Superman In Video Games General Discussion

[Batknight]

Well here are my random ideas if I could make a game and do whatever I wanted:


-Open-world third-person action game (very similar to Insomiac Spider-Man games)

-No health bar for Metropolis, instead have jobber enemies that use Superman's weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and limitations of his powers against him to damage him: weaponize kryptonite, red solar radiation, nuclear attacks, magic, sensory overload, psionic attacks, high powered advanced alien/Apokoliptian weaponry, his solar energy reserves being drained, blocked off, or overwhelmed from overuse. His invulnerability functions like a 'shield' (or in Superman's case a 'bio-electric aura') and once that shield is overwhelmed after being worn down by enemy attacks, it would have to recharge. In that time his real health can be damaged.

-The first game has Superman start out very early in his career while he still learning how to use his powers and his body becoming more capable of absorbing solar energy as he matures which allows him to become powerful over time. This gives room for progression in gameplay.

-Certain attacks can ignore his invulnerability altogether (like magic) red solar attacks drain his energy reserves he needs to use his abilities, and getting hit by too many kryptonite-based attacks makes him sick, giving him a temporary status debuff which weakens all his attacks.

-No generic human grunts with normal guns for regular enemies, instead have Brainiac's drones, Phantom Zone Kryptonians, Lexcorp/Toyman robots, experimental monsters created by Cadmus, Intergang in bio-armor using weapons from Apokolips or Lexcorp soldiers in power armor using Kryptonite/red solar weaponry, parademons, Magic users/creatures, telepaths, criminal gangs using Lexcorp high-powered weapons other strong powerful aliens, other metahumans, etc. Interesting enemies who could pose a threat.

-Fully explorable Metropolis hub open world, with options to travel to the Warworld, Apokolips, New Genesis, The Phantom Zone, Brainiac's Ship, The Fortress of Solitude, Smallville, the Kent Farm, Lexcorp, and The Daily Planet.

-Main powers would be full flight, super strength, speed, heat vision, x-ray vision, and frost breath. Would upgrade these abilities over time as Superman's body grows more efficient at absorbing sunlight which is how he levels up. Later games would feature 'blue sun power-ups' which would give Superman access to abilities outside his normal ones and amplify his regular powers.

-Superman's ability to see across the electromagnetic spectrum would be akin to Batman's detective vision in the Arkham games which would allow for moments of investigation as both Clark Kent as a journalist and Superman (highlight enemies, see through barriers, people's body temperature, heart beat, track footprints, vapor trails, see fingerprints, etc)

-His abilities like invulnerability, heat vision, frost breath, or super strength/speed-based attacks should be tied to how much solar energy he has. If he overuses his abilities he would need to recharge them before using them again.

-Mr. Mxyzptlk reality-warping challenge/puzzle mini-game sections where he trolls the **** out of you.

-Warworld gladiator fights/wave combat

-Metropolis should have a unique look not look like any real city. Fantastically futuristic style, techno-utopian. It should resemble a place created by someone as intelligent, egotistical, and wealthy as Lex Luthor.

-Daily Planet, Kent Farm, LexCorp story sections where you play as regular Clark. This is where you'd mainly interact with his supporting cast.

-Have small moments of saving people, locating people in danger with x-ray vision, use super-hearing to locate specific crimes happening on the map, blowing away fire with freeze breath, lifting people buried under rubble, but also big set-piece moments of him catching planes, buildings, meteors (these would mainly take place in quick-time event/cinematics)

-Moments where you get to team up and fight with other heroes: Steel, Supergirl, Krypto, do combo moves with them

Main/side bosses: Lex Luthor, Metallo, Parasite, Livewire, Silver Banshee, Atomic Skull, Maxima, Zod, Brainiac, Doomsday, Mongul, Lobo, Darkseid

[Prime]

And nobody is saying Superman shouldn't be injured or hurt in a game. I'm just saying that if you want a Super game to actually be successful? Then you can't just make a standard beat-em-up, slap the "S" shield on it, and expect it to do well when that has never, ever, ever, ever worked in the past. We're not talking Dante or Kratos or even Cloud Strife, we're talking about a character so entrenched in global consciousness every person on earth is familiar with him, his limits, and his abilities. If another game fails to capture those expectations then it will fail just like all the others.

Superman Returns (the game) went way too far with the 'can't be hurt' thing and nobody wants that again. But going too far the other way, where every trash mob you come across can kill you? That'll fail too. We know it will fail because it's been done before and it's failed every time. It will not work now.

Gameplay and mechanics have to rule above all else, obviously. But the trick will be quality mechanics that still capture the 'Super' vibe. They'll have to balance the challenge and risk of failure against making the player feel like Clark. It'll require a delicate touch, careful balance, and outside-the-box thinking and programming.

Again, has there ever been a successful Superman game that was just a normal beat-em-up? Far as I know there hasn't been.

There are plenty of ways to go ahead with a Superman game. I mentioned DBZ Kakarot a lot of times because Goku and Superman are very similar in pretty much everything. I understand it can’t be just normal humans that can hurt Clark but depending on the main villain we would either have brainiac drones, nameless PZ prisoners or people powered up by akropolis technology. I think we should follow the Arkham route and just have the first game limited to a section of metropolis or in the Phantom Zone.

[Vordan]

Schrier (games journalist with inside sources) says Rocksteady never was making a Superman game.

Superman Returns (the game) went way too far with the 'can't be hurt' thing and nobody wants that again. But going too far the other way, where every trash mob you come across can kill you? That'll fail too. We know it will fail because it's been done before and it's failed every time. It will not work now.

When have they done that? When have they sat down and made a modern AAA Superman game with a proper budget using the Arkham series as a template, just given him a health bar, released it, and had everyone reject it? They’ve never done that. At best we got cheap tie-in games to the DCAU or Returns or a mobile tie in to MoS made on a shoestring budget - and the most recent one failed in large part because they did the opposite of what you’re saying. Returns was an attempt to make a “lore accurate” Superman game… and it flopped! There isn’t any actual evidence that people will refuse to buy a Superman if you just give him a health bar, because they’ve never tested that with a released product. Hell the most popular game franchise with Superman in it, Injustice, dispensed with the “super pills” in I2 and just had people beat him up. Nobody complained, it didn’t hurt the sales any.

I just don’t buy this argument at all. Factor 5 wanted to make a Superman game where he just got a health bar and the only reason that didn’t come out was because of the Great Recession. That was the last attempt to make a modern Superman game as far as we know since it turns out Rocksteady never planned on making one. So the last modern Superman game failed because of an economic meltdown, not because they broke with what people think Superman should be.

[Ascended]

They haven't given Clark the AAA treatment, true. Another problem with the games of the past (the biggest I figure, root cause of all the other issues). And yeah, I might be wrong on this, but I just don't see a typical beat-em-up using this name being successful. But I'm not the biggest fan of mindless beat-em-ups and prefer some rp elements in my gaming so maybe this is just my bias.

But I still think people have misunderstood me. I'm looking for sidequests (maybe even a zone if the game is big enough) that are more unique and original than 'go beat up these guys.' I'm looking for moments in a game where I get to save people and help, not just throw cars at bad guys. I totally want to throw cars at bad guys, and punch them through buildings, totally. But I want to do 'hero' stuff, not just 'brawler' stuff too. That's what I mean by a game that does right by the spirit of the character. Clark's not just a fighter, he's a first responder. I want some of that in a game, and I think it'd do a lot to make it feel like Superman and not just a beat-em-up with a licensing deal. Have him put out a fire, save a cat from a tree, maybe solve a puzzle! And some of that stuff won't require a health bar, so I figure you take advantage of that and, where appropriate, throw in a few ineffective bad guys who're obstacles, not objectives. Let the player feel Supermanly without it impacting mission success.

Oh, okay, the 'stealth take-down' missions in Spider-Man. Optional sidequest you can ignore or play as much as you want. Doesn't matter if you can be hurt, you fail the mission for getting caught, not dying. Maybe a Super version has a bunch of gunmen in a crowded space, like an arena, and the mission is to save the civilians. So you use speed to stop bullets and save people, taking down gunmen as you move around the crowd. No reason 'not' to be bulletproof for the mission. But it's just a mission, not the whole game.

[Prime]

Schrier (games journalist with inside sources) says Rocksteady never was making a Superman game.


When have they done that? When have they sat down and made a modern AAA Superman game with a proper budget using the Arkham series as a template, just given him a health bar, released it, and had everyone reject it? They’ve never done that. At best we got cheap tie-in games to the DCAU or Returns or a mobile tie in to MoS made on a shoestring budget - and the most recent one failed in large part because they did the opposite of what you’re saying. Returns was an attempt to make a “lore accurate” Superman game… and it flopped! There isn’t any actual evidence that people will refuse to buy a Superman if you just give him a health bar, because they’ve never tested that with a released product. Hell the most popular game franchise with Superman in it, Injustice, dispensed with the “super pills” in I2 and just had people beat him up. Nobody complained, it didn’t hurt the sales any.

I just don’t buy this argument at all. Factor 5 wanted to make a Superman game where he just got a health bar and the only reason that didn’t come out was because of the Great Recession. That was the last attempt to make a modern Superman game as far as we know since it turns out Rocksteady never planned on making one. So the last modern Superman game failed because of an economic meltdown, not because they broke with what people think Superman should be.

Vordan is right. Side quests can be made. Heck use the recent Spider-Man game a reference as how to do some side quests or side stories. First we need to pin down the gameplay mechanics and sorry guys Superman needs to be killable and there are plenty of ways to do it.

[DochaDocha]

So I've only recently gotten back into gaming lately, but what percentage of superhero games have actually been good?

I've said before I'd rather a AAA Superman game also be a good Superman simulator kind of like how the Arkham games are good Batman sims, but I'm more and more leaning toward the idea that as long as money, time, and skill and effort are put into a Superman game then a lot of people would enjoy it.

[godisawesome]

So I've only recently gotten back into gaming lately, but what percentage of superhero games have actually been good?

I've said before I'd rather a AAA Superman game also be a good Superman simulator kind of like how the Arkham games are good Batman sims, but I'm more and more leaning toward the idea that as long as money, time, and skill and effort are put into a Superman game then a lot of people would enjoy it.

I've always felt a "TellTale Superman" story would be the easiest to do, simply because making it about choice son how to use powers cuts down on a lot of stuff.

[Laser_Man]

I've always felt a "TellTale Superman" story would be the easiest to do, simply because making it about choice son how to use powers cuts down on a lot of stuff.

Oh man, I would love that.

You can be given choice on how to most effectively use your powers to balance efficiency and collateral damage. There can be a lot of creative use of the powers.

Clark Kent sections where you use your powers to investigate things while using dialogues to come up with excuses on how you know what you know. And obviously a big moment in the game where you need to decide if you should disclose your secret identity to Lois/Jimmy/anyone else.

[Vordan]

So I've only recently gotten back into gaming lately, but what percentage of superhero games have actually been good?

I've said before I'd rather a AAA Superman game also be a good Superman simulator kind of like how the Arkham games are good Batman sims, but I'm more and more leaning toward the idea that as long as money, time, and skill and effort are put into a Superman game then a lot of people would enjoy it.

Arkham series and the recent Spider-Man series are pretty much it. I guess Injustice is also popular, as are the Lego DC/Marvel games. Marvel has a bunch of games in dev starting their roster while DC has WW, that Suicide Squad game that looks like another Destiny copycat, and Injustice 3 at some point.

[Prime]

I've always felt a "TellTale Superman" story would be the easiest to do, simply because making it about choice son how to use powers cuts down on a lot of stuff.

Yeah they had the chance to do that and they chose Batman again. I sincerely hope the Wonder Woman game is a success that will probably open up more doors for a Superman game. Tbh WW shouldn’t be difficult, take god Of War, Devil May Cry, FF16 as inspiration for the gameplay.

[Prime]

Any of you played the recent Spider-Man game?

[Ascended]

Vordan is right. Side quests can be made. Heck use the recent Spider-Man game a reference as how to do some side quests or side stories. First we need to pin down the gameplay mechanics and sorry guys Superman needs to be killable and there are plenty of ways to do it.

Never said otherwise.

Arkham series and the recent Spider-Man series are pretty much it. I guess Injustice is also popular, as are the Lego DC/Marvel games. Marvel has a bunch of games in dev starting their roster while DC has WW, that Suicide Squad game that looks like another Destiny copycat, and Injustice 3 at some point.

Is Injustice 3 confirmed or still just rumor?

Marvel has a few mobile games that seem to do well I guess? And I think Insomniac is gonna do great things with Wolverine, whenever that game hits. Don't know who's doing the Black Panther game, and I think it's set in WWII with Cap, which is weird and kind of a turn-off for me. But I'd love it if we got a quality Panther game!

Any of you played the recent Spider-Man game?

Not since the first one. The Miles game sounded good but seemed like it didn't have enough content to justify the price (I hear it was basically DLC-sized, at full game price) and I decided to build a new pc instead of getting a PS5 (which is an ongoing effort thanks to inflation and supply problems), so I haven't gotten the sequel either. But the first one is gods damned good. Can't say enough good things about that game.

There was Avengers too, though that crashed and burned straight out of the gate. But I will say this; the combat system was fun. Everyone's kit and movelist felt like it was them, y'know, playing as Thor felt like playing Thor, Cap felt like Cap, etc.

[Vordan]

Suicide Squad leaks
spoilers:

Supes debuted long after Batman, and I guess he recruited Batman for the JL after the events of Arkham Knight. He and Batman have been mind controlled by Brainiac the longest.

end of spoilers
Everything about this game SCREAMS that it was greenlit back during that BvS/SS period. Deadshot is black for DCEU synergy even though it makes no sense within the Arkhamverse, Superman debuts long after Batman just like the DCEU, evil mind controlled Superman is the big boss (besides Brainiac), etc.

Never said otherwise.



Is Injustice 3 confirmed or still just rumor?

It’s a “why wouldn’t they do it?” deal. It made money, it’s a successful series, only way it ends is if WBD sells NRS which was at one point considered but ultimately decided against. They did MK back to back during that uncertain period where they were at risk of being sold, but now there’s no reason for them not to start working on it. Probably will come out in 2026, at least this time there’s other Superman stuff - though his video game appearances will continue to be ass for the foreseeable future.

[Morgoth]

Jesus Christ, this game looks so boring.
Batman section is actually really thrilling idea - it's still the same Arkham Batman with the same tricks, but this time we'll see it from the point of view of the criminals he terrorized in the original trilogy. And even that was made in such a boring way.

evil mind controlled Superman is the big boss (besides Brainiac)

spoilers:

People who played it say, that Batman is the central antagonist, besides Brainiac.

end of spoilers

[Vordan]

Jesus Christ, this game looks so boring.
Batman section is actually really thrilling idea - it's still the same Arkham Batman with the same tricks, but this time we'll see it from the point of view of the criminals he terrorized in the original trilogy. And even that was made in such a boring way.

spoilers:

People who played it say, that Batman is the central antagonist, besides Brainiac.

end of spoilers

They only played the first couple hours, but maybe that holds true for the entire game. I strongly suspect that Superman will be the penultimate boss but I would welcome it if I’m wrong about that. It’s going to be Brainiac as the final boss either way, and Flash will just reboot the timeline at the end no doubt.