The 12 Best Marvel Video Games Ever, Ranked

With Marvel Entertainment creating some of the most enduring and globally recognized superheroes in comic books, these characters have since been adapted into all other forms of media. From hit shows to record-breaking blockbuster movies, Marvel properties have translated seamlessly beyond the comic book page. This includes video games, with titles based on Marvel characters and stories dating back to the industry’s Atari days. Since then, virtually every major video game platform has seen its own crop of Marvel games, some of which became highlights of their entire library.

From addictive card battle games to frenzied fighters and beat-em-ups, there is something for every Marvel fan. Whether you’re a hardcore Marvel aficionado or just someone looking for a solid game to enjoy, these games are perfectly accessible to veterans and newcomers alike. What these games do have in common is a celebration of the Marvel Universe and the unforgettable heroes that populate it.

Here are the 12 best Marvel video games ever, ranked and ready for you to check out.

Marvel Games has been putting out popular mobile titles for years, developed with a myriad of partners and each providing a fresh perspective on the Marvel Universe. One of the most original and endlessly enjoyable to play is “Marvel Snap,” which was released for mobile devices and PC in 2022. Players collect cards of all sorts of Marvel heroes and villains, using them to build decks based on their respective skills and power. From there, players go head-to-head to capture three different locations between them, with whoever controlling the most after six rounds winning overall.

Virtually every corner of the Marvel Universe is covered in “Marvel Snap,” with many cards featuring special traits true to the character that they’re based on. Backed by gorgeous art, this card game is a true love letter to Marvel’s vast library of characters, with that appreciation extending to even its more obscure faces. Beyond its breadth, the game is fundamentally easy to pick up and play, with games unfolding quickly and leaving players ready to dive into another match. Fast-paced and with a surprising amount of depth, “Marvel Snap” is among the most fun mobile games in years, with or without the superhero association.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy has come to define the team ever since its box office hit movie in 2014, and that distinction spread to video games too. “Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy” presents a single-player adventure that’s reminiscent of the team’s MCU counterparts while being a wholly original version of the spacefaring superheroes. Players control Star-Lord, who leads his team of misfit mercenaries on dangerous odd jobs around the cosmos. The group finds themselves deciding the fate of the entire galaxy as they take on the Universal Church of Truth and its zealous crusade to subjugate all intelligent life.

“Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy” is refreshingly single-player, released at a time when major releases were trending towards having prominent online components. This focus allows developer Eidos-Montréal to weave a heartfelt starring Peter Quill in between all the stellar swashbuckling, forcing the cavalier Star-Lord to grow up. The other Guardians all have their time to shine, both in the story and teaming up with Star-Lord in the game’s many action sequences, but it is Peter’s emotional journey. A game that not only goes bigger but deeper with its characters, “Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy” is a superbly crafted gem.

While movie tie-in games often get a bad rap, one that stands as one of the greatest tie-in games of all time is “Spider-Man 2.” Adapting the 2004 superhero movie of the same name, the movie recounts Peter Parker struggling to balance his personal life with his super-powered responsibilities. This comes to a head when Peter’s mentor Otto Octavius is transformed into the villainous Doctor Octopus and advances a plan that could destroy the entire city. The game adds more to the movie’s overall plot, including Spider-Man taking on Mysterio and the Black Cat.

While there were certainly decent Spider-Man games before, they all pale considerably in comparison to “Spider-Man 2” and its open-world presentation of Manhattan. Virtually every Spider-Man game since has at least been directly influenced by this approach in gameplay and scope in some way, including the trilogy of titles from Insomniac Games. Beyond its sheer scale, the game also refined the gameplay mechanics in controlling Spider-Man himself, making the combat and webslinging feel much more intuitive than its predecessors. Still the bar against which all other Spider-Man games will be judged, “Spider-Man 2” is an enduring classic.

“Marvel Snap” isn’t the only card-based game around starring Marvel superheroes, with 2022’s “Marvel’s Midnight Suns” providing its own twist on the gameplay mechanic. The game has the player character lead a team of familiar heroes to take on Lilith, the mother of demons, and prevent her from unleashing Hell on Earth. “Midnight Suns” is a strategy game revolving around turn-based gameplay, with the attacks and actions based around a set of cards. The base game received several DLC expansions after its launch, featuring the player’s character leading the heroes against a resurgent Dracula.

Similar to developer Firaxis Games’ past work, “Marvel’s Midnight Suns” not only places a strong emphasis on careful strategy, but it also has a difficulty that makes every victory feel well-earned. Even with this unique gameplay approach, the game makes the action feel urgent and explosive as they navigate around the battlefield. And each action feels completely in line with the established characters as they dive into the combat throughout the game. While a tactical turn-based game may not seem like a natural fit for Marvel superheroes, “Marvel’s Midnight Suns” makes the juxtaposition work beautifully.

After the release of the successful cooperative beat’em-up “X-Men Legends” in the preceding year, its 2005 sequel “X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse” went even bigger and better. After the ancient mutant Apocalypse is revived, he kidnaps Professor X and Magneto’s children Polaris and Quicksilver, prompting the X-Men to team-up with Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants. As the unified mutants try to free their associates, Apocalypse launches devastating attacks on Genosha and New York, putting the heroes on the defensive. The X-Men and Brotherhood of Mutants then work to liberate New York and defeat Apocalypse and his ally Mister Sinister (who almost made it into the “X-Men: Apoclaypse” movie), tracking them down to Apocalypse’s base in Egypt.

More than just featuring a larger playable roster, which is always a plus, “X-Men Legends II” just feels like an all-around improvement to its predecessor. From adding cooperative online multiplayer to upgrades in its level-up system, the game refined so much of what made the original “X-Men Legends” great. Developer Raven Software would go on to make “Marvel: Ultimate Alliance” next ,and the foundations of that game can clearly be seen here. A fantastic modern beat’em-up, “X-Men Legends II” raises the bar for games starring Marvel’s Merry Mutants.

One of the last major exclusive games for the PlayStation 4 was 2018’s “Marvel’s Spider-Man” by Insomniac Games, introducing its own unique take on Marvel’s iconic superhero. Peter Parker has already been Spider-Man for several years at the beginning of the game, graduating from college and working as a laboratory assistant to his mentor Otto Octavius. After toppling the Kingpin, Spider-Man contends with the super-powered villain Mister Negative, who seeks to seize the void in the criminal underworld for himself. As Negative gains power, he turns his attention to Mayor Norman Osborn, with their feud placing all of New York City in danger.

In the wake of 2004’s “Spider-Man 2,” there just felt like there weren’t any games that could match its grandeur and overall fun factor. It really wasn’t until “Marvel’s Spider-Man” that a Spider-Man game felt so exciting and ambitious again, revamping the characters and gameplay experience for a new generation. The game pushed the PS4 hardware as far as it could go in presenting an immersive vision of Manhattan while introducing a whole bevy of upgrades and suits. Couple that with an original and cinematically told story, and “Marvel’s Spider-Man” made new Spider-Man games feel like a must-play event again.

Konami was a leading publisher of arcade beat’em-up games throughout the ’90s, with popular titles including “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “The Simpsons.” In 1992, Konami added the X-Men to its list of properties that it crafted a popular brawler for, with the game allowing for up to six-player multiplayer. Commonly known as “X-Men: The Arcade Game,” the title has Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Dazzler team up to stop Magneto after he commandeers an army of Sentinels. The X-Men’s fight takes them from New York to the Savage Land and Asteroid M, battling everyone from Pyro to the Juggernaut along the way.

While “X-Men” is fun enough playing on your own, the more players that join together makes the game immeasurably more enjoyable for the pixelated chaos that ensues. Each character feels true to their comic book counterparts, particularly in the screen-clearing super moves that every hero possesses. And the game manages to fit in so many aspects of the extensive X-Men lore, making it an absolute thrill to play for any X-Men fan. Though the game hasn’t been widely available on consoles for some time, Arcade1Up has released a compilation cabinet that showcases just how much better the game was than its peers.

Konami wasn’t the only Japanese publisher to make arcade games based on Marvel properties in the ’90s, with Capcom producing “The Punisher” in 1993. The game has the gun-toting vigilante launch a brazen crusade to take down the Kingpin and avenge his murdered family. Giving second players the option to team up with Frank Castle as master spy Nick Fury, the crime-fighters battle through waves of enemies across New York City. This prompts Wilson Fisk to place a sizable bounty on the heroes’ heads, with several familiar foes taking on the duo before the final showdown in Kingpin’s penthouse suite.

If Konami’s “X-Men” goes bigger with its arcade side-scrolling action, Capcom’s “The Punisher” goes deeper with its gameplay. Drawing from its past experience with beat’em-ups like “Final Fight,” Capcom lets players build up combos and utilize an array of weapons to dispatch the waves of distinct enemy types. The game received a significantly inferior port to the Sega Genesis in 1995, but its original arcade version was included with 2024’s “Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics.” This was the first time the original masterpiece became available on home consoles and is a must-have for beat’em-up fans everywhere.

An update of 2011’s “Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds” released months later, “Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3” is the definitive title in the crossover fighting game series. The game has the fan-favorite characters of the Marvel Universe and Capcom’s various titles unite when their merged world is threatened by Galactus. Players select teams of three characters to duke it out with rivals, tag-teaming for fighter swaps or assists in frenzied combat. “Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3” improved the overall online experience and rebalanced the gameplay, while adding 12 new playable characters, six of which from the Marvel Universe.

Each of Capcom’s Marvel-based fighting games have their own sense of charm, but the crossover titles really stand out from the set. “Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3” is an improvement over the base game in every major way, while filling out the roster with even more fan-favorite characters. The gameplay remains as fast-paced and frenetic as ever, and there’s something inherently satisfying about having all three team members unleash their signature attacks on opponents in a colorful burst. A fighting game balanced for veteran players and newcomers alike, “Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3” is Capcom’s best Marvel fighting game to date.

As far as successful game launches go, one of the biggest in recent memory is the online team-based hero shooter “Marvel Rivals.” The game offers a wide selection of Marvel heroes and villains for players to choose from, placing them on teams of six to battle against opposing teams. There are a variety of game modes for players to choose from, each with their own objectives as they compete for victory. Since its launch in 2024, “Marvel Rivals” has received steady post-release support, including new playable characters and skins for players to extend to their roster.

Even with the most tightly coordinated teams, “Marvel Rivals” is a lot of chaotic fun as colorful battles play out across familiar environments. The characters each have movesets lining up with the comic book backgrounds and all satisfying when those special moves connect. And whether you’re a hero shooter expert or just a fun-loving fan, the game is thoroughly accessible and rewarding to all who give it a shot. Impossible to put down, “Marvel Rivals” is your next big Marvel gaming obsession if you haven’t had the pleasure to try it out yet.

After producing both well-received “X-Men Legends” games, developer Raven Software went even bigger for 2006’s “Marvel: Ultimate Alliance,” drawing from the entire Marvel Universe. After Doctor Doom rallies his own iteration of the Masters of Evil and attacks S.H.I.E.L.D., a conglomeration of heroes from across the universe join to stop him. Anticipating this, Doom launches coordinated moves against Atlantis, the X-Men, and Asgard, with the heroes moving to defend their allies. After stealing advanced technology from Galactus in order to stand up to the empowered Doom, the heroes launch a last-ditch assault on his castle to defeat him for good.

The original “Marvel: Ultimate Alliance” is still the definitive cooperative beat’em-up game based on Marvel Comics characters. While its sequels add new features and twists on the gameplay, the 2006 still manages to surpass its successors by a noticeable margin. That enduring appeal comes from intuitive gameplay mechanics, a wide variety of distinctly different characters, and a natural sense of progression in difficulty and enemy types moving forward. Touching so many memorable parts of the Marvel Universe and just a joy to pick up and play, “Marvel: Ultimate Alliance” sets a beat’em-up bar yet to be matched.

For whatever reason, Spider-Man is the Marvel property that has consistently fared the best in its video game adaptations, with Insomniac Games particularly adept at producing games based on the superhero. The sequel to 2018’s “Marvel’s Spider-Man” and 2020’s “Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales,” 2023’s “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” expands the scope significantly while continuing the story. Peter Parker is reunited with his old friend Harry Osborn, whose terminal medical condition is secretly kept in remission by bonding with the Venom symbiote. As both Spider-Men are stalked by Kraven the Hunter and his associates, Harry’s connection to Venom escalates the battle for New York to otherworldly levels.

If “Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales” felt like a glorified interlude between bigger games, “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” delivers on that anticipation in every way. Players can swap between Peter and Miles on the fly while the open-world expands to include parts of Brooklyn and Queens, rather than just keeping the action entirely in Manhattan. And in alternating between Peter and Miles, Insomniac gets each of their play styles unique, especially as they progress and level up through the game. A sequel that truly vaults over the foundation laid by its predecessor, “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” is an impressive leap up and ups the ante for all future Spider-Man games.