DC Needs To Press The Gas Pedal On Video Games

It’s always a blessing to be around what you love. In some cases that means comic books, movies, shows, and video games. Marvel and DC have done a respected job to offer their fans all avenues to appreciate their stories. Marvel has made sure those paths are always open but DC has fallen back a bit when it comes to video games. Over the last few years, Marvel has been distributing games that have made or making a big splash. Those games have been big talking points in the comic book community. But DC has slowed down in that path. Although other avenues have been the subject of much talk, and positive talk, DC video games have taken a back seat to Marvel games in terms of quantity and importance. Should it be on top of DC’s priority list?

In the last few years, Marvel has released Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Marvel Rivals, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel’s Avengers, and Marvel Cosmic Invasion. These games were big releases. They were big successes. When Marvel’s Spider-Man first came out, it was nearly instantly put in the ‘greatest superhero video game of all time’ discussions. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy was a surprise but a nice surprise even though it fell under the radar. And Marvel Rivals came onto the scene with fire. This was the game to play, it was THE game for a moment. It brought in a lot of players which made it a hot trend. And it still brings in some spike of excitement because it keeps to its promise by releasing a new character every month or so. Marvel got a hot streak when it came to games because what they were producing was quality work for the most part. And it looks like it will continue next month with Marvel’s Wolverine.

During this span however, DC was a little bit more reserved. And when a game was released, the quality was below expectations for publishers and gamers. DC released Gotham Knights, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Batman: Arkham Shadow, and Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. Fans have come around to Gotham Knights even though it’s not what fans want. Some sighs of frustration were vented when the return to the Arkham franchise was a VR game. And the other return to the Arkham-Verse via Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, fall flat even before arrival. Postponements, the original creators leaving, and underwhelming early gameplay footage lost fans even before release. And the course of the actual game left a nasty blemish on the Arkham-Verse. The only game to really have some quality was Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. Although a fun and goofy game, there is room for something more cinematic. DC hasn’t released a video game that could match the recent success of Marvel games which is a bit ironic since DC still holds the title of the best superhero game, which will be one of the Batman: Arkham games which might be more specially Batman: Arkham City. And DC shouldn’t allow video games to be at the bottom of the priority list. They need to be closer to the top.

Marvel wasn’t deterred to make games during their increased popularity because of the MCU. They kind of used that momentum. The best case of evidence is making a Guardians of the Galaxy game. Making a game based off Spider-Man and Wolverine and the Avengers are obvious but there was an added boost of motivation to branch out to other characters. Now, although DC movies were not as successful or popular, they still had a run of movies that had an abundance of characters. If they went in the similar path as Marvel, a Justice League game would have came out. Maybe an Aquaman game. A Flash game would have been an interesting concept. But during this span the only games to truly come out were Batman games that varied in execution or the Suicide Squad which in the eyes of many, that game came after the Squad’s height of popularity. A Wonder Woman video game was announced during this time but it was ultimately canceled. And a Superman video game never came close to even being announced. DC had momentum to continue making games. The Arkham games revolving around Batman were major successes. And even the Injustice games brought in a large audience and revolutionized the fighter genre briefly with Injustice 2’s gear system. But during this span, there was a dip.

DC needs to press the gas on games due to the simple fact they have a golden roster of characters that would excel or excel even more in the video game format. Batman: Arkham Knight was able to give fans the feeling of being Batman. The same was done in Marvel’s Spider-Man. But the third head of the superhero three-headed monster is still looking for his video game treatment. Superman is still waiting and a video game would give him even more recognition. Give fans a speck of what it would feel like to soar high at supersonic speeds, lift then toss a tank and unleash a wrathful beam of heat vision. Wonder Woman could give a God of War feel to a DC video game. A Deathstroke game could be DC’s answer to Marvel’s Wolverine in terms of a hack and slash game. Even a Batman Beyond video game could bring together the elements of Cyberpunk 2077 and the Arkham games. A Green Lantern game could be really fun to see how the game could incorporate the constructs. DC is blessed with a horde of characters that have made an impact for the brand, the genre, pop culture, media and the hearts of fans. And a video game allows the fans to be this character. All of Batman: Arkham Knight’s promotions revolved around ‘Be the Batman’. A video game is a rare medium that allows fans to actively engage with the characters and lore that they love. Fans deserve that. And these characters deserve it too. The stature of their character is too big to be contained in literature and film. Video games could truly capture the scope of their power. Then allow fans to live through them for a while.

Video games are a unique way to engage with a character and the lore they are in. It’s an active way for fans to participate in the fandom. Comic book companies have capitalized on this and provided high-quality games. Marvel is on a bit of streak in terms of releasing differing style of games in which feels like every year. But DC has not matched that pace. It would be a shame for DC to fall behind because there are tons of potential for certain stories to be told in this format. And there are just as many characters that would take immediate advantage of this format. There have been games that have been on the cusp of being made that have sparked the interest of fans but for one reason or another, the plans don’t go all the way through. That decision has made fans upset which is a blessing in some way because it proves that fans are clamoring for more DC games. And DC has the perfect formula to house great video games.