The 10 BEST Spider-Man Games
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VOICE OVER: Aaron Kline
WRITTEN BY: Aaron Kline
Ranging from the Atari 2600 to the PlayStation 5, Spider-Man has starred in some fantastic games. For this list, we'll be looking at the best games that center on Marvel's beloved, web-swinging hero. Our list of the best Spider-Man games includes “Ultimate Spider-Man” (2005), “Spider-Man: Miles Morales” (2020), “Spider-Man: Web of Shadows” (2008), and more!
Script written by Aaron Kline
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re counting down our picks for the 10 best Spider-Man video games. Over the years we’ve seen the web slinger in many games varying in quality. With games dating all the way back to the Atari 2600 and up to the PS5, it had us wondering, what games starring our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man are the very best? Web swing into the comments and let us know which Spider-Man game is your favorite.
Edge of Time was the follow up to the much beloved Shattered Dimensions, so it had a lot to live up to. Unlike Shattered Dimensions, Edge of Time only focuses on two of the Spider-Men, Peter Parker and Miguel O’Hara, otherwise known as Spider-Man 2099. Edge of Time has the duo’s realities in danger with the Spider-Men taking on a new threat across time and space while trying to prevent Peter Parker's inevitable death. Edge of Time can seem a bit repetitive on the gameplay side of things. Basic combat and bland arenas we find ourselves in leave much to the imagination. The main draw of Edge of Time was having each Spidey affect both dimensions, but this was done with little to no avail. Despite these flaws, Shattered Dimensions is a great story starring the Spidey we know and love along with the fan favorite 2099 version.
Super hero games fit nicely into the beat ‘em up genre. Maximum Carnage is a classic Spider-Man tale where Spider-Man and Venom team up to take on Carnage. Let's be honest, we don’t care too much about the story in a beat ‘em up, we just want to punch bad guys in the face. Maximum Carnage looks as close as a 16-bit game can look to a comic book with vibrant colors and the “pows” and “thwips” popping up on screen. Even New York's sense of scale is shown off here. We’ll start off fighting on the streets and then climb buildings and eventually take on foes on rooftops. Oh, I forgot to mention, this is one of the rare LJN games that is actually good!
Spider-Man has web swung into many handheld games, and for the most part they were all pretty good, but one stands above them all. “Spider-Man” is a tie-in to the now-iconic 2002 Sam Raimi movie. The game' plays like a traditional beat ‘em up, but unlike other classics, the animation feels much more lively with Spider-Man having exaggerated animations with every punch and kick. During the side scrolling sections we can climb on every surface and web swing, but we can also web swing in 3D… if you want to call what the GBA can do 3D.
Spider-Man games usually only let you do good, but Web of Shadows has somewhat of a morality system. Venom is infecting New York with the Symbiotes and it’s up to Spider-Man to save New York. Usually Spider-Man has to be the hero, but Web of Shadows allows you to take a more evil path. Depending on the decisions you make, the people of New York will act differently towards Spidey. The civilians aren’t the only thing affected by your path. If you’re on the good path you’ll summon heroes to help you in fights, but if you take the evil path you’ll summon villains. Having the ability to shape Spidey the way you want adds another layer to the story and seeing the evil side of Spidey is quite refreshing and gives us something new from the web slinger.
Nowadays we are used to seeing amazing super hero games, with the exception of “Marvel’s Avengers”. Before we got great games like “Batman Arkham Asylum” and “X-Men Legends”, we got “Spider-Man”. “Spider-Man” got the feeling of swinging throughout New York just right, despite the city not being fully fleshed out, but it was a PS1 game so we’ll give it a pass. Playing “Spider-Man”, we could say for the first time that we truly felt like the web slinger. The combat felt like just what we imagined the comic books feel like. While “Spider-Man” was released on a handful of systems, the PS1 version is the fan favorite.
For fans of Into the Spiderverse, Shattered Dimensions is right up your alley. Taking control of four different Spider-Men, each feeling and looking unique, the player takes on Mysterio as he attempts to steal the Tablet of Order and Chaos and shatters it into pieces with each piece going to different dimensions. It’s up to our four Spider-Men to find the pieces and save all the dimensions. Like I said, all the Spider-Men not only look different, but play different. Amazing Spider-Man will play like our typical Spider-Man game, action packed comic book fun. Noir Spider-Man focuses more on stealth with a nice noir look to his levels. Spider-Man 2099 plays similar to Amazing Spider-Man, but has faster attacks and movement. Finally Ultimate Spider-Man is the power house. I mean what did you expect with the Symbiotes being involved?
“Ultimate Spider-Man” oozes comic book style, from the comic book inspired cutscenes to the fast paced combat, and an artstyle that sets it apart from other Spidey games. “Ultimate Spider-Man” takes place three months after the events of the Ultimate Venom arc in the comic series. Eddie Brock is back, which means Venom is back too. Being able to play as both Spidey and Venom really switches up the gameplay as well. Spidey is faster and running around the open world feels much more fluid compared to the heavier, slower Venom, who is much more powerful and also a blast to play as.
The Spider-Man game everyone loves, “Spider-Man 2” is based off the Sam Rami film, which makes it a movie tie-in game that’s actually good! What sets this game apart from its predecessors is its focus on not only Spider-Man, but Peter Parker. “Spider-Man 2’s” main claim to fame has to be the excellent web swinging mechanics. Other games had web swinging, but nothing felt how we pictured swinging around New York quite like “Spider-Man 2”. Feeling the moment and realizing we’re actually using the buildings and not just a magic block in the sky added to the amazing experience.
Insomniac’s Spider-Man set the new bar for what a video game Spider-Man game should feel like. Everything exceeded our expectations, from Spidey’s movement swinging from building to building, to combat feeling fast and visceral while staying true to the hero nature of Spidey (not allowing bad guys to fall off building tops), to all the high-tech gadgets we get to play with. This game features a seasoned Spider-Man who knows his powers and how to balance his responsibilities as Spider-Man and Peter Parker… most of the time. Not all is spectacular with this game however. There are some slower parts, like sneaking around as MJ and the weird puzzles at the lab, but they’re overshadowed by all the other great missions and events that take place in New York.
How can a Spider-Man game be better than the first Insomniac Spider-Man game? Well somehow Insomniac pushed the bar even higher with Miles Morales.. Everything about this game will feel similar to the 2018 Spider-Man game, but more polished and refined. Don’t worry, this isn’t the same game with a new coat of paint. Miles feels vastly different from Peter. While Peter is a seasoned vet at this Spider-Man gig, Miles is still feeling out his powers and discovering new ones. Even when swinging around New York you can feel how Miles is learning as his movement is more loose compared to Peter's tighter swingers and jumps. Spider-Man 2018 and Miles Morales are two of the best Spider-Man games to date and we can't wait to see how amazing “Spider-Man 2” is going to be. Excelsior!
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re counting down our picks for the 10 best Spider-Man video games. Over the years we’ve seen the web slinger in many games varying in quality. With games dating all the way back to the Atari 2600 and up to the PS5, it had us wondering, what games starring our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man are the very best? Web swing into the comments and let us know which Spider-Man game is your favorite.
“Spider-Man: Edge of Time” (2011)
Edge of Time was the follow up to the much beloved Shattered Dimensions, so it had a lot to live up to. Unlike Shattered Dimensions, Edge of Time only focuses on two of the Spider-Men, Peter Parker and Miguel O’Hara, otherwise known as Spider-Man 2099. Edge of Time has the duo’s realities in danger with the Spider-Men taking on a new threat across time and space while trying to prevent Peter Parker's inevitable death. Edge of Time can seem a bit repetitive on the gameplay side of things. Basic combat and bland arenas we find ourselves in leave much to the imagination. The main draw of Edge of Time was having each Spidey affect both dimensions, but this was done with little to no avail. Despite these flaws, Shattered Dimensions is a great story starring the Spidey we know and love along with the fan favorite 2099 version.
“Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage” (1994)
Super hero games fit nicely into the beat ‘em up genre. Maximum Carnage is a classic Spider-Man tale where Spider-Man and Venom team up to take on Carnage. Let's be honest, we don’t care too much about the story in a beat ‘em up, we just want to punch bad guys in the face. Maximum Carnage looks as close as a 16-bit game can look to a comic book with vibrant colors and the “pows” and “thwips” popping up on screen. Even New York's sense of scale is shown off here. We’ll start off fighting on the streets and then climb buildings and eventually take on foes on rooftops. Oh, I forgot to mention, this is one of the rare LJN games that is actually good!
“Spider-Man” (2002)
Spider-Man has web swung into many handheld games, and for the most part they were all pretty good, but one stands above them all. “Spider-Man” is a tie-in to the now-iconic 2002 Sam Raimi movie. The game' plays like a traditional beat ‘em up, but unlike other classics, the animation feels much more lively with Spider-Man having exaggerated animations with every punch and kick. During the side scrolling sections we can climb on every surface and web swing, but we can also web swing in 3D… if you want to call what the GBA can do 3D.
“Spider-Man: Web of Shadows” (2008)
Spider-Man games usually only let you do good, but Web of Shadows has somewhat of a morality system. Venom is infecting New York with the Symbiotes and it’s up to Spider-Man to save New York. Usually Spider-Man has to be the hero, but Web of Shadows allows you to take a more evil path. Depending on the decisions you make, the people of New York will act differently towards Spidey. The civilians aren’t the only thing affected by your path. If you’re on the good path you’ll summon heroes to help you in fights, but if you take the evil path you’ll summon villains. Having the ability to shape Spidey the way you want adds another layer to the story and seeing the evil side of Spidey is quite refreshing and gives us something new from the web slinger.
“Spider-Man” (2000)
Nowadays we are used to seeing amazing super hero games, with the exception of “Marvel’s Avengers”. Before we got great games like “Batman Arkham Asylum” and “X-Men Legends”, we got “Spider-Man”. “Spider-Man” got the feeling of swinging throughout New York just right, despite the city not being fully fleshed out, but it was a PS1 game so we’ll give it a pass. Playing “Spider-Man”, we could say for the first time that we truly felt like the web slinger. The combat felt like just what we imagined the comic books feel like. While “Spider-Man” was released on a handful of systems, the PS1 version is the fan favorite.
“Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions” (2010)
For fans of Into the Spiderverse, Shattered Dimensions is right up your alley. Taking control of four different Spider-Men, each feeling and looking unique, the player takes on Mysterio as he attempts to steal the Tablet of Order and Chaos and shatters it into pieces with each piece going to different dimensions. It’s up to our four Spider-Men to find the pieces and save all the dimensions. Like I said, all the Spider-Men not only look different, but play different. Amazing Spider-Man will play like our typical Spider-Man game, action packed comic book fun. Noir Spider-Man focuses more on stealth with a nice noir look to his levels. Spider-Man 2099 plays similar to Amazing Spider-Man, but has faster attacks and movement. Finally Ultimate Spider-Man is the power house. I mean what did you expect with the Symbiotes being involved?
“Ultimate Spider-Man” (2005)
“Ultimate Spider-Man” oozes comic book style, from the comic book inspired cutscenes to the fast paced combat, and an artstyle that sets it apart from other Spidey games. “Ultimate Spider-Man” takes place three months after the events of the Ultimate Venom arc in the comic series. Eddie Brock is back, which means Venom is back too. Being able to play as both Spidey and Venom really switches up the gameplay as well. Spidey is faster and running around the open world feels much more fluid compared to the heavier, slower Venom, who is much more powerful and also a blast to play as.
“Spider-Man 2” (2004)
The Spider-Man game everyone loves, “Spider-Man 2” is based off the Sam Rami film, which makes it a movie tie-in game that’s actually good! What sets this game apart from its predecessors is its focus on not only Spider-Man, but Peter Parker. “Spider-Man 2’s” main claim to fame has to be the excellent web swinging mechanics. Other games had web swinging, but nothing felt how we pictured swinging around New York quite like “Spider-Man 2”. Feeling the moment and realizing we’re actually using the buildings and not just a magic block in the sky added to the amazing experience.
“Marvel’s Spider-Man” (2018)
Insomniac’s Spider-Man set the new bar for what a video game Spider-Man game should feel like. Everything exceeded our expectations, from Spidey’s movement swinging from building to building, to combat feeling fast and visceral while staying true to the hero nature of Spidey (not allowing bad guys to fall off building tops), to all the high-tech gadgets we get to play with. This game features a seasoned Spider-Man who knows his powers and how to balance his responsibilities as Spider-Man and Peter Parker… most of the time. Not all is spectacular with this game however. There are some slower parts, like sneaking around as MJ and the weird puzzles at the lab, but they’re overshadowed by all the other great missions and events that take place in New York.
“Spider-Man: Miles Morales” (2020)
How can a Spider-Man game be better than the first Insomniac Spider-Man game? Well somehow Insomniac pushed the bar even higher with Miles Morales.. Everything about this game will feel similar to the 2018 Spider-Man game, but more polished and refined. Don’t worry, this isn’t the same game with a new coat of paint. Miles feels vastly different from Peter. While Peter is a seasoned vet at this Spider-Man gig, Miles is still feeling out his powers and discovering new ones. Even when swinging around New York you can feel how Miles is learning as his movement is more loose compared to Peter's tighter swingers and jumps. Spider-Man 2018 and Miles Morales are two of the best Spider-Man games to date and we can't wait to see how amazing “Spider-Man 2” is going to be. Excelsior!
