Summary
- Games like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League give players the chance to control supervillains and wreak havoc.
- DC Universe Online allows players to customize supervillain characters and fight superheroes in an MMORPG setting.
- Infamous: Second Son lets players try out different sets of superpowers and make evil choices that affect gameplay and story.
Plenty of games allow players to fulfill their superpower fantasy. From the PlayStation Spider-Man series to the Batman: Arkham series, superheroes have been well represented in the medium.
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Supervillains, on the other hand, have had much more limited representation. Even though players know that video games based on some of the classic supervillains from the big two, DC and Marvel, would make for excellent playable characters, the companies themselves seem a little reticent about capitalizing on their villainous characters' popularity. Fortunately, there are still plenty of video games that allow players to take control of a supervillain and wreak havoc.
10 Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League
Ragtag Supervillains Face Off Against The Most Popular DC Superheroes
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League
- Released
- February 2, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Rocksteady Studios
- Genre(s)
- Action, Adventure, Open-World
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Weak
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is one of the most direct translations of comic book supervillains to video games. The story revolves around some of DC's most lovable rogues, Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and King Shark, fighting a Brainiac-controlled Justice League.
Players can choose from the four Suicide Squad members. While the live-service gameplay may not be to everyone's liking, the game still has great interactions between the characters that are fun to watch unfold, tell a compelling narrative, and are pretty fun to play. It's a shame Warner Bros. Pulled the plug on this game before Rocksteady had the chance to complete the story.
9 DC Universe Online
Become A New Breed Of Supervillain
DC Universe Online
- Released
- January 11, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation (Original), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
DC Universe Online is an MMORPG set in a universe where Lex Luthor orchestrates a plan to imbue much of the world's population with superpowers. Players create their own characters and get to choose their alignment, i.e., a superhero or a supervillain.
Not only do players get to customize their characters and select an alignment, but they also get to equip different superpowers. The selection is limited to begin with, but playing the game opens up more powers to choose from. The developers introduce world events for players to participate in semi-regularly. However, the real joy of this game is in creating a supervillain, equipping all the best powers, and fighting other players with a superhero alignment.
8 Infamous: Second Son
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inFAMOUS Second Son
- Released
- March 21, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Sucker Punch
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 4
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Infamous is one of Sucker Punch's flagship series and the one that solidified their status among the upper echelons of game developers. Second Son was their last proper entry into the franchise, and it was a great one.
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Players take control of Delsin Rowe, a conduit with the ability to absorb the powers of other conduits he comes into contact with. This conceit naturally opens up the game, allowing players to experiment with four sets of powers, unlike the previous games. The morality system, a staple of the series, lets players make decisions that either steer Delsin towards being good or evil, changing the abilities players have access to based on Delsin's morality. However, being the evil supervillain Delsin arguably rewards players with the most fun abilities.
7 Nefarious
Step Into The Shoes Of A Villain Of The Classic Sidescroller
Nefarious is a side-scrolling action platformer that flips the script by getting players to take control of the villainous character. The player character, Crow, is a supervillain on a quest to kidnap princesses to acquire a suite of incredible powers to use against the heroes who come to their rescue.
This game fulfills a niche in supervillain games that feels severely underserved. There are few things more fun than action platforming through great levels on a villainous journey towards world domination. Nefarious is not only a great supervillain game, but a very good action platformer in general.
6 Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows
Symbiote Spider-Man Like Fans Have Never Seen Before
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
- Released
- October 21, 2008
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Treyarch
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Beat 'Em Up
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows is an oft-forgotten oddity of a Spider-Man game. This game takes the plucky and quintessentially good Peter Parker and drags him through the depths of despair. The game features a morality system tied to Spider-Man's Symbiote suit. The more 'good' decisions the player makes, the less influence the Symbiote exerts, and vice versa.
However, giving in to the Symbiote and embracing Spider-Man's new role as a supervillain drastically alters the game. Spider-Man becomes extremely powerful, and boss fights that would've been a struggle as non-Symbiote Spider-Man become a breeze. It also leads to some hilariously dark moments in the story that are best experienced firsthand.
5 Lego DC Super-Villains
Iconic DC Supervillains Run Amok In A Lego World
LEGO DC Super-Villains
- Released
- October 16, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Traveller's Tales
- Genre(s)
- 3D Platformer, Action
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
The Lego tie-in games are some of the most fun players can have with any franchise. Lego's collaborations with DC and Marvel have produced some of the best comic book-based games.
Lego DC Super-Villains is the culmination of all the previous Lego superhero games. It features a massive open world with iconic locations in which players can run around as their favorite supervillains from the DC pantheon, while giving them the additional option of crafting the supervillain of their dreams with a robust character creator. Lego DC Super-Villains is the purest adaptation of comic book supervillain zaniness into a video game.
4 Carrion
Play As A Horror Movie Supervillain
Carrion
- Released
- July 23, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Phobia Studios
- Genre(s)
- Platformer, Action, Indie Games, Puzzle
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Carrion is an indie game that puts players in the multiple shoes of a tentacled monster straight out of a creature horror flick. Players are tasked with escaping an experimental facility staffed by scientists and guards, all tasked with keeping the monster they created contained.
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Carrion gives players multiple abilities that make them feel like a symbiote. The creature's power level increases significantly throughout the game, with players starting as a small monster eating scientists and guards to increase its mass and gain new abilities like spikes, paralyzing webs, and invisibility.
3 Injustice 2
Showcases What Happens When Superman Becomes Evil
Injustice 2
- Released
- May 11, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
People have had one overarching question since Superman's first appearance in 1938. What happens if Superman becomes evil? The answer is the Injustice series.
While the first game has sections where players take control of the characters on the evil side, Injustice 2 goes a step further. The second game gives players the option to steer the story in an evil direction. Various supervillains and evil versions of superheroes take center stage, and the game even allows players to pick between the good Batman and the evil Superman in the final confrontation.
2 Prototype
A Refreshingly Unambiguous Supervillain Experience
Prototype
- Released
- June 9, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
Radical Entertainment's flagship game tells the narrative of an amnesiac man on a quest to rediscover his memories and the secret behind his powers as the surrounding city is attacked by monsters. Players eventually realize that the player character is, in fact, responsible for everything.
Prototype gives players a host of destructive powers to carve a bloody path through monsters and people alike. There is little ambiguity in Alex Mercer, as even if players try their best to play a heroic character, the game inevitably steers them towards being evil. Prototype is the quintessential supervillain experience.
1 Infamous 2
A Justified Supervillain
inFAMOUS 2
- Released
- June 7, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Sucker Punch
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 3
Infamous 2 is the game that defined the franchise. While the previous game introduced the foundations and the next introduced some fun new powers, Infamous 2 is the one fans look back on most fondly for its perfect balance of great gameplay and incredible story.
The second game in the series refines the gameplay, gives players new abilities, and introduces a more in-depth morality system. It's this morality system and how it influences the narrative that allows players to become a supervillain while also feeling entirely justified in doing so, wrapping the game up with a fascinating ending, which most fans agree is better than the game's good ending.
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