quite simple challenges that you soon tire of." —Kristan Reed, Eurogamer

The sequel to X-Men Legends, in which the X-Men are forced to team up with the Mutant Brotherhood against the ancient baddie Apocalypse and the evil Mister Sinister, has just about the same gameplay as its predecessor, though Raven Software added destructible environments and online co-op, too. Considering they put out X-Men Legends II just a year after the first game, it's not too surprising that it would be very similar. Critics didn't hold those similarities against it, though, because Raven had effectively improved everything about it. It's like the first game, but better, they said.

"A solid sequel to a solid debut...it makes smart, incremental changes to the gameplay without messing with what made it work so well." —Xbox World Australia

Essentially a side-scrolling brawler with some extras that are specifically Spider-Man, like web-slinging and swinging, this Game Boy Advance title pits Spidey against one of his very best nemeses: the cosmic fraudster Mysterio. Critics were impressed, finding it to be an inspired translation of Spider-Man's abilities into video game form, though there were also a few complaints about its short length. This is, of course, not the same sort of Spider-Man video game as we've seen in more recent years, and it's important to keep in mind that none of the critics who reviewed Mysterio's Menace had played any open-world Spider-Man game at that point. It's likely that Mysterio's Menace would play very differently today, though it's impossible to say whether that would be a good or bad thing.

"[It] has a steep learning curve and isn't terribly lengthy, but outside of these main gripes, it is also a solid platform for Marvel's Spider-Man character." —GameSpot

This open-world action game offers the same general novelty as Spider-Man 2 did the year before by letting the Hulk lose in New York and letting him destroy anything he wants to while he dukes it out with Emil Blonsky/Abomination. But unlike Spider-Man 2, critics could name plenty of other things they liked about Ultimate Destruction beyond the open-world mayhem. They liked that Hulk had a surprisingly deep move set that he could draw on, and many praised the storyline, which was written by Marvel Comics writer Paul Jenkins. But as we so often saw with open-world games of this era, the repetitive missions drew plenty of complaints.

"Repetition and environmental limitations aside, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is a terrific way to pass the time for existing and future Hulk fans. There are more moves to choose from here than in any other game of recent memory and the attention to detail aimed at fans (expect references to Jarella, the Pantheon, and issue #102 among others) is a great touch." —IGN

Collectible card games have become a whole thing this decade, after the genre had previously been dominated almost entirely by Blizzard's Hearthstone, and Marvel Snap is one of the big reasons why. It's not necessarily that Snap is particularly unique or innovative, but that even on release in early access it was well balanced and polished and easy to get into. Critics also liked that matches were pretty fast by deck-builder standards, and how deep the gameplay can be, though they were a bit wary about what its free-to-play monetization would eventually look like.

"Inevitably, a huge part of the enjoyment of free games is their economies, and well made ones go out of their way to make the opening hours welcoming and friendly. Marvel Snap is no exception and while more time will need to pass before a final judgement can be rendered the early signs are exceptionally promising." —Nick Gillett, Metro GameCentral

A decade after the release of the beloved MvC2, which pit Marvel characters against folks from some of Capcom's most popular properties, Capcom delivered a proper sequel that critics felt genuinely lived up to its predecessor. The sequel didn't change things up too much, though Capcom did swap out the straight 2D visuals for a 2.5D look—meaning the character models are 3D, but the gameplay remains two-dimensional. They also simplified the control scheme a bit to make it more immediately accessible to new players while simultaneously adding depth, an update that most critics said worked as intended, especially compared with the daunting complexity of Street Fighter IV, which was released that same year.

"Capcom managed to deliver a successfully two-sided game: spectacular and accessible for casual gamers, deep and challenging for hardcore gamers." —Giuseppe Genga, MondoXbox

Arc System Works, known for its many complex and technical fighting games like BlazBlue, applied its approach to Marvel Comics characters, and the result was kinda fascinating. Marvel Tokon mixes up the usual tag-team formula to all teams of three characters to battle each other at a time, with moves that allow your backup characters to pop in and make attacks and combos without actually switching control to them. In other words, they actually fight together. Critics found that approach allowed for superhero battles that felt like they might have come straight out of an MCU film, and they even say Marvel Tokon is surprisingly accessible for an Arc System Works game.

"Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls sees Arc System Works take a bold gamble by reworking a familiar formula. That gamble pays off with a fighter that's both accessible and competitively deep. The limited roster and stage count barely matter due to strongly distinct characters. This is a highly capable fighting game with something to offer newcomers and veterans alike, one I expect to see plenty of on the competitive circuit in years to come." —Rudy Wijnberg, Gameliner

Sony's flagship launch title for the PlayStation 5 was this sequel to Marvel's Spider-Man that was focused on the adventures of Miles Morales as he develops and learns his powers after we saw his origin story play out in the previous game. It's not as robust an experience as the first game was, and its story is certainly a lot shorter, but Miles has a very different move set than Peter Parker does, giving the fights a very different dynamic in this one. Critics felt it was an improvement on the original in terms of how it played, and as a PS5 game it looked better, too. But the short length pulled some scores down a bit.

"Without a doubt, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a much more enjoyable game than the original and it shows off PS5's performance brilliantly. It's too bad that it isn't longer because I loved every minute of it." —A.J. Maciejewski, Video Chums

Spidey has to battle a bunch of his most famous nemeses in this mobile action game, which was one of many samey mobile games that GameLoft was constantly churning out at the time. But critics apparently found this one to be unusually polished and appealing compared to many of its contemporaries, even while complaining about its many subpar aspects. Basically none of those early iPhone titles hold up today, so take Spider-Man: Total Mayhem's place on this list with a grain of salt—its Metacritic score is almost certainly a case of "this is pretty good for a mobile game."

"While Spider-Man is a typical Gameloft offering right down to the weak storylines and questionable voice acting, it also contains the most important one of all: it's a polished, console-style game that's flat out fun to play." —AppSmile

In one of the earliest major Spider-Man games, Peter Parker has to deal with a false Spider-Man that's ruining his reputation, as well as a plot by Doctor Octavius to bring more symbiotes to Earth. While critics complained about certain technical aspects of the game, like its wonky camera and sluggish controls, most were able to overlook those issues and enjoy the Spidey action nonetheless. It's worth pointing out, however, that those types of issues were very common in games back in the PS1 era, and so critics were more likely to let that sort of thing slide than we would today.

"Even with its twitchy control and funky camera angles, it's a top-notch action/adventure worthy of the moniker. Excelsior!" —CNET GameCenter

Insomniac Games, known for decades of classic PlayStation titles like Ratchet & Clank and Spyro the Dragon, delivered another beloved hit with its open-world Spider-Man game, which set players loose in a digital recreation of Manhattan that feels like it's the same size as the real place. But this time, critics say, the unbelievably fun web-swinging mechanics aren't the only appeal—it also tells a genuinely touching story that never quite goes the way you expect it to. That's not an easy thing to pull off with a character as popular as Spider-Man is.

"With a cinematic story filled with personal drama, subversive twists and likeable characters, but set in a fantastical universe much more akin to the one seen in print, this is the best of Spidey's film and comic book iterations combined. But it's also a sensational game, blending open world acrobatics with more focused linear areas, and a well-realised protagonist with the freedom of fun upgrades and customisation." —Tim Biggs, Sydney Morning Herald

After the smaller Miles Morales game, Insomniac delivered a full-sized sequel in 2023 that featured both Peter and Miles as playable characters. This time around, Kraven the Hunter arrives in New York looking to start a fight with everyone, and Peter ends up wearing a symbiote suit and falls under the influence of Venom. While there's not much fundamentally different about this one versus Insomniac's previous Spider-Man titles, critics say pretty much everything about this game is an improvement, and that it's one of the best on-screen Spider-Man stories we've ever had. That's not small praise!

"Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is the perfect sequel, the best game from Insomniac Games and a new must-have in the PS5 catalog. It improves on the previous ones in absolutely every respect and has a much darker and more violent story, with two sensational villains." —David Arroyo, Meristation

As the name indicates, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 mashes up a roster of Marvel heroes and villains against characters from Street Fighter and other Capcom franchises, like Mega Man, in an old-school 2D fighter. This one had an almost legendary reputation back in the day, both for being maybe the best fighting game ever, and because it went out of print very quickly, which made it unusually hard to find since physical copies were the only option back then. (The game would be ported to additional consoles over the ensuing decade.) Despite the "best ever" claims that would eventually follow it around, critics called out Marvel vs. Capcom 2's for not being balanced well enough, but its gorgeous visuals, fun combo-based gameplay, and massive roster of fighters more than made up for that issue for most of them.

"Far from being the most perfect fighting game, but it's close to being the most enjoyable one." —Game Fan