10 Best Superhero RPGs, Ranked

Highlights

• Superhero RPG games are on the rise, offering a unique gameplay experience beyond traditional action-adventure titles.
• Titles like Marvel Strike Force, Champions Online, and Marvel Puzzle Quest cater to fans of the genre with diverse gameplay mechanics.
• From turn-based strategies to tactical RPGs, the superhero RPG genre continues to evolve, providing a range of engaging options for players.

The world of superhero games is filled with several top quality options, but what tends to be the case is that a lot of them are great action-adventure experiences, catering to the player’s crime-fighting fantasies. The RPG genre isn’t as abundant in video games in this day and age, with a majority of the options being tabletop games reminiscent of Dungeons and Dragons.

However, there has been a growing number of awesome RPG superhero games, including those of the Massively Multiplayer Online and tactical variety, that are available for players today. These are the best superhero RPGs for fans of the genre to try out.

10 Marvel Strike Force

Google Play/Apple Store Rating: 4.2/4.6

Marvel Strike Force was first released in 2018 and features an absolutely massive cast from the Marvel universe available for players to choose from. Each player forms a team of five heroes and uses them to traverse the world, facing opposition both human and otherwise.

The turn-based system in Marvel Strike Force is intriguing and the layers of strategy needed to win each battle makes it an addicting endeavor. It has been considered a pay-to-win title by some members of the community, but it is still very possible for anyone to create a team that will be a force to be reckoned with.

9 Champions Online

Metacritic Score: 72

• Initial release date: 1 September, 2009
• Platform: Microsoft Windows
• Developer: Cryptic Studios
• Publishers: Atari, Arc Games
• Engine: Cryptic Engine

Champions Online is one of the first superhero RPG games out there, making its debut way back in 2009. It was a great game which allowed players to customize their own superhero. The customizable selections were incredible, even by today’s standards, and being able to feel like a hero was always quite cool.

The continued growth and development of the genre has seen a decline in player numbers in Champions Online, but the game maintains its servers nearly 15 years after its release. While it may struggle compared to some of the bigger titles that followed this game, it’s still worth checking out one of the original games to explore the concept.

8 Marvel Puzzle Quest

Metacritic Score: 74

A little over a decade old, Marvel Puzzle Quest is another game which uses the massive roster of characters from the Marvel Universe. What’s unique about this title is the gameplay, which sees the player match gems to store in a stash and, once the required gems have been matched, unleash attacks against enemies.

The player can collect heroes and train them to become stronger and more viable in battle. There are regular tournaments, along with alliances and other side content to keep things interesting.

7 Chroma Squad

Metacritic Score: 75

• Initial release date: 30 April, 2015
• Platform: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Android, Xbox One
• Developer: Behold Studios
• Publishers: Behold Studios, Plug In Digital, Namco Bandai Games America Inc., BNE LLC

For fans of the Power Rangers who gained fame in the 90s, Chroma Squad is a charming homage to a beloved series. Made by a Brazilian Indie developer, Behold Studios, players are tasked with picking five actors who will become heroes and take on various battles.

The customization options are vast, as the player needs to manage almost every aspect of life, including marketing, mech equipment, and so on. The gameplay is similar to other grid-based tactical RPGs where one moves their character within a certain space to reach the goal. Chroma Squad is a great classic that’s still worth exploring today.

6 Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

Metacritic Score: 82

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is another of the older games and is like a dungeon crawler where the player has a choice of various characters from the Marvel world to choose from and fight.

Players traverse the various dungeons, upgrade characters, earn new costumes, and unlock new characters in Ultimate Alliance. Costumes have different properties that add a layer of interest to the game, which can keep players engaged if the combat system becomes a little too repetitive.

5 X-Men Legends

Metacritic Score: 82

X-Men Legends starts with a bang, as mutants are at war in the middle of the city, thanks to a girl whom both the Brotherhood and the X-Men want in their ranks. The Brotherhood gets her, and the heroes must swoop in to save the day.

Up to four players can join forces up in the same team to play, or it can be enjoyed solo. Characters can be continuously leveled up, and a variety of teams can be formed depending on the player’s preference. It has a sequel that is arguably more polished, but the first X-Men Legends game has charm and better environments. Some 20 years later, X-Men Legends is one of the best X-Men games to get a hold of.

4 Marvel’s Midnight Suns

Metacritic Score: 83

For anyone who loves tactical RPG games, Midnight Suns is a great game. Developed by Fireaxis, the developers who brought XCOM to life, Marvel’s Midnight Suns might deceive the casual viewer as a simple XCOM clone, but it is anything but. While the battle system shares some similarities, there is little else that players could identify as a comparable element.

Players go through a day and night cycle where they fight battles in the day and come back to base at night and use the idle time to strengthen bonds with teammates and friends. With a customizable hero of their own, players will establish relationships with well-known Marvel heroes like Iron Man, along with a string of lesser-known metahumans, such as Magick.

3 City of Heroes

Metacritic Rating: 85

Released way back in 2004, City of Heroes was one of the first games to bring the superhero RPG genre to the fore. Like Champions Online, it has a vast array of customization options that lets the player create their hero just as they please.

The most endearing thing about the game has to be its community. The servers eventually went down but was revived due to pressure from the title’s dedicated fanbase. The game is now free-to-play after an agreement was made between community stakeholders and the developers. Given the passion of the playerbase, City of Heroes establishes itself as a great classic that anyone can still experience.

2 Freedom Force

Metacritic Rating: 90

• Initial release date: 9 January 2002
• Platform: Microsoft Windows, macOS, Classic Mac OS
• Developer: Irrational Games, The Omni Group
• Publishers: Electronic Arts, MacPlay, Crave Entertainment, 2K Games, Fireshine Games
• Engine: Gamebryo

Freedom Force is a love letter to the silver age of comics. Set in the 60s, the protagonist, Frank Stiles, gets superpowers through some mysterious means and becomes Minuteman.

The player is joined by various heroes as they battle their way to rid the city of the menace that threatens to overrun it. The characters in the game come alive with fascinating backstories and while it can get cheesy at times, it is in keeping with the comic storylines of the era. The graphics, while not polished, are charming with the comic book aesthetic coming through.

1 Persona 5 Royal

Metacritic Score: 95

Persona 5 Royal qualifies as a superhero RPG, as long as the definition is stretched beyond Marvel and DC. The Phantom Thieves have secret identities, fight evil, and have powers that can only be described as supernatural. With that said, Persona 5 Royal is a masterpiece that brings all the hype and charm of the base game and improves on it.

Although not especially unique, the turn-based battle system oozes style and personality, along with including a few game-specific touches like Showtime attacks and distinct gun usage, adding a tactical element to most encounters. The heroes are all given extensive backstories, and they are explored in lengthy arcs that revolve around infiltrating a villain’s Palace to force a change of heart. Persona 5 Royal set a very high bar for JRPGs in general, and while it might not be what most people consider a “superhero” game, it not only has many of the theme’s hallmarks but also represents them at their best.