The Best Marvel RPGs – Investment Policy

Marvel games have gotten much better over the last ten years, with titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy leading the way. Unlike the past, when many quickly-made, low-quality Marvel games were released for systems like the NES and SNES – including numerous Spider-Man and X-Men games – today’s Marvel games offer a much higher quality experience.

There aren’t a lot of role-playing games (RPGs) based on Marvel characters. While none of these games are as polished or complex as top-tier RPGs like Baldur’s Gate 3 or Persona 5, they’re still enjoyable. With RPGs becoming better overall, we might see a truly excellent Marvel RPG in the future. For now, we’ll rank these games based on how well they play and how robust their RPG systems are.

5. Marvel Heroes

Marvel Takes On Diablo

Marvel Heroes was a unique and ever-changing free-to-play game. Many players compare it to Diablo, but it featured the heroes and villains of the Marvel universe. Developed by Gazillion Entertainment and released for PC in 2013, the game received continuous updates with new characters and storylines. It went through several name changes – becoming Marvel Heroes 2015, Marvel Heroes 2016, and finally Marvel Heroes Omega – with the last version also arriving on consoles. Sadly, its run was short-lived. While PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players got to experience Marvel Heroes Omega in June 2017, the game’s servers were shut down, and Gazillion Entertainment closed, in November 2017. Although fan-run servers keep the spirit alive, the game hasn’t been quite the same since.

Despite its eventual closure, Marvel Heroes was a really enjoyable game. Players could choose from a diverse roster of heroes, both free and paid, including popular characters like Spider-Man, Captain America, and Black Widow. Each hero played differently, with unique abilities – for example, Captain America could bounce his shield, and Spider-Man could use webbing to trap enemies. Players could team up with friends online to form their own Avengers squads. Compared to similar games like X-Men Legends 2, Marvel Heroes offered much larger environments, giving players more space to move around, especially when playing with others. The only reason it’s considered lower-ranked now is because the official servers are no longer running, and it requires fan-made servers to play.

4. Marvel’s Avengers

Kamala’s Big Debut

Visually, Marvel’s Avengers is the most impressive Marvel role-playing game created so far. However, it didn’t quite succeed with its online, constantly updated format, and wasn’t a traditional RPG. It’s more of an action-adventure game with RPG features like character customization, gear upgrades, skills, and leveling. The story begins during an Avengers Day celebration where Kamala Khan, a super-fan, witnesses a catastrophe and the apparent death of Captain America. Following a new law that forces the Avengers into hiding, the world falls into chaos. Kamala then meets Bruce Banner, and together they embark on a journey to reunite the team. It’s not much of a spoiler – considering Captain America is a playable character – but he actually survives the initial disaster. The game launched with a lineup of heroes including Kamala as Ms. Marvel, Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, and Iron Man.

The game’s campaign primarily focuses on playing as Kamala, and its story feels similar in quality to other action-adventure games like Uncharted and Marvel’s Spider-Man. The strongest parts of Marvel’s Avengers are definitely its story and voice acting, featuring well-known actors such as Nolan North, Troy Baker, and Laura Bailey. The characters are fun to control in battle – flying as Iron Man is amazing, Black Widow’s gadgets allow for stealth, and playing as The Hulk is incredibly satisfying. After launch, the game added more characters and storylines, including Kate Bishop, Hawkeye, Black Panther, Jane Foster, Spider-Man, and the Winter Soldier. However, the game suffered from repetitive missions, partly due to a lack of content at the beginning and infrequent updates. While this limited scope helped keep the story focused, it was a double-edged sword.

3. Marvel’s Midnight Suns

Card-Based Tactics

Okay, so I’ve been playing Marvel’s Midnight Suns, and honestly, it’s the most like a traditional RPG out of any Marvel game I’ve tried. You get to create your own hero, called The Hunter – you can even pick their voice and gender – and your main job is to build up this secret team of Marvel heroes. We’re trying to stop Lilith, this really powerful sorceress who’s messing with everyone, turning heroes and villains against each other. You get to team up with a bunch of cool characters, from Doctor Strange and Blade to more obscure ones like Magik and Ghost Rider. It plays a lot like other games from Firaxis – think strategy! Instead of just moving around the map, everything you do – moving, attacking, using powers – is based on cards you play. It’s a really different way to approach a Marvel game, and I’m digging it.

Compared to other strategy games, the maps in Marvel’s Midnight Suns are relatively small, making missions feel quite manageable. Between battles, players return to The Abbey – their base of operations – where they can chat with other characters and learn more about their stories. The game also features meaningful story choices, giving players more ways to customize their experience. A big part of the game’s appeal is discovering fun details about each hero, like Blade’s fondness for films. While building relationships with the heroes isn’t as strong as in games like Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Midnight Suns is still an engaging and enjoyable experience overall.

2. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

Avengers Assemble!

Compared to Raven Software’s earlier X-Men Legends games, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance was designed to appeal to a much broader audience. Released in 2006 on a wide range of platforms – including Game Boy Advance, PC, PlayStation 2 & 3, PSP, Wii, Xbox, and Xbox 360 – and later remastered in 2016 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the game initially featured a team of four heroes: Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man, and Wolverine, pursuing Doctor Doom. As the story unfolded, players could explore iconic Marvel locations such as Atlantis, Asgard, Stark Tower, and the Sanctum Sanctorum. Throughout the campaign, a diverse cast of characters – including Deadpool, the Human Torch, Ghost Rider, Daredevil, and Nick Fury – joined the playable team.

In the original game, players could select a team of four heroes for each mission, but in cooperative mode, everyone chose their own character. When it was released, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance was unique for bringing together a wide range of Marvel heroes and villains in a cohesive RPG experience. While the frequent crossovers in Marvel movies might lessen its impact today, the game was truly special at the time. The cutscenes aren’t as polished as those in modern games like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but Marvel fans will still enjoy the story. The remastered versions also made the game easier to find and play, especially for those who purchased it between 2016 and July 2018, as both this game and its sequel were temporarily removed from sale after that period.

1. X-Men Legends 2: Rise Of Apocalypse

Top-Down Mutants

Two standout X-Men games from the PlayStation 2 era are X-Men Legends and X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse. X-Men Legends established the formula: a dungeon-crawling action RPG where players controlled a team of four X-Men, leveling them up as they completed missions. The story followed the classic good versus evil trope, with Magneto attempting world domination and the X-Men stepping in to stop him. While a solid top-down RPG, X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse improves upon the original. This sequel draws from the popular comic storyline, uniting Magneto’s forces and the X-Men in a joint effort to prevent total destruction.

The original game only allowed four players to play together locally, but X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse added the option to play online, too. While it’s still best enjoyed as a couch co-op game, online play is now available. This sequel also features a wider variety of playable characters, including villains like Magneto and Juggernaut. Players can stick with their favorite team of four X-Men to level them up, or switch characters for each mission. The story isn’t particularly memorable, but the exciting combat and diverse roster of X-Men make X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse the better choice.

2026-02-07 11:36