Following the boom of superhero movies caused by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was only natural for more superhero games than ever before to follow. In the coming years, players can look forward to projects based on Wolverine, Venom, and the X-Men from Insomniac, while Black Panther will be getting more time in the spotlight via an EA game and a Skydance project. EA’s foray into the world of superheroes will continue with an Iron Man game, while Arkane will be sharing its take on Blade with the world soon enough. At the DC end of the spectrum, Wonder Woman is set to get her very own video game. However, if these games want to succeed, they should aim to nail one thing: traversal.

All the upcoming superhero games feature characters with distinct movement mechanics, and it will be essential to get them right. While the leaked footage for Marvel’s Wolverine indicates that Insomniac has his climbing skills down, and Venom has some building blocks to work with, designing Marvel heroes that can teleport or fly in X-Men will be a change for the studio. Flight will be something Iron Man has to get right as well, cat-like movement is essential for Black Panther, Blade definitely has to feel like a Daywalker, and Wonder Woman's leaps have to feel appropriately super. While each game has to accomplish different things, exceptional traversal has been a key component of many of the best superhero titles, so it should be prioritized for all the upcoming entries in the genre.

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Good Traversal Makes a Big Difference For Superhero Games

Obviously, there are exceptions to every rule, and not every great superhero game has needed to lean on traversal. Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ turn-based card gameplay meant deep traversal was not important, and the same could be said for fighting games like Marvel vs. Capcom and Injustice 2. More examples of complex traversal not being required due to the type of gameplay utilized include Ultimate Alliance, Telltale Batman, and Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. However, for any third-person action games where players get to move around large areas, good traversal has proven to be a difference maker. Some of the superhero games with great traversal include:

• Batman: Arkham Knight
• Spider-Man 2 (PS2)
• The Marvel’s Spider-Man Series
• The Infamous Series
• The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction

The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction allowed fans of the Hulk to leap high into the sky and rapidly climb buildings. Spider-Man 2’s physics-based webswinging continues to be celebrated to this day, as this realistic element has allowed it to age well, while Insomniac’s Spidey games shine in large part because of their traversal and innovations like web wings. Batman: Arkham Knight allowing players to leap from the Batmobile, glide, and chain grapples to maintain momentum made moving through Gotham thrilling, while games like Infamous: Second Son delivered truly unique movement options via Delsin’s Neon and Smoke abilities.

Even divisive superhero releases like Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League have managed to gain fans due to their traversal, with Rocksteady going out of its way to make sure every character moves differently but quickly. Good movement has been a consistent point of praise even from those who dislike Kill The Justice League and its live service approach, showing just how integral movement mechanics are to an enjoyable superhero title. Not only should upcoming superhero games look toward these titles for inspiration, but there are also some recent examples to avoid.

Bad Traversal Can Be Equally Detrimental to Superhero Games

Both Gotham Knights and Marvel’s Avengers show how problematic slow or clunky movement can be for a superhero game. In the case of Gotham Knights, the movement lines on the side of the screen could not hide the Batcycle’s painfully slow movement, and Batgirl’s gliding felt like a significant downgrade from Batman’s. For Marvel’s Avengers, characters like Thor and Iron Man slowly flying through the sky (and being forced to stay close to the ground) was disappointing, as was Captain America’s lackluster wall-running and Spider-Man’s slow, heavily-memed web-swinging. Ultimately, since gamers spend just as much time moving around locations as they do fighting in superhero titles, traversal can make or break a lot of entries in the genre, and whatever games come next would be wise to keep that in mind.

Marvel

Marvel is a brand associated with a wide array of popular superhero comics, movies, television shows, and merchandise. The company owns the rights to popular characters like The Avengers, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Deadpool, and many more.