DC Comics has created some of the most famous comic book superheroes in the history of comics and pop culture. While there have been bad games including Superman 64, which is the worst superhero game ever, there have been some quality games involving some of DC’s hall of fame worthy heroes.
For this list, we’re removing our one-per-franchise/character rule, as the list of indie video game titles doesn’t expand to the entire cast of DC characters, and most of them focus on a certain hero. There are no rules on how these games are rated outside of pure quality and when it comes to newer games their history will be taken more into account when ranking them as the older games mostly followed the movies they were based on. .
10/10 The Death and Return of Superman
Superman hasn’t really been very successful when it comes to his own indie games, but The Death and Rise of Superman is the lone diamond in a heap of dirt. Released in 1994 on the NES and Genesis, you pummel opponents as the last son of Krypton in this beat’em up video game and also play as other forms of Superman, just as the original Superman succumbs to the injuries he sustained at the hands of Judgment. Final.
Though it’s still weird to see Superman take melee damage from enemies as his invincibility is removed from things like bombs and chainsaws.
9/10 injustice 2
Injustice 2 introduced a lot of great DC characters to its various arenas like Captain Cold, Doctor Fate, and the Swamp Thing. but its story just doesn’t compare as well to its predecessor’s, which is part of what lands it at number nine on our list. In her campaign, you can choose who fought who in her story to tweak it, but the ramifications of those decisions never really amounted to anything more than a slight line change that made your decision feel inconsequential as each scene basically ended with the same result. .
The game also introduced random equipment drops that, when equipped, would improve each character’s stats. With that also came microtransactions that could be purchased to collect more crystals that allowed you to unlock cosmetic items and shaders. That defeated the purpose of playing its Multiverse mode, which was similar to Mortal Kombat’s Towers Of Time, where each tower, in this case the world, offered different challenges and rewards. Its controls are great, the special moves look fantastic and they even included the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as DLC characters, it feels like more could have been done to make this sequel really stand out more.
8/10 Green Lantern: Rise of the Hunters
While the 2011 Ryan Reynolds-directed film was a flop, its tie-in to the video game Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters wasn’t too bad and featured Reynolds as the voice of Hal Jordan. His story involves an invasion of Green Lantern’s home planet of Oa by a group of robots called the Manhunters and takes place during the funeral of Abin Sur, whose ring chose Hal Jordan to replace him as the new protector of their sector. .
Non-Nintendo versions of the game allowed you and a friend to play together and save Oa. One would control Hal, the other Sinestro, before he became a Yellow Lantern. The game outside of Injustice allowed you to fight as a Lantern and truly feel what it’s like to defend the universe with its on-rails shooter and beat’em up gameplay. It really made you wonder why there haven’t been any plans for a current-gen Green Lantern game.
7/10 Batman Returns (SNES version)
Depending on what system you had in the early ’90s, you had different experiences when it came to Batman Returns. While the Segan and Nintendo versions (there were also DOS and Amiga versions) follow the story of the movie, the SNES version is much better and more like a Batman game than the Sega Genesis and CD versions, which They were designed as platform games.
Konami developed the NES and SNES versions of the game that were designed as beat’em ups. Each of its seven stages contained a boss fight and you had a variety of weapons and gadgets at your disposal. Nintendo Power also ranked it the 8th best SNES game of 1993.
6/10 Batman: The Telltale Series
Batman: The Telltale Series put a new spin on Gotham City’s famed vigilante by giving us choices that affected his story. Instead of going into detective mode, we had to decide what kind of Batman we wanted to be, to some degree. We might choose to intimidate someone at a local grocery store by banging on a can to intimidate and scare them, or break their arm, forcing them to tell us what we wanted to know.
The game series, from his story to his choices, really showed a Batman who didn’t play by the rules in his tactics and had a bit more of an edge – a decision during the altercation with Falcone is pretty intense. He added layers to it and it really felt immersive because you’re trying to navigate both his morale and your own as you play. His story may not be up to the level of other Batman games, and he had a random cosmetic bug that caused his cape to sometimes take on a weird shape when he ran, but it’s a game that has a lot of replay value.
5/10 Batman: The Videogame (NES)
Batman on the NES was pretty tough, and while he didn’t have his famous grappling hook like in the Genesis version, he could pull off a pretty cool wall-jump maneuver. The famous sidescroller also gave you the opportunity to take down enemies using a variety of gadgets, including Batdisks, Batarangs, and more.
Based on the 1989 film, Batman had you kicking butt through multiple Gotham-themed levels, including its streets, sewers, and the famous cathedral from the film’s final act. The game also featured famous villains like Deadshot (shown above), Killer Moth, and Joker. It was a side-scrolling platform game and Sunsoft did a really good job of developing it.
4/10 Batman: Arkham Asylum
Batman: Arkham Asylum really changed what a Batman and even a superhero-based game could be. Its developer, Rocksteady, introduced a fighting system that has been adapted by other franchises such as Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man. He also put a unique spin on how to show off some of the enemies in his famous rogues gallery. From Scarecrow’s stealth levels to Killer Croc’s lair, which feels like a video game version of Jaws.
But what keeps it out of the top three on our list is its overreliance on detective mode. While it’s great to be able to track enemy locations and find hostages, it seemed like the Arkham Asylum footage wasn’t fully enjoyable due to having to use the feature while exploring different parts of the island.
3/10 Injustice: Gods Among Us
Injustice: Gods Among Us might have the most shocking opening scenes in a fighting game since Liu Kang’s death in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. Seeing Superman kill Joker after being tricked into killing his own wife and child is still an amazing moment. The story of the game is wonderful as it pits various DC Comics characters against rival factions and each chapter allows certain characters to shine as each chapter focuses on a certain one.
The controls are simple and it felt good to play a DC-focused fighting game that was actually really good. While other DC fighting games have been released on older consoles, Injustice enhanced the experience of creating dream matches involving certain DC characters.
2/10 lego batman
LEGO Batman: The Videogame allowed you to fight crime in Gotham by land, sea and air. Taking control of Batman or Robin, you could gain abilities like tightrope walking and picking up enemies and you had a free play mode where you could replay levels.
The game also has 32 levels in which, for the most part, you can freely roam and, in LEGO form, build various objects. It’s definitely worthy of the top two due to its gameplay, its interesting use of building mechanics, and its character design.
1/10 Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham City is number one on our list for a multitude of reasons. It lessened the need to use detective mode, contained one of the best twists in any DC Comics-based video game, gave you all of your gadgets at the start of the game, and allowed you to take down bad guys while playing as Bruce Wayne.
The Arkham City setting was a true no-holds-barred arena that contained various surprises and allowed you to play as Catwoman and each territory, which was run by a different gang, had a different life. He also has the best boss fight which is against Mr. Freeze. The game is a master class on how to make a proper Batman and superhero game and it allowed you to wear the goddamn Batman Forever costume. His story, unlike Arkham Knight, wasn’t predictable, and the Joker’s death was truly shocking and honestly one of Mark Hamill’s best jobs playing the clown prince of crime.
