Who doesn’t love Spider-Man? He’s a hero that I have loved since I was a kid and is the whole reason I became a fan of superhero-based media in the first place. Over the years, Spider-Man has crawled his way into just about every facet of entertainment, from movies, books, TV shows, and video games. And Spidey has more games than you could sling a web at. With so many to choose from, let's run down the list and rank the top 10 best Spider-Man games. Forgive me if I geek out in the process.
List of The Best Spider-Man Games
- 10. The Amazing Spider-Man
- 9. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
- 8. Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
- 7. Spider-Man (Movie Tie-In)
- 6. Spider-Man (PS1)
- 5. Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro
- 4. Spider-Man 2 (Movie Tie-In)
- 3. Ultimate Spider-Man
- 2. Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- 1. Marvel’s Spider-Man
10. The Amazing Spider-Man
A divisive choice for number 10, but I really enjoyed this game. The Amazing Spider-Man is a bit rough around the edges sometimes, with its awkward story and exceedingly easy difficulty, but I find that it has a lot of heart. It’s an excellent game for sitting back, turning your brain off for a while, and having some good fun.
One great thing about this game is its Spidey sense for cinematics. Aided by having an unintrusive, almost nonexistent HUD, The Amazing Spider-Man creates a nearly movie-like experience as the camera pulls back at high speeds while you’re zipping through Manhattan or in the middle of an intense boss fight. There is also a nifty first-person feature where you can see Spider-Man’s in-mask HUD, which is super cool to me.
9. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
Before Enter the Spider-Verse hit the big screen and brought the multiverse of Spider-Men (Spider-Mans?) to movie audiences, we die-hard Spider-Man fans (Spider-Fans?) were already enjoying a multidimensional Spidey story with Shattered Dimensions. The development team at Beenox were clearly big fans of the comics, and they reflect that in this game. One year into the comic book run of Spider-Man Noir and Shattered Dimensions already featured the now cherished Noir Spider-Man as a playable character.
If only DC would finally give us that Gotham By Gaslight game that was canceled many years ago. What can I say? I like that turn of the 20th century aesthetic.
I loved the changing worlds and aesthetics with every new Spider-Man that you play as. Each Spider-Man had their own level gimmick, which kept the game fresh, and it also had some flashy combos with a great combat system. Also, the web hammer ability. Gotta love the web hammer.
8. Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
One of the most criminally underrated Spider-Man games has to be Web of Shadows. That’s right, I’m putting it on the list at number 8. It is one of the best Spider-Man games. At least for this humble reviewer.
Web of Shadows has an entertaining story where New York turns from a bustling metropolis to an absolute hellscape, and it’s up to Spidey to save the day. The best part of this game is the combat system featuring upgradable move sets for ground, air, and wall combat, along with a swappable symbiote suit with its own separate move set. Web of Shadows feels fluid and dynamic the whole way through.
Unfortunately, both Web of Shadows and Shattered Dimensions have been pulled from digital platforms due to publishing issues. Physical copies of each game will cost you a web shooter and a leg to purchase these days, making it difficult for many to access these games. Bummer.
7. Spider-Man (Movie Tie-In)
We all love the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies; yes, they are super campy, yes, that is why I love them. But did you know that Spider-Man 1 had an insanely good movie-tie video game? I’m not kidding when I say that this is one of the best games out of that licensed movie tie-in era.
Spider-Man The Game added a few villains that I could only wish were in the movies, like Shocker and Scorpion, and gave them some great boss battles. At the time, I’m pretty sure I thought that fighting Vulture while swinging around the Chrysler building was the peak of boss battles.
Also, you can play as the Green Goblin. I will repeat, you can play as Willem Dafoe on a hovercraft dressed like a green Power Ranger. Need I say more?
Also, you can play as the Green Goblin. I will repeat, you can play as Willem Dafoe on a hovercraft dressed like a green Power Ranger. Need I say more?
6. Spider-Man (PS1)
As a young gamer, I played this game more times than I could count, mainly because my inherited PS1 didn’t have a memory card, and math was never my strong suit. But even without my rose-tinted nostalgia goggles, the original PS1 Spider-Man game still holds up. This was the first Spider-Man game within a 3D world which set the standard for Spidey games for a long time.
Spider-Man (PS1) is an absolute thrill ride for fans of the wall-crawler featuring a highly diverse set of levels always having you doing something new. What other game has you racing across rooftops against Venom, fighting a Carnage symbiote-possessed Doc Ock, and is narrated by Stan Lee himself? Good times.
5. Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro
Enter Electro came out a little too late in the PS1’s life cycle and right before the movie tie-in game came out. As a consequence, this game has always been wrongfully overlooked. For the time, Enter Electro was a beautiful game with some very gorgeous skyboxes and city backdrops that make you want to just web-swing into the sunset.
In the first game, your play area was restricted to only rooftops. Enter Electro added street combat, which blew my mind coming out of the first game. It also improved upon the previous game’s combat by adding more mechanics. Attachable electricity and ice webbing? Sign me up. Oh, and don’t forget about the two specially made unlockable suits designed by Alex Ross himself.
Overall, Enter Electro built upon everything Spider-Man (PS1) did, and I loved it.
4. Spider-Man 2 (Movie Tie-In)
Ah, the game that changed it all, the game that many might have put higher on this list of the best Spider-Man games. Spider-Man 2 set a new standard for Spidey games that many entries in the franchise never came close to accomplishing. Of course, I have to talk about the physics-based web-swinging, which is still one of the most revolutionary game mechanics ever made and for a movie tie-in nonetheless.
Web swinging aside, Spider-Man 2 had some great villains, with the Mysterio boss battle being a fight that will always stay ingrained in my memory, mostly because I failed it so many times. Also, this game has Kraven the Hunter as a boss. Can I just say that it still annoys me how underutilized Kraven is in Spidey media? Justice for Kraven the Hunter.
Oh yeah, and who can forget the pizza delivery mini-game?
3. Ultimate Spider-Man
As a comic book fan, this game ranks high. I loved the Spider-Man 2 game, and it will always have a place in my heart, but Ultimate Spider-Man took that formula and slapped it on a cell-shaded comics-inspired rendition of our favorite spandex-wearing superhero. The cell-shading is phenomenal, and despite this being a game from 2005, Ultimate Spider-Man still looks good because of it.
The best parts of Ultimate are the comic book panel-style cutscenes that look like they were ripped straight out of the comics and Venom as a fully playable character throughout the game. Have you ever wanted to fight Wolverine inside a biker bar as Venom? Or maybe leap from rooftop to rooftop smashing up a whole city in the process? Check out Ultimate Spider-Man.
2. Spider-Man: Miles Morales
I’ll admit, a lot of what makes Miles Morales incredible is attributed to the excellent foundation placed by Marvel’s Spider-Man. But I won’t dwell on that for too long because Miles Morales is good in its own ways as a standalone game.
Miles is a loveable character with equally as loveable friends accompanying him throughout his story. Without getting into spoiler territory, Spider-Man: Miles Morales really tugs at your heartstrings and honestly resonated with me a lot more than the previous game did. Additionally, Miles Morales’ story was more low-stakes which I found fantastic. I’m a sucker for a grounded, non-earth-shattering story that is packed to the brim with good characters.
1. Marvel’s Spider-Man
You saw it coming from a mile away. Marvel’s Spider-Man by Insomniac Studios is the best Spider-Man game up to this point, no question about it. If you have not played this game and are reading this article, go get it! Just about everything in Marvel’s Spider-Man screams blockbuster video game, from the gameplay, graphics, sound, cinematics, and story, it really is the complete package.
As a comic book fan, this version of Peter Parker is one of the most true-to-character realizations of the hero I have ever seen. A big challenge that writers face when interpreting Spidey is making a good Spider-Man, with all his quips and banter, while also creating a good Peter Parker that feels like an average guy that anyone can be. This game has both.
There’s also a treasure trove of references to all sorts of Spidey media from the Sam Raimi movies, the MCU, various comic runs, and even the vilified Amazing Spider-Man movies. If you love Spider-Man, you owe it to yourself to play Marvel’s Spider-Man. It is, in fact, the best Spider-Man game that you can play right now.
Final Thoughts
Even if your own top 10 list might look different from mine, one true thing is that we are in an absolute renaissance of Spider-Man games. From the days of publishers relegating B-team studios to create movie tie-in games, crafting gems in the process, to major triple-A studios spearheading jaw-dropping Spider-Man games in the present day, Peter Parker has come a long way. There is no shortage of great Spider-Man games to play, and recent years have seen some of the best Spider-Man games yet, so get out there and start playing as your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!
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