DC Comics is one of the most dominant and enduring brands in history, and they’ve been making video games about its characters for decades. Sadly, just like their movies, the quality has varied over the years. For this list, I’m not focusing solely on Batman titles, but DC Comics games as a whole, including pointing out some of the terrible ones. So allow me to show you some DC Comics games from worst to best!
As I start out the “worst” part of this list, I ask you to look upon one of the worst video games ever made: Superman 64.
The irony is that because of the marketing machine, and it being dubbed a “video game equivalent” to the beloved Superman animated series, sales were positive of the game! But that’s because it was an age where gaming press and word-of-mouth hadn’t gotten to the levels it needed to be!
This game is so broken that even just trying to START the game can lead to infinite amounts of glitches.
At one point in recent history, it held the Guinness World Record for the worst reviewed game of all time! Believe it.
Thankfully, I’m not going to burden you with infinite amounts of bad movie adaptation games, but I do have to show you a few, starting with Batman Beyond: The Return of Joker.
This title came from a period where almost every superhero adaptation tried to be a side-scrolling beat’em up. As a result, this game was basic, not fun, cobbled together quickly, and looked pretty bad.
The game either had no challenge or too much! This is what happens when you rush a game out without a care in the world.
Hey, I’ll admit it: Aquaman is a character you have to be careful with because of how he’s been perceived in the public eye over the years. But in 2003, they decided to make a video game based on him called Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis, and it wasn’t good…at all.
It was basic, not fun, and honestly…just hard to describe in general.
Fun fact: the TV show X-Play, rest in peace, hated this game so much that they made an award show called the “Golden Mullet” where they talked about the worst games ever, and the “mullet” was a reference to Aquaman’s hair in the game.
What do you get when you try to make a video game adaptation of one of the worst comic book movie adaptations ever? You get Catwoman: the game.
This is exactly as bad as you’re likely picturing. Seriously, this game had nothing going for it. They didn’t even get Halle Berry to voice herself, and she was brave enough to accept a Razzie for the film!
The less I talk about this game, the better. So, shall we move on?
If you don’t remember Justice League Task Force, you’re not alone. This was a Justice League-themed fighting game from 1995, and it was co-created by Blizzard! Believe it!
Sadly, nothing about this game was really impactful or meaningful. The graphics were bad on the SNES and the movesets for the characters were too simple at times and too complicated at others.
Thankfully, we would get better fighting games featuring the Justice League later on, but this was a terrible first attempt.
Thankfully, we’re almost done with the movie adaptation games. Sadly, Batman Forever still remains proof that just because you can make a video game adaptation of a movie doesn’t mean you should.
The game was panned by just about everyone on numerous levels. The gameplay wasn’t fun, the graphics looked terrible, especially on the SNES version, and there was a “fighting game mode” that was as bare bones as you could get.
In other words, not worth anyone’s time.
I’m not lying to you. They made a Superman game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. And yes, it’s as bad as you think it is.
The devs trying to contain everything that Superman is, including power-wise, into that era of video games is, well, tragic. They even had to make up reasons for Superman not having access to some of his powers.
The words “boring,” “slow,” and “dull looking” have been applied to this game by the few who actually played it.
I feel that the irony of Batman: Dark Tomorrow can be summed up in what it was and what it wasn’t. What it was, was a game that tried to craft a unique narrative with multiple endings and an open-world-esque feel that many could latch onto.
What it wasn’t was a game that was well-controlled, easy to get through without having issues with the camera, and most importantly, it wasn’t a fun game.
It was panned by pretty much everyone, showing that effort and ideas only go so far sometimes.
It should tell you a lot that some of you are likely reacting in ways like, “They actually made a Swamp Thing video game?” Yes, they did, and it also was for the NES, and it also was bad.
The game was a side-scrolling title where you played the legendary Swamp Thing in a bid to free the swamps from the influence of his rival, Arcane.
Was it good-looking? No. Did it sound great? No. Was it fun to play? No. Get the picture?
The comic book Watchmen is easily one of the most important books ever created and helped showcase a new side of superhero comics. Watchmen: The End Is Nigh, however, was one last movie adaptation game that doesn’t deserve to exist.
Curiously, the game was a two-part episodic “prequel” to the Zack Snyder adaptation. The plot focused on Niteowl and Rorshach as they tried to stop criminals in their city.
Sadly, the game was basic to its core. Generic story and gameplay.
As we get into the “best” games on the list, let’s talk about a game that I remember playing on my PS2 once upon a time: Justice League Heroes.
This title was meant to be the “DC equivalent” to something like Marvel Ultimate Alliance, where you could bring together a duo of Justice League members and swap between them to fight enemies.
It wasn’t the deepest game, and some have called it “incredibly average.” But I’ll take an average DC Comics game over a bad one any day.
Yes, I know that generally, people didn’t like Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, especially when compared to its “successor” later on. But make no mistake, Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe wasn’t a bad game, it just wasn’t as great as it could’ve been.
We still got a game that, for the first time, let Batman battle Sub-Zero, or Superman fight Scorpion, and so on. The game’s story was a classic multiversal tale that brought forth a fun roster and great game mechanics. We even got to see the superheroes get “brutal!”
Sure, it wasn’t the best around, but when you compare it to the bad games I listed? You know this was a bit overhated.
Sometimes, it’s good to be bad. And in Lego DC Super Villains, you’ll get to play as some of the best DC Comics villains via their Lego counterparts. If you’re familiar with any Lego game in the past, you’ll know generally what’s happening here.
The game takes place in a world where the Justice League has vanished, and a bunch of imposters are trying to proclaim themselves as the world’s “new heroes.” For Joker, Harley Quinn, and others, that’s not going to stand.
This is a nice twist on the formula and provides a hilarious change of pace for the franchise.
It’d be wrong if I talked about the “bad guys” version of a Lego game and not talked about the good guys, right? The Lego Batman franchise is far greater than you would expect, and some would say that Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is the best of the lot.
While the original game focused solely on Batman and his allies/villains, the sequel brings in other members of the Justice League and their villains to spice things up. That includes bringing Lex Luthor and Joker together to raise all kinds of havoc.
It’s simple, fun, and a Lego blast.
This game is difficult to judge for certain reasons. The biggest one is that this is another VR title in the world of the Arkham titles. However, Batman Arkham Shadow has done an admirable job in recreating the experience of being Batman within this universe, and to do it in the VR space is impressive.
Long story short, a new villain is causing problems in Gotham, and you have to stop the groups that are popping up and causing havoc.
The problem here is that you can only play it on Meta 3.
I’m separating Batman Arkham Origins from the other Arkham entries for a simple reason: it was made by a different team and featured a technically non-canon storyline.
Batman Arkham Origins was made by WB Games Montreal, who would later do the Gotham Knights game. Their job was to take the success of Arkham City and rewind the clock a bit to a younger Batman’s time in Gotham as he was getting the attention of numerous villains. One of whom, Black Mask, put a hit out on him at Christmas, and numerous people came to collect.
Overall, the game was fun and had some clever boss fights. It’s not as good as the main Arkham Games, but that’s a high bar to clear.
MMORPGs don’t always get the respect they deserve, but on my list, DC Universe Online WILL get the respect it deserves because it’s lasted a very long time! Not to mention, they’re still putting out content today.
The game came out in 2011 and allowed you to create a superhero or supervillain of your choosing and have fun in the large expanse that is the DC Comics universe.
Seriously, there’s so much content to do in this game it’s crazy, and time-consuming! So, if you have that amount of time, you might want to check it out.
When Telltale games were on top of things, they cranked out numerous games featuring many franchises. The two parts of the Batman: The Telltale Series saga were a high point for them in many ways, and it showcased just how differently you could make the Batman universe.
Aside from the classic narrative choices you could make, the two parts of the story showcased different takes on classic characters, including Batman, The Penguin, Harley Quinn, and even the Joker!
You can still get both parts right now if you want to see how the story unfolds based on your actions.
Now, here’s an “Elseworlds” story that no one expected to be as good as it was, and yet, it became a franchise unto itself. The Injustice Series was a unique collaboration between DC Comics and NetherRealm Studios. You know, the team behind Mortal Kombat?
They created a storyline centered around The Joker killing Lois Lane, thus sending Superman over the edge and putting the entire planet under his control. Oh, and did I mention this is still a fighting game?
NetherRealm put its all into the two titles, bringing together an expansive DC Comics roster, deep gameplay movesets, and a compelling story with numerous endings.
The series got so popular that it had comic adaptations and an animated adaptation of the first game.
Before you ask, yes, The Wolf Among Us is tied to DC Comics because the Fables comic that the game is based on was from DC’s Vertigo line.
Regardless, this beautiful adaptation of those comics is something to behold, and fans are eagerly awaiting for the sequel to FINALLY come out.
You play Bigby, the literal big bad wolf, and set out on a mission to figure out who’s behind a string of murders within Fabletown. The game is dark and gripping, and your narrative choices matter. Thus, you’re the one who decides if there’s a “happily ever after.”
What can be said about this trilogy that hasn’t been said already? The Batman: Arkham Trilogy, yes, even Arkham Knight, stands as the pinnacle of what superhero games can be when time and effort are put into fleshing out the character’s worlds and rogues gallery.
Whether it was being trapped on Arkham Island or flying around part or all of Gotham City, Batman has never felt more epic to play as.
It also helped that the game’s graphics, voice acting, and gameplay were top-notch. Even the flaws of Arkham Knight can be overlooked when you see how good parts of it are compared to how Batman games started out.
If we never get another DC Comics trilogy of this quality, let’s be grateful that we at least got these titles.
There have been a ton of games released based off the various DC Comics franchises. Some of have been great and others we wish we can forget. Read More