The 21st century has been kind to the webslinger thus far, withSpider-Manhaving over a dozen solo adventures in the past two decades. While the character could not be properly brought to life in the 90s, as a few particularly weak outings showed, he has done better in the 2000s. From linear beat-em-ups to open world playgrounds, the friendly neighborhoodSpider-Manhas swung through several genres and leapt onto numerous consoles.
While Spidey has appeared in franchises likeMarvel: Ultimate AllianceandMarvel vs. Capcom, and will soon beappearing inMarvel’s Avengers, his solo outings are a separate beast entirely. Focusing completely on the hero, his villains, and his storylines, the games have been a mixed bag of average and truly incredible adventures. As such, ranking them puts things into perspective, allowing Spidey fans looking to pick up one of the hero’s games to make a wise decision.
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D Tier - Forgettable Outings
Apart fromSpider-Man 2’s disastrous PC port, none of the character’s games are worthy of an F tier spot. Instead, D tier is home to a trio ofuninspired Spidey releases. BothSpider-Man 2: Sinister SixandSpider-Man: Battle For New Yorkwere flawed portable titles, with the former releasing for Gameboy and the latter releasing for Nintendo DS. Both of these Spider-Man games suffer from unnecessary padding, withSinister Sixwasting its formidable group of villains andBattle For New Yorkpacked with unneeded mini-games.
As forSpider-Man 3, the game is much likethe deeply flawed moviethat inspired it. Edgy and dark for no real reason, the visuals are outdated and the camera functions poorly. Weak combat does not help, and while the strong web-swinging fromSpider-Man 2remains intact, actor Tobey Maguire completely phones in his performance. Overstuffed with random villains just like the film, this game is truly a disappointment given what came before.
C Tier - Average Adventures
A busy category of Spider-Man games, players can find some decent titles in this list.Spider-Man: The Movie, for example, was decent for its time, though the game has aged poorly since then. Spider-Man: Mysterio’s Menaceis the best of the portable Spidey games, as the Gameboy Advance title used suits as upgrades in a clever way — though it was ultimately too short and repetitive. As forSpider-Man 2: Enter Electro, it had strong visualsand voice acting, but it lacked the exciting story of its predecessor. LikeMysterio’s Menace, the game also suffered from being too brief.
Both ofThe Amazing Spider-Mangames suffer from the same fate of being tie-in games released during the pre-PS4 era. While they include funeaster eggs involving Stan Lee,their narratives are predictable, and the gameplay of both titles is laughably easy.Spider-Man: Friend or Foetruly feels as if it is aimed at a young audience, boasting a cheesy story that does not make good use of its unique concept of supervillain team-ups. Finally, there isSpider-Man: Edge of Time, the most interesting C Tier Spidey game. A follow-up to the excellentSpider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, the game succeeds in its unique cause and effect storytelling but fails in terms of its mindless gameplay.
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B Tier - Underrated Gems
While there are only two B-Tier Spider-Man games, both are deserving of more discussion. 2000’sSpider-Mangame has more to offer than just its iconic cover, as the game features a great voice cast from the 90s animated series. An excellent story involving Venom is seen, with great visuals for the time that hold up surprisingly well today. Legendary studio Neversoft knocked it out of the park with this game, and while it lacks the excellent web-swinging or refined combat of other titles, it does have clever mechanicslike Spider-Armorand fire webbing to help it shine.
The other Spider-Man game in this category is none other thanSpider-Man: Web of Shadows. While it lacked the polish of other Spidey titles from the PlayStation 2 era, the game had plenty of heart, telling a fully original story that was surprisingly mature and genuinely interesting.Spider-Man: Web of Shadowsfocuses on the Symbiote and brings inthe X-Men member Wolverinefor a large role in the narrative. The Symbiote eventually corrupts Wolvie, with Logan eventually clashing with Peter in an exciting boss battle. Showing the strength of Marvel hero team-ups clearly, the game is worth a playthrough even today.
A Tier - Style and Substance
Finally, there are three Spider-Man games that can be considered A-tier titles, and they each shine in different ways.Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensionsthrives byopening the Spider-Verse, allowing players to control four different Spider-Men. Each version of the character has a different playstyle, ranging from the freefall sections of Spider-Man 2099 to the stealth levels of Spider-Man Noir. An utterly unique concept at the time of release, it would be fun to see what could be done with such a concept on next-gen consoles.
Ultimate Spider-Manis a completely different story, with this game thriving due to its use of comic book-style cutscenes, a cel-shaded art style, and the ability toplay as Venom. Offering an entirely different moveset from Spidey, switching between the two characters was terrific, helping both the story and open world content shine. Finally, there isSpider-Man 2, a game that needs to explanation for its position. While it offers a deep variety of side content, a strong story, and an excellent survival mode, it is known best for perfecting webswinging in a video game.
S Tier - Insomniac’s Triumphs
Unsurprisingly, both of Insomniac’s Spider-Man games find themselves at the top of the list. OutdoingSpider-Man 2’s web-swinging while offering the deepest combat for the hero by far,Marvel’s Spider-Mansoars to heights the character has never seen. Great graphics,a top-notch storywith brilliant performances, and a terrific cosmetic system only serve to make the game even better. The same can be said forSpider-Man: Miles Morales, only with a tighter focus that trims the fat from the open world and allows Miles’ unique abilities to shine.
When it comes to Spider-Man games, it does not get better than Insomniac’s first two outings. As such, it will be great to see what the studio does with its Spider-Men inthe upcoming sequel.
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