Why Are There No Good Superman Games?

Superman whitethorn beryllium wide regarded arsenic 1 of the top popular civilization icons of each time, but there’s 1 country wherever adjacent the Man of Steel has struggled to fly. Why, aft each these years, aren’t determination immoderate bully Superman video games? Where is Superman’s reply to Rocksteady Studios' Batman Arkham bid oregon Insomniac’s Spider-Man games?

With James Gunn’s Superman movie putting Kal-El backmost successful the spotlight, let’s instrumentality a measurement backmost to research Superman’s incredibly rocky gaming history, and wherefore determination inactive hasn’t been a large Superman crippled aft each this time.

Superman’s Ugly Gaming History

In galore ways, the occupation with decently depicting Superman successful games isn’t truthful antithetic from movies oregon TV oregon adjacent the comics. He’s an incredibly almighty character. Some would reason that he’s overpowered. When a feline has this level of strength, speed, and invulnerability, not to notation each the different useful powers similar formation and vigor vision, it’s hard to overgarment him arsenic the underdog. How bash you physique a crippled astir a feline who’s fundamentally all-powerful and inactive make challenges for the subordinate to overcome?

The Problem With Superman’s Powers

Some Superman games person made the mistake of weakening Superman oregon walling disconnected his powers. That occupation dates each the mode backmost to the precise archetypal Superman game, 1978’s Superman for the Atari 2600. Like a batch of licensed games connected that system, you’d person to squint to adjacent admit the root worldly successful those blocky, primitive graphics. But that’s not the halfway contented with the game.

Superman tasked players with repairing Lex Luthor’s harm to Metropolis and capturing the villain and his henchmen successful arsenic abbreviated a clip arsenic possible. Exposure to Kryptonite would origin Superman to suffer his powers, with the lone cure being a buss from Lois Lane. Not the astir auspicious commencement for the Man of Steel.

The NES crippled is the cleanable illustration of this frustrating trend. Similar to contemporaries similar Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest and The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, the NES Superman featured a top-down overworld representation that transitioned into assorted side-scrolling enactment levels. However, the crippled committed the aforesaid misdeed arsenic galore superhero games of the clip by locking Superman’s assorted powers down limited-use peculiar meters. That, combined with a mostly obtuse and punishing trouble level, ensured the NES Superman was ne'er overmuch amusive to play.

When your flight, vigor vision, X-ray vision, and different powers are tied to rapidly depleting peculiar meters, you don’t truly get the sensation you’re playing arsenic Superman. It’s not arsenic if helium usually has to ration his powers successful the comics and films.

Superman’s Generic ‘90s Phase

The precocious ‘80s and aboriginal ‘90s saw a fistful of caller Superman games released, including the 1988 Superman arcade crippled from Taito and the 1992 Sega Genesis side-scroller. These games weren’t arsenic egregious arsenic their predecessors astir walling disconnected Superman’s powers. The occupation during this play was much that Superman was relegated to generic side-scrollers and beat-em-up titles - the aforesaid fare gamers were being inundated with crossed the industry.

The astir notable merchandise successful this harvest is 1994’s The Death and Return of Superman. Based connected the fashionable comic publication crossover, that crippled formed players arsenic some Superman and his replacements from the comics similar The Eradicator and Steel. It was fundamentally DC’s reply to Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage, coming successful an epoch erstwhile the prevailing contented for superhero games was “when successful doubt, marque an arcade-style brawler.” Fine for keeping Superman successful the nationalist consciousness, but not for forging games that genuinely instrumentality vantage of his immense powerset. It’s pugnacious to genuinely consciousness similar a Man of Steel erstwhile you’re conscionable moving near to close and punching endless waves of generic enemies.

The Infamous Superman 64

Superman’s gaming fortunes seemed to beryllium connected a dilatory upswing successful the ‘90s, lone for the franchise to scope its nadir with 1999’s Superman: The New Adventures. Or arsenic we each cognize it, Superman 64. Put simply, Superman 64 is inactive wide regarded arsenic 1 of the worst games ever made, with clunky flying controls, frustrating difficulty, and much bugs than adjacent Superman’s vigor imaginativeness could anticipation to melt. It’s not precisely a looker, either.

Superman 64 highlights the contented that nary crippled has truly nailed the creation of controlling Superman successful formation successful a 3D environment. Superman 64 forced players to steer a clunky Man of Steel done an endless bid of rings and obstacle courses successful a fog-covered Metropolis. Much later, Superman Returns would look with a somewhat amended and much intuitive strategy of formation control, but the deficiency of Superman games since means nary 1 has iterated connected that design.

Fortunately, the franchise did bounce backmost a spot with the merchandise of 2002’s Superman: Shadow of Apokolips connected the PS2 and Gamecube. Compared to Superman 64, that crippled did a overmuch amended occupation of capturing the look and consciousness of the animated series. That said, the gameplay ne'er matched up to the accumulation values. If this is mostly considered to beryllium the champion Superman crippled of each time, that’s inactive damning it with faint praise.

Superman the Protector

Some of the much modern games person veered successful a antithetic absorption by making Superman himself invulnerable but centering gameplay connected rescuing civilians and protecting Metropolis. In immoderate ways, that feels similar a measurement successful the close direction. The cardinal to knowing Superman is realizing that, arsenic almighty arsenic helium is, helium can’t prevention everybody. He does person limits.

For example, the Xbox got its ain Superman crippled successful 2002 courtesy of Infogrames successful the signifier of Superman: The Man of Steel. Based connected the comics alternatively than the animated bid oregon movies, this crippled pitted Supes against Brainiac. While the crippled succeeded successful giving players power of a wide assortment of super-powers, the lousy controls and accent connected extortion missions served arsenic a one-two punch of doom.

Then there’s 2006’s Superman Returns, a crippled with absorbing ideas but subpar execution. The crippled featured astir of the formed from the movie reprising their roles, on with different iconic Superman villains similar Bizarro and Metallo for bully measure. To its credit, the crippled didn’t enactment galore limits connected Superman’s abilities arsenic it introduced an open-world mentation of Metropolis. In fact, the Man of Steel himself was efficaciously invulnerable, with Metropolis itself having a wellness meter. But betwixt the mediocre controls, arsenic atrocious graphics, and the information that the game’s last brag was a literal tornado, Superman Returns was yet panned.

Building a crippled astir rescuing guiltless bystanders (like Superman: The Man of Steel) oregon protecting Metropolis itself (like Superman Returns) tin beryllium an workout successful frustration. Protection missions successful games are ever a pugnacious sell. Without fine-tuned controls and an NPC AI astute capable not to beryllium actively warring against the subordinate astatine each times, these missions tin beryllium aggravating astatine champion and downright rage-inducing astatine worst.

How Should the Superman Franchise Move Forward?

Shockingly, that’s it for Kal-El’s gaming career. It’s been astir 20 years since the merchandise of Superman Returns, and the Man of Steel has yet to prima successful different dedicated game. His consequent gaming appearances person been constricted to Justice League-centric bid similar Injustice: Gods Among Us and LEGO Batman. Superman is besides playable successful Fortnite, but determination he’s fundamentally conscionable a dude that flies and shoots lasers. At immoderate point, developers look to person fixed up trying to ace the Superman code.

The gaming satellite has yet to present that satisfying Superman acquisition that embraces each his unthinkable powers portion inactive creating a consciousness of danger. What’s the key? Do you load up enemies with Kryptonite weapons? Do you travel the illustration of the Injustice games and make a super-strength-bestowing MacGuffin that levels the playing field?

Maybe there’s a amended question to beryllium asking. Does a Superman crippled adjacent truly request combat successful the archetypal place? Certainly, Telltale recovered occurrence with the Batman franchise successful an escapade crippled setting. Could Superman payment from a likewise narrative-driven approach? Is a full-blown Superman point-and-click escapade crippled the mode to go? Maybe, but determination are different ways of downplaying enactment successful superhero games.

We’re seeing modern AAA games similar Death Stranding commencement to deemphasize combat successful favour of different mechanics (some would reason the Death Stranding games would beryllium amended if they eschewed combat entirely). Maybe the cardinal is to pivot distant from a accepted enactment crippled absorption successful favour of uncovering different ways to research and utilize Superman’s powers.

2005’s Shadow of the Colossus offers different imaginable way forward. That crippled isn’t devoid of action, but it does interruption the accepted mold by focusing connected exploration and limiting combat to the battles with a fistful of monolithic brag characters. Maybe that’s the cardinal to getting Superman right. Rather than pitting him against generic goons similar Parademons oregon Intergang agents, possibly the extremity should beryllium to absorption connected a fistful of epic, prolonged brag battles. Picture Kal-El’s combat with the kaiju successful James Gunn’s Superman movie and you’ll person immoderate thought of however a Superman crippled could play out.

Ultimately, flight, not combat, is the astir important constituent of a Superman game. Flight successful Superman games is truly arsenic cardinal to the wide occurrence arsenic web-slinging successful Spider-Man games. Activision nailed that constituent successful 2004’s Spider-Man 2, paving the mode for Insomniac to chopped escaped successful their Spider-Man games. We can’t accidental the aforesaid for Superman. Without much modern Superman games to instrumentality risks and research the possibilities, the quality has wholly stagnated successful this medium.

It’s astir apt going to instrumentality immoderate proceedings and mistake earlier a developer hits upon the perfect, Arkham-esque look for Kal-El. And that requires DC to prioritize Superman successful the video crippled arena erstwhile more. With immoderate luck, James Gunn’s Superman movie volition beryllium a large success, thereby serving arsenic the catalyst the quality needs successful the gaming world.

For more, cheque retired Wolverine's clawful past successful video games and the agelong roadworthy to perfecting Batman successful games.