When you think about playing a video game starring a superhero, you probably imagine super movement: running faster, jumping higher, or punching harder. Whether we’re talking about a preexisting licensed superhero, or a completely original one, quality movement should be a top priority. Many superpowers are almost tailor-made for exploring the space around you. Take Spider-Man, for example; good game or bad, the swinging mechanic is always important and often the highlight. With Marvel’s Spider-Man releasing this week, let’s take a look back at some of the games that truly nailed the movement and traversal of a superhero.
Games that Made You Feel Like a Superhero
Batman: Arkham Knight
The finale of Rocksteady’s Arkham trilogy, Batman: Arkham Knight absolutely perfected Batman’s movement. Half of the time, Batman uses the shadows to accomplish his goals, preying on fear as only a Dark Knight could. The stealth mechanics in this game are very good, and the way you creep around and stalk your enemies, picking them off one by one, feels great. The crouched dashing and quiet swinging around the rafters are given just as much importance as Batman’s big sweeping movement. Bats has plenty of advantage here, of course, with his many gadgets and night vision. The way the player is able to pivot from silent horror to brutal hurricane is a triumph of design.
As well as being a ninja, Batman’s other claim to fame is falling with style. Arkham Knight gives players plenty of opportunity to stretch the cape. Batman’s grapnel upgrades in AK allow him to launch himself very high into the sky, giving the player a beautiful view of the huge city, and ample space for gliding and dive-bombing. Gliding through the skies to observe the trouble then swooping down unexpectedly is peak Batman, and Rocksteady delivered spectacularly.
Games that Made You Feel Like a Superhero
Infamous: Second Son
The third entry in the series, Infamous: Second Son is a game where you play as Delsin Rowe, a beanie-wearing graffiti artist who has superpowers and a cop for a brother. Delsin is ironically a rebel and a criminal, so players are forced to use his powers whether for good or “evil.” He has the unique Conduit ability of Absorption, which lets him use other Conduits’ powers.
Absorption allows Delsin to use elemental powers not only as weapons, but also as tools to journey through the concrete jungle of Seattle. He can absorb smoke, neon, concrete, or video, and use them to go through vents, climb quickly up walls, float across the sky, or crash through solid matter with impunity. Infamous has always been praised for its traversal, and Second Son adds a little more to the already solid formula. Its movement powers are showy and yet feel like a natural progression of the series.
Games that Made You Feel Like a Superhero
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
The Incredible Hulk has a less extensive video game legacy than one would think but left an impression nonetheless. The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction came out in 2005 for the GameCube, PS2, and Xbox, and sees the Hulk battling with Abomination and General Ross.
In Ultimate Destruction, much of the Hulk’s movement is, fittingly, tied to combat which tends to cause damage. Even his basic running and jumping causes damage to whatever he’s standing or lands on. This, of course, gives an appropriate sense of barely controlled chaos that is synonymous with the Hulk. If crushing everything in your path sounds like a good time, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is for you.
As Hulk, you can run up the side of buildings and jump off the top of said buildings with minimal effort and no consequence to Hulk’s well-being. The game makes you feel big and invincible, and it’s awesome. You unlock more physical abilities with currency you earn by destroying things, in a fun gameplay loop that you can use to expand your movement options even further. As you progress, these abilities allow you to destroy more things on a grander scale, jump even farther, and give you a suite of inexplicable mid-air moves. Although some of it doesn’t make complete sense, there’s no denying how fun it is to run around as the Hulk in this game.
Games that Made You Feel Like a Superhero
Gravity Rush 2
Gravity Rush’s entire hook is based around exhilarating traversal, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the improved sequel is on this list. The protagonist, Kat, can shift the gravity of the world and players can “fall” in whichever direction they choose by aiming with the right stick or motion controls. While the falling about the floating islands kind of looks like The Greatest American Hero flailing through the air, there is a good amount of control that the player has.
The gorgeous cel-shaded graphics give Gravity Rush 2 the wonderful feeling of flying through a cartoon. It’s a decent step up visually from the first entry, which was built for the Vita. GR2 also expands upon the original by adding two new styles to the gravity control mechanic: Lunar and Jupiter. As their names would imply, the Lunar style is a lighter gravity, and lets Kat jump higher and move through the air faster; Jupiter style increases the gravity and gives Kat’s attacks more physical impact. Styles can be switched on the fly which makes for combat and movement with serious flair. The charming visuals and simple controls make even doing nothing in particular a blast. The 360-degree freedom that Gravity Rush 2 has is somewhat unique in games, and if you have a PS4, it’s a must-play.
Games that Made You Feel Like a Superhero
Spider-Man 2
With Marvel’s Spider-man for PS4 spurring this whole list to be written, it would be remiss to not mention Spider-Man 2. Originally released in 2004 for the GameCube, PS2, and Xbox, Spider-Man 2 remains at the top of the list for fluid superhero movement and traversal. The Spider-Man games that came after 2 improved in other areas, yes, but none have been able to surpass the pure bliss of swinging around the city that Spider-Man 2 brought with it.
The fluidity of movement in Spider-Man 2 is remarkable even 14 years later. The way Spidey runs along the wall if he swings close enough to a building, the charged jumps for greater distance and speed, the ability to do a complete loop the loop, using two webs to slingshot yourself, swinging around poles, the midair tricks just for flair, the roll as you hit the ground to keep forward momentum; all of it makes for the best web-slinging we’ve ever seen in a video game. Spider-Man moves with the elegance of a ballerina while maintaining the speed of a freight train, and it’s a thing of beauty.
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