Spider-Man is sitting on number two on Sony’s best-selling games list, and rightly so. The game was unlike anything the open world genre has ever seen. It was an amazing, one-of-a-kind experience that had everyone in awe, and with the game coming to PC in just a few months, the hype behind Spider-Man is about to pick up again.
If you want to sink your teeth into the superhero, open-world genre, you’re at the right place. Here are the ten best games like Spider-man on PC to get you warmed up.
Horizon Zero Dawn
Platform: PS4, PC
Release Date: 2017
Spider-Man is Sony’s golden goose, and it’s only fitting that the first game comes from Sony as well. Horizon Zero Dawn is a new experience, the likes of which I’ve not really seen before. It’s a game with absolutely jaw-dropping visuals, engaging combat, and an extremely on-the-edge-your-seat plot.
The game just chucks you into the plot without much context. At first, I was confused. Why does it look like someone mixed a book about robots and Greek gods to create a game? They just throw you into the plot with the protagonist, Aloy, who is a perfect example of ‘curiosity killed the cat. But, as soon as she grows up, you’ll see her as a fearless warrior with Chandler Bing-level sarcasm.
The game was one of Sony and PlayStation’s earlier PC ports, and it’s safe to say that they did not know what they were doing back then. The game was released as a buggy mess with frame rate drops on even high-spec PCs. There were clearly optimization issues that rendered the game unplayable on mid-range PCs. A couple of years into its release, Sony has mastered the art of porting games for PC and has mostly fixed New Dawn’s optimization problems.
Sunset Overdrive
Platform: PC, Xbox One
Release Date: 2014
Sunset Overdrive comes from the same developers that made Spider-Man, so you’re definitely going to find some common elements that you’ll learn to adore in both games. There’s such an abundance of things to do in Sunset Overdrive that it’s going to be super easy to get intimidated really fast. You’ll spend a lot of time just running around and doing side quests.
There’s quite a bit of visual appeal to this game. Insomniac used bright colors that give the game punk/rock style visuals. The devs went out of their way to create a unique artistic world, and going off the mainstream visuals is definitely something I can appreciate.
Sunset Overdrive was more like Insomniac’s Spider-Man before Spider-Man. You’re hardly going to stay on the ground for more than 10 seconds, and you could say that this was a way for the devs to just experiment with ideas before they actually go ahead and make the Spider-Man game. These elements are apparent in the combat as well as most of the combat is going to be based on you moving around constantly. If you stay at the same spot for too long, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re going to die.
There was some speculation about a Sunset Overdrive sequel since Sony filed a trademark for the IP of Sunset Overdrive in April of 2021. Normally, that’s not a big deal, but if you consider the fact that Sunset Overdrive is an 8-year-old game, there’s definitely a possibility of a sequel.
Batman: Arkham City
Platform: PS3, Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PC, Wii U, macOS
Release Date: 2011
This is the first of two Batman games on this list. What can I say? I’m not really that big of a DC fan, but the Batman games just feel like home. If you’ve played Batman: Arkham Asylum, your muscle memory is going to pick Arkham City up really quickly. The developers took the same gameplay and refined the edges so much that it’s practically just a big shiny ball at this point. The game’s plot is nothing special.
The typical villain does villainy stuff till Batman stops them. But the fun part is the combat. It’s a fairly simple mechanism that doesn’t offer too much variety on its own. However, if you start mastering all the moves and combos, you’ll see a lot of diversity in combat, which will keep things interesting while you fight the 50th mob of your day.
You’re not going to find Batman: Arkham City challenging. The mobs, the special enemies, and even the bosses will be fairly easy to beat, particularly because that’s what the game is about. These enemies are not meant to halt your progress for hours. Instead, they’re meant to act as a small stepping stone you need to pass on your way to the next mission. Some bosses might take more time than others, but you won’t feel stuck on a single boss for too long.
Batman: Arkham Origins
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii U
Release Date: 2013
Batman: Arkham Origins got the same incredible combat system that we saw in Arkham City, but the game lacked that wow factor that pulled players into its predecessor. The game didn’t really have anything interesting that sets it apart and makes it a Batman game worth remembering. But even though it doesn’t live up to the prestige of the Batman series overall, it’s still a pretty good game.
The name of the game is fairly deceiving as far as its actual plot is concerned. Batman: Arkham Origins suggests that you’re about to dive deep into the origins of Arkham and what made it the crime-filled city it is today. Well, not really. Or, maybe you’re about to see more of Batman’s origin story. Yeah, it isn’t that either.
Instead, you’re just going to see Batman fight 50 different villains and really push the boundaries of what he can do alone. Nevertheless, the game features a bigger map and a lot more side quests. There are a few more types of enemies, some of which are going to require a drastically different approach to combat.
To sum it up, Origins isn’t going to feel too far off from Arkham City and has nearly zero identity of its own. It’s just going to feel like a DLC of Arkham City instead of a standalone game. If you’re a fan of the series, you’ll definitely enjoy the game, but it isn’t going to give you anything new from what you’ve already experienced.
Lego: Marvel Superheroes
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PS Vita, and Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: 2013
Traveller’s Tales might not be making the most visually beautiful games out there, but their own renditions of the worlds of Stars Wars, Harry Potter, and Batman are truly one of the best crossovers anyone could ask for. And, call me a Marvel fanboy, but I can definitely say that their Marvel Superheroes game was the best of the bunch.
The best part about this game is how well they managed to capture the essence of Marvel. It’s obvious that this game was made with the utmost amount of love for the Marvel industry, and it’s a clear winner for fans like me. That’s why this game is featured on my list of games like Spider-Man. But, don’t worry, you don’t need to be a diehard Marvel fan to be able to follow the story.
You’re not getting that much new in terms of gameplay mechanics. The game is just your average superhero game. Get from point A to point B and destroy everything you see in your way. But, with the diversified abilities thrown into the mix, Marvel Superheroes became insanely fun and entertaining.
Another aspect of the game that really got it the appraise it deserved was the number of playable characters in the game. There are over 150 playable heroes in the game, with multiple outfits for each of them. Some of them are the heroes you’ve grown to love, like Iron Man, Spider-Man, and so on. But, there are other characters, too, which are unlocked by completing various quests spread across the rich world of the game.
Guardians of the Galaxy
Platforms: PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PC
Release Date: 2021
Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the most underrated groups of superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. No one really expected a GOTG game, and to be honest, no one asked for it either. It didn’t come as a surprise that the game had almost no hype behind it. What little hype it did have died down to the critics heavily bashing the game.
Marvel’s Avengers game was released about a year prior to Guardians of the Galaxy, and it left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouths. People had high hopes and to say they were let down was a huge understatement. MCU fans just expected this game to be a disappointment as well. But the devs did an awesome job with Guardians of the Galaxy, which was definitely an unexpected surprise.
The game had absolutely brilliant visuals, exciting combat, and an engaging plot. Overall, the game had everything that a Guardians of the Galaxy game needed, and people loved it. But, despite doing everything great, the game did flunk out in terms of optimization.
Guardians of the Galaxy did not get a positive response regardless of its high-quality gameplay. This was because of the long list of optimization issues and bugs that were present on launch. This game was released during the pandemic era, and seeing bugs in games launched between 2020-2022 was understandable. But, Guardians of the Galaxy was a single-player, and it didn’t even have as much variety in gameplay as Cyberpunk 2077. The plot was fairly linear and how the QA testers at Eidos couldn’t iron out the bugs is beyond me.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: 2015
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the golden goose of CD Projekt Red that really contributed to the studio’s ride to fame. It is, by far, one of the best RPG games ever, and there is no doubt that it’ll be one of the best games you’ll ever play in your life. Everything that the game does, it does phenomenally. The combat, the plot, the dialogue, and the nudity (yes, that too) are all done in a brilliant way that contributes a lot to the general vibe of the game.
The graphics are also absolutely amazing. 2015 doesn’t seem that long ago but considering the fact that a seven-year-old game has the visuals to compete with some of the biggest AAA titles released even in 2022 is no ordinary feat. Oh, and if you found The Witcher 3’s graphics pretty, The Witcher 4 is currently in development using the Unreal Engine 5, so that’s going to be a real treat as well.
It’s very rare that a game’s brilliance is sufficient to make fans in a pool of gamers that aren’t even a fan of the genre. I don’t play RPG games that often and don’t even enjoy them when I do dip my toes in the RPG sea that often. I only got the Witcher 3 just to see what the hype was about, and I had my mind absolutely blown. The game is so incredibly well-paced that there’s not a second where I felt like I had to force myself to play. Geralt’s potion-boosted, sex-driven, monster-fighting adventures kept me hooked constantly, and I wanted to play the game every second I could.
Prototype
Platform: PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Release Date: 2009, 2015 (re-released for PS4 and Xbox One)
Prototype is a game like Spider-Man, but it’s far from Spider-Man at the same time. The game is an anti-hero sandbox game where you pretty much have the option to do what you want, how you want. The plot revolves around Alex Mercer, a man who wakes up in the morgue with supernatural powers. He finds the world in a post-apocalyptic situation where the entire city of Manhattan has been quarantined. To fill his health bars, Alex literally has to consume other citizens, so there’s no moral code in this game.
Once you progress through the game, your abilities will evolve, and you’ll slowly have a lot more mobility and combos to fight with. The combat is definitely interesting, particularly because there’s a lot of it. Enemies will spawn by the dozen, and the best part is that you have the ability to fight all of them. It does get a bit tiring and repetitive at one point, though.
There’s always a flood of mobs heading towards you, always more enemies to fight. You’re rarely going to progress much in the story without being in combat, which always keeps the pace of the game high.
Just Cause 4
Platform: 2018
Release Date: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Personally, I’m not a fan of the Just Cause series. It never really managed to pull me in, and I’ve always felt like they’re a Far Cry rip-off trying to play Spider-Man. And, you guessed it, that’s exactly what got it a spot on this list. If you are looking for games like Spider-Man that feature some of the same movement, you’re definitely going to enjoy similar movement mechanisms in JC4. The game doesn’t offer as much fluidity in movement as Spider-Man, and the gameplay feels super stiff at times, but it’s enjoyable, nonetheless.
The game was a flop. 2018 was a big year for gaming with the release of titles such as Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, Spider-Man itself, and much more. Square Enix blamed the competition for the failure of its title but never really managed to look inwards. The game’s story was repetitive and felt boring. I had more fun hooking up cows to cars and making them fly. Unfortunately, that was the only fun I had, but there’s definitely more to enjoy within the Just Cause world.
Saints Row 4
Platform: PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, Linux, Stadia, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: 2013
Saints Row 4 is a good game that was all over the place. And when I say all over the place, I mean ALL OVER. For starters, the plot involves preventing a nuclear missile from flattening Washington D.C. After that, ‘the Boss’ becomes the President of the United States, followed by an alien invasion. If this isn’t the plot of some low-budget indie movie from the ’80s, I don’t know what else it is.
Eventually, you’re going to end up with Superman-level superpowers that are going to let you fight off the alien invasion. The game does have a bit of a problem, though. Every superhero has some sort of limitation that the villain can use and make the game challenging.
However, SR4 had the same issues as all Superman games. Your character is so powerful that there is pretty much nothing to challenge you, which does make the game a bit lackluster. But, the combat does make up for it a bit, especially with the range of weapons. It’s no Borderlands, but still, the guns are really fun. The Saints Row Reboot is also heading your way very soon!
Closing Thoughts
So, that was ten games that are close to Spider-Man in terms of gameplay, combat mechanics, plot, or movement. So, if you’ve completed Spider-Man right down to the final side quest, go ahead and get started with any of the ten games on my list!
