Superman video game for the Atari 2600, the first licensed Superman game released.

A number of officially licensed video games based on the character Superman have been created, the first being released in 1979, over a year after the Superman film.

Over the years, video games based on Superman have attained a reputation for being of low quality.[1] The most prevalent example of this is the 1999 Nintendo 64 Superman game which is considered to be one of the worst video games ever made.[2]

Standalone games

Title Details
Superman

1979 – Atari 2600		 Notes:
  • The player takes control of Superman, who must repair the bridge destroyed by Lex Luthor, capture Luthor and his henchmen, enter a phone booth to turn back into Clark Kent, then return to the Daily Planet in the shortest amount of time.
  • To slow Superman's progress, Kryptonite has been released by Luthor. If hit by Kryptonite, Superman loses his abilities to capture criminals and fly. To regain them, he must find and kiss Lois Lane.
  • One of the earliest console games to feature a pause option.
Superman: The Game

1985 – Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit family		 Notes:
  • Originally for the C64 but was also ported to the Atari and many other systems in Europe.
  • Superman's enemy Darkseid is also playable.
Superman

1987 – NES		 Notes:
  • The Japanese version of the game for the Famicom features the John Williams Superman theme.
Superman

1988 – Arcade		 Notes:
  • Taito action game that allows a second player to play a red-garbed Superman.
  • Features John Williams Superman theme from the film series.
Superman: The Man of Steel

1989 – Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, MSX, Amiga, Atari ST[3][4]		 Notes:
  • Hybrid action game featuring 3D flying, overhead vertical scrolling and side scrolling sections.
  • Features both Lex Luthor and Darkseid as villains.
Superman

1992 – Genesis		 Notes:
  • Side-scrolling action game where the player controls Superman through various levels in an effort to defeat various villains, culminating with the evil supervillain Brainiac. In Europe it was released as Superman: The Man of Steel.
Superman: The Man of Steel

1993 – Master System, Game Gear[5]		 Notes:
  • 2D scrolling action game developed by Graftgold and published in Europe only by Virgin Interactive. It is based on the earlier Superman game for the Genesis by Sunsoft.
The Death and Return of Superman

1994 – Super NES and Genesis		 Notes:
Superman

1997 – Game Boy[6]		 Notes:
Superman Activity Center

1998 – MacOS, Windows[7]		 Notes:
Superman: The New Adventures

1999 – Nintendo 64[8]		 Notes:
  • Unofficially known as Superman 64, it is a 3D action game in which the player takes control of Superman who must rescue his friends from a virtual-reality replica of Metropolis.
  • The game is notorious among critics and gamers as one of the worst games ever made. Common criticisms include poor collision detection, awkward controls, and bizarre glitches.
Superman: Shadow of Apokolips

2002 – PlayStation 2, GameCube		 Notes:
Superman: The Man of Steel

2002 – Xbox[9][10]		 Notes:
  • Action game from Circus Freak Studios and published by Infogrames based on the comic books.
Superman: Countdown to Apokolips

2003 – Game Boy Advance		 Notes:
Superman The Greatest Superhero

July 6, 2005 – V-Smile[11]		 Notes:
Superman Returns

2006 – Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Xbox[12]		 Notes:
  • Loosely based on the Superman movie of the same name; features the voice and likeness of many cast members. In the game, Superman combats Metallo, who does not appear in the movie, as well as other classic villains.
  • For the Game Boy Advance, a different style of game was released to exploit the license. Superman Returns: Fortress of Solitude combines various puzzle challenges (one of which was Sudoku with superpowers) punctuated with short flying action sequences.
Superman

2006 – Handheld TV game		 Notes:
  • A TV game with different styles of game published by Jakks Pacific and developed by HotGen, with 5 episodes.
Title Details
Justice League Task Force

1995 – Super NES, Genesis		 Notes:
Justice League Heroes

2006 – Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable		 Notes:
  • Based on DC Comics' premiere superhero team, the Justice League of America.
  • The handheld Nintendo DS version shares a similar visual style and gameplay mechanics to the console game, but serves as a prequel to its story.
  • Superman is voiced by Crispin Freeman.
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe

2008 – PlayStation 3, Xbox 360		 Notes:
  • Combined characters from the Mortal Kombat franchise with those from the DC Universe, including Superman (voiced by Christopher Corey Smith).
  • In his ending, Superman works with Shazam to prepare a new costume that makes him impervious to magic attacks.
Justice League Heroes United

2009 – Arcade		 Notes:
DC Universe Online

2011 – PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows		 Notes:
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes

2012 – Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, Wii U		 Notes:
Injustice: Gods Among Us

2013 – Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Wii U		 Notes:
  • Fighting game from the creators of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe featuring Superman (voiced by George Newbern) as a playable character, with an alternative version of the character as the primary antagonist and the original one as a minor protagonist. The alternate Superman became a dictator after the Joker tricked him into killing Lois and his unborn child and nuking Metropolis. In his Classic Arcade Battle Ending, Superman, though pleased with the outcome, feels troubled with the battle with his counterpart, noticing that he would not be the only Superman to go so far astray. After much discussion with his fellow Leaguers, just in case he would go rogue, Superman ingests a remote-release Kryptonite capsule, when triggered, the Kryptonite would permeate his body, killing him. In each week, a different Leaguer is voted to take possession of its remote control, with only Batman, however, being denied a shift.
Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

2014 – Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS		 Notes:
  • Sequel to Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes with Travis Willingham reprising his role.
  • He is designed after his appearance in The New 52.
  • Along with the default costume, Superman also has two additional variants: his Solar Suit (which is found in the final level), and the Man of Steel incarnation (which was available via DLC).
Infinite Crisis

2015 – Microsoft Windows		 Notes:
Injustice 2

May 16, 2017 – Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows		 Notes:
Lego DC Super-Villains

October 16, 2018 – PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows		 Notes:
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

February 2, 2024 – PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Microsoft Windows		 Notes:
MultiVersus

Early 2024 – Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S		 Notes:
  • A crossover fighting game featuring Superman (voiced by George Newbern) as a playable character.

Mobile games

Title Details
Superman

2011 – iOS[13]		 Notes:

Canceled games

Title Details
Superman III

Cancellation date:[14]
1983		 Proposed system release:
Atari 5200
Notes:
  • A game based on the Superman III movie was developed for the Atari 5200 but was never released.
Superman

Cancellation date:[15]
1992		 Proposed system release:
NES
Notes:
  • In development by EIM and was going to be published by Sunsoft and DC Comics. The game was rejected and the game had some changes made and became Sunman, but was cancelled.
Superman

Cancellation date:[16]
2000		 Proposed system release:
PlayStation
Notes:
  • This was initially intended to be a port of the N64 game, but after that game was a critical failure, a totally new game was developed.
  • The game was hit by setbacks and after two years in development, when it was ready for release, Titus Software's rights to Superman had expired.
Superman: Battle for Metropolis

Cancellation date:[17]
2001		 Proposed system release:
Game Boy Color
Notes:
  • In development by Neon Studios and to be published by Infogrames, but was cancelled after failing to impress DC Comics.
  • A prototype from late in its development was leaked onto the Internet in late 2019.
Blue Steel

Cancellation date:[18][19]
2008		 Proposed system release:
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii
Notes:
  • A new Superman game was being created by Factor 5 for PS3, Xbox 360, and the Wii but the game was cancelled when Brash Entertainment went out of business.

References

  1. ↑ Totilo, Steven (Oct 13, 2011). "The Next Superman Video Game is Excellent". Kotaku. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  2. ↑ Casamassina, Matt (1999-06-02). "Superman review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-12-23. (the game) is executed so poorly that it actually serves to butcher the reputation of the prominent action hero.
  3. ↑ "Superman", The One, Issue 6, March 1989
  4. ↑ "Superman: The Man of Steel", Zzap!64, Issue 47, March 1989
  5. ↑ "Superman: The Man of Steel for SMS - GameSpot". Archived from the original on 2010-09-06. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". uk.gamespot.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ↑ "Superman Activity Center". GameSpot.
  8. ↑ http://www.mobygames.com/game/n64/superman__ Moby Games. "Superman for Nintendo 64", (retrieved on March 9th, 2009).
  9. ↑ Goldstein, Hilary (8 November 2002). "Superman: The Man of Steel Review".
  10. ↑ "Superman: The Man of Steel Review". GameSpot.
  11. ↑ "Superman: The Greatest Hero - IGN.com".
  12. ↑ "Superman Returns for Xbox 360 - GameRankings". www.gamerankings.com.
  13. ↑ McElroy, Justin (December 6, 2011). "Portabliss: Superman (iOS)". Joystiq. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Superman Video Games - Stage 1". www.comicbookbin.com.
  15. ↑ "Unreleased Superman Game For NES Finds Life On The Internet - Siliconera". 27 April 2009.
  16. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-08-10. Retrieved 2010-08-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ↑ "Holiday 2019 (Day 4) - Superman: Battle for Metropolis (Unreleased GBC game)". Hidden Palace. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  18. ↑ "Superman (Factor 5) [X360/PS3 - Cancelled] - Unseen64". 9 March 2009.
  19. ↑ Capel, Chris (July 25, 2021). "Superman nearly got a game alongside Batman: Arkham Asylum by Rogue Squadron devs". PCGamesN. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
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