Celebrate the Release of James Gunn’s Superman With the Best Games Based on the DC Universe

Superman, the tentpole film in James Gunn’s new DCU initiative, is already proving to be a crowdpleaser among audiences and critics alike, with a 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes and near-universal praise from those who were lucky enough to see an advance screening. The film opens in wide release this Friday, July 11, and is sure to ignite plenty of interest in the DC Universe as a whole, from longtime comic book fans to those just looking to recapture some of the thrills of seeing the latest silver screen iteration of the Man of Steel. To celebrate the film’s release and the potential rise to prominence of films starring beloved DC characters, we’re highlighting some excellent games to play based on the DC lineage, featuring games that star Batman, Superman, or both.

• Release Date — December 22, 1989
• Developer — Sunsoft
• Publisher — Sunsoft
• Review Aggregate Score — 84% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — NES

One of the earliest examples of a great licensed game and still one of the better games to feature Batman, Sunsoft’s Batman: The Video Game is an 8-bit classic that stands out as one of the NES’ best action platformers. Sure, there’s a Superman game on NES, but it’s terrible in comparison to Batman, which also happens to be based on one of the greatest superhero films of all time: Tim Burton’s Batman. This one is a little harder to get hold of without access to an NES or reliable emulation, but it’s no less important as one of the best games to feature heroes from the DC Universe.

• Release Date — August 1994
• Developer — Blizzard Entertainment
• Publisher — Sunsoft
• Review Aggregate Score — 59% (Mixed or Average)
• Platforms — SNES, Sega Genesis

Yes, you read that right. Long before the company would make a name for itself with Warcraft and StarCraft, Blizzard Entertainment had a fairly strong track record of developing games for the SNES and Sega Genesis. Games like Blackthorn and Rock ‘n Roll Racing are perhaps more fondly remembered, but Blizzard’s attempt at a DC Universe beat ’em up featuring Superman is surprisingly great. The aptly named The Death and Return of Superman follows the entire saga of Superman’s apparent demise at the hands of Doomsday to his ultimate resurrection in Superman: The Man of Steel #25.

• Release Date — December 1994
• Developer — Konami
• Publisher — Konami
• Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — SNES

Surprise — yet another action platformer starring the Caped Crusader is one of the best DC video games. The Adventures of Batman and Robin animated series is perhaps one of the best things DC ever produced, and its video game adaptation is no less excellent. This Konami-developed side-scroller is packed with plenty of excellent setpiece moments pulled from the show and an appropriately dark atmosphere, and it’s the SNES version that reigns supreme as the best of the bunch. There are other releases for the Sega Genesis and Sega CD, but they’re entirely different games developed by studios other than Konami.

• Release Date — October 17, 2006
• Developer — Snowblind Studios
• Publisher — Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 68% (Mixed or Average)
• Platforms — Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PSP, Xbox

It’s no secret that Marvel and its characters are a bit more prolific and well-known when it comes to the video game space, but Justice League Heroes does a great job of trying to recapture some of its competitors’ success in that area. Borrowing heavily from the X-Men Legends and Marvel Ultimate Alliance template, Justice League Heroes is a great ARPG/Beat ’em Up that features the entire Justice League as they try to stop Brainiac (along with a whole host of other DC super villains). It’s not quite as good as Marvel Ultimate Alliance, but it will definitely scratch that same itch.

• Release Date — August 25, 2009
• Developer — Rocksteady Studios
• Publisher — Eidos Interactive, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One

While DC has yet to really capture the essence of Superman in a video game, great Batman games have been far more prolific throughout the history of the medium. But the first game to truly capture every angle of what makes the character so special was Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Asylum, and it laid the foundation for what a modern superhero game should look like. The Arkham games are all great (hence, why they’re all included on our list of great DC Universe games), but Arkham Asylum is special for its emphasis on the horror elements that have always existed in the Batman comics.

• Release Date — January 11, 2011
• Developer — Dimensional Ink Games
• Publisher — Daybreak Game Company, WB Games
• Review Aggregate Score — 73% (Mixed or Average)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

It’s had its ebbs and flows throughout the almost 15 years it’s been active, but DC Universe Online is still going strong as the one and only MMORPG set within the DC multiverse. After creating your own unique superhero, you get to set out on a wide variety of missions alongside iconic DC heroes like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman while fighting against the DC Universe’s iconic rogues gallery. After years as a PC exclusive, DC Universe Online is finally available on just about every modern console, which has only helped it remain popular as an MMO.

• Release Date — October 18, 2011
• Developer — Rocksteady Studios
• Publisher — Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One

For the follow-up to Arkham Asylum, Rocksteady went big, bringing back longtime Batman writer Paul Dini to pen an incredible story set in a new open-world version of Gotham City. Open-world Arkham Asylum is basically what you get with Arkham City, and it never stops being fun scaling tall buildings as Batman, only to swoop down on criminals in the streets like the Dark Knight of vengeance he is. If you’re looking for the peak of Batman in video games, Arkham City is it.

• Release Date — June 19, 2012
• Developer — Traveller’s Tales
• Publisher — Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — Nintendo 3DS, Android, Nintendo DS, iOS, PC, PS3, PS Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360

The LEGO games do a great job of honoring their source material while also injecting plenty of comic relief, and the LEGO Batman games are no different. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is perhaps the best of the bunch for how it incorporated not just characters from Batman and his rogues gallery but the entirety of the DC Universe, allowing players to swap between members of the Justice League and other beloved DC heroes at will. It’s a LEGO Batman game, but you could play most of it as Superman (or any other DC hero) if you really wanted to.

• Release Date — June 23, 2015
• Developer — Rocksteady Studios
• Publisher — Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 82% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

The final game in the Arkham trilogy takes some bold swings over its two predecessors that don’t necessarily land, but it’s still a fantastic superhero game and a great conclusion to the story arc of the trilogy. The most controversial aspect of Arkham Knight is the game’s reliance on the Batmobile as a primary mechanic, which is fun at first but eventually takes away from the thrill of prowling the streets as Batman. Still, Arkham Knight is a great game that stands admirably next to the other two Arkham games, and its leagues better than either Gotham Knights or Suicide Squad.

• Release Date — October 16, 2018
• Developer — Traveller’s Tales
• Publisher — Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 76% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

One of the most recent games to feature characters from the DC Universe is already 7 years old, which proves we need another non-live service game featuring Batman or Superman as soon as possible. LEGO DC Super-Villains is basically LEGO Batman 4, only instead of focusing on the heroes of the DC Universe, players get to take control of an impressively large roster of iconic bad guys while committing hijinks around Metropolis, Gotham City, and other iconic DC locales.