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[electricmastro]

People always seem to list over a dozen different reasons why a good Superman game isn't possible to make, one of the most prevailing of which is the notion that Superman is too overpowered, invincible, and godly to make for a good protagonist in a game. Well seeing as how games like God of War exist, in which you play as a superhuman god in a mega-hit franchise that is usually well-received, I beg to differ.

Besides, the last console Superman game was in 2006. Since then we've had Batman Arkham, Insomniac Spider-Man, Goku in several successful Dragon Ball games, and of course several God of War games. There's def a lot more devs can take away from those games from the last 20 years to make a solid Superman game, one in which the world compliments Superman himself as well.

 

[Represent.]

They just lack ambition.

Give me a game where its fucking clear I am Superman, Let me just wreck the fuck out of enemies, a game where I actually feel like a overpowered superhero.

Make me the boss fight

 

[Trilobit]

Superman doesn't need to have godlike powers. I mean Spidey has fun fights with just thugs in his games and he has insane power levels. So Supes in a game doesn't have to be at 100% comicbook levels. Just enough to feel like him and to have the game be fun. Maybe start with him having had an infusion of kryptonite to his system and so he gets stronger and stronger as the game progresses.

The problem might be that developers today aren't capable of making a game with fun flight and fight mechanics.

 

[semiconscious]

kratos lives in a mythological universe loaded with equally powerful entities. superman lives on planet earth, a world full of humans. your mission: somehow make the latter equally as interesting/entertaining a protagonist as the former...

 

[Paasei]

I would like to be the evil guy for once. We could do that with InFamous and Prototype to an extend.
Same with the Star Wars Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor. Those were really fun games aside from the technical isssue's the latter has/had. It would've been even more fun if you could, for once, play as a Sith.
The Venom part in Spider-Man 2 felt so nice for that short period. Story was garbage, but the gameplay of these games were a lot of fun.

How I crave a game where I'm an OP character and the fate of the city/country/planet/universe is entirely in my hands.

 

[Yekshemesh]

What studio would you trust to make a Superman game?

 

[SamuraiEdge]

Has to be hard to make a legit good Superman because of what he can do. Whoever can crack it deserves all the success that's for sure.

 

[electricmastro]

Has to be hard to make a legit good Superman because of what he can do. Whoever can crack it deserves all the success that's for sure.

I'd be interested to see what Santa Monica Studio can do with a Superman game seeing as how they've done well with games starring superhuman gods already.

 

[Represent.]

What studio would you trust to make a Superman game?

Santa Monica, Naughty Dog, Insomniac.

 

[electricmastro]

What studio would you trust to make a Superman game?

Santa Monica Studio.

 

[electricmastro]

The problem might be that developers today aren't capable of making a game with fun flight and fight mechanics.

And yet, games like this exist:

 

[electricmastro]

kratos lives in a mythological universe loaded with equally powerful entities. superman lives on planet earth, a world full of humans. your mission: somehow make the latter equally as interesting/entertaining a protagonist as the former...

If Superman has to be transported to a mythological universe in order to achieve a good game, then screw having him on Earth and so be it.

 

[Yekshemesh]

Santa Monica, Naughty Dog, Insomniac.

I don't know. I just feel alot of studios don't want to take on the project because of the reason It's very hard to do. There's a reason why that IP has been dead in the gaming space for so long.

 

[electricmastro]

I don't know. I just feel alot of studios don't want to take on the project because of the reason It's very hard to do. There's a reason why that IP has been dead in the gaming space for so long.

They should look to franchises like God of War and Dragon Ball for guidance then, two franchises with godly protagonists that manage to achieve popular games.

 

[Ozzie666]

The disrespect for Superman on N64 needs to stop.

 

[Rocinante618]

Superman isn't that popular tbh and this is due to the shittiest movies you could possibly imagine by DC when you had Marvel cooking Avengers and other other cool stuff. Also the market is kinda saturated now, Superhero stuff is not super cool now, it's ok, fine.

 

[Shubh_C63]

All the reasons why a good Superman game doesn't exist are realistically true.
I can imagine a Prototype looking game with a Young Justice Superman but a full grown ass Superman would either have to have a Donkey Kong Bonanza level destruction cranked upto 5 times more impressive and flashy or setup in an alien world.

Its just too risky a game to make, I am sure Developers have taken a swing at the concept.

 

[powder]

I think the problem is the flying. We have quick traversal in the Spider-Man games, but this dude can apparently fly incredibly fast, and unless the whole game is completely open world, it would be hard to make individual "levels." I think this is something they ran into with previous attempts.

Plus Superman is kind of a bullshit super hero – he can fly anywhere on the drop of a dime, shoot lasers out of his eyes, punch through really big shit, and take NO damage. How do you make a game that can create a threat for someone like that? You can't just cover everything in kryptonite.

 

[Trunx81]

It´s not like people aren´t giving the benefit of the doubt. We have a fighting game where Green Arrow can defeat Supes.
Just have Darkside and his Parademons invade earth and give Superman a hard time. Or make it a Metroidvania: Have him loose his powers in the beginning and then regain them one by one until he´s full powered in the end.

 

[Digital-Aftertaste]

Symphony of the night it. Make some bs plot point like amber kryptonite, takes away most of the man of steels powers and he has to traverse through levels and obtain some sort of healing McGuffin that restores more of his powers bit by bit while trying to put a stop to the main bad guy; other villains along the way, and done. By the end of the game you could probably fly around the world or something and fight the last boss in like space to give the perspective of a fully powered Superman. Could be easier if its set in an alien world or cluster of worlds.

 

[March Climber]

Has to be hard to make a legit good Superman because of what he can do. Whoever can crack it deserves all the success that's for sure.

I have thought about this Superman game for a long time, and it would not be a traditional game.

You would give him all of his powers without a single nerf, but make gameplay systems based on 'people saved'.

The health of the city would be your health bar. It's up to you to make sure that the collateral damage from your fights and heroic saves are as minimal as possible.

The more you fail to do so, the more the city itself becomes damaged. This also means being 'combat-aware' during fights timing your defenses, dodges, blocks, etc. correctly so that any fight in the city doesn't end up with it in ruins.

It's best to do whatever you can to try to get the opponent out of the city so that there isn't a chance for this to happen. Sometimes it can be best to not go all-out and instead simply disarm or subdue.

You would also have RPG-like speech check moments where you could potentially talk down an opponent into a non-combat outcome.

There will also be moments that will include speaking to civilians and using your influence as reporter Clark Kent, which would help boost the city's health bar/morale.

Talking with Lex would influence a branching storyline. Trying to find the right things to say in your debates with him will be difficult, and it could lead to vastly different outcomes.

There's more but you can kind of get the idea of what I'm going for here. It would be very, very different from any other hero game that follows the traditional 'get stronger and advance until you've reached peak hero' like all of the other ones do.

The problem would be hoping gamers and shareholders alike will be receptive to an idea like this. Most people just want 'punch/fly/laser' simulator with cinematics not much other thought behind it.

 

[SamuraiEdge]

I have thought about this Superman game for a long time, and it would not be a traditional game.

You would give him all of his powers without a single nerf, but make gameplay systems based on 'people saved'.

The health of the city would be your health bar. It's up to you to make sure that the collateral damage from your fights and heroic saves are as minimal as possible.

The more you fail to do so, the more the city itself becomes damaged. This also means being 'combat-aware' during fights timing your defenses, dodges, blocks, etc. correctly so that any fight in the city doesn't end up with it in ruins.

It's best to do whatever you can to try to get the opponent out of the city so that there isn't a chance for this to happen. Sometimes it can be best to not go all-out and instead simply disarm or subdue.

You would also have RPG-like speech check moments where you could potentially talk down an opponent into a non-combat outcome.

There will also be moments that will include speaking to civilians and using your influence as reporter Clark Kent, which would help boost the city's health bar/morale.

Talking with Lex would influence a branching storyline. Trying to find the right things to say in your debates with him will be difficult, and it could lead to vastly different outcomes.

There's more but you can kind of get the idea of what I'm going for here. It would be very, very different from any other hero game that follows the traditional 'get stronger and advance until you've reached peak hero' like all of the other ones do.

The problem would be hoping gamers and shareholders alike will be receptive to an idea like this. Most people just want 'punch/fly/laser' simulator with cinematics not much other thought behind it.

This is why if there ever was a full AAA committed Superman game that cracked all feel playing to all his strengths, having that sense of weight upon your shoulders in all good game design, it could become truly special.

Superman has that huge moral importance of responsibility trying to do good, and I can't help but would truly love to see that done right.

Justice League Animated series was special with showing everything great with his character, and I would love to see that executed just the same in game form.

 

[IAmRei]

they can use something like this


this too

i think it could be awesome

 

[Cakeboxer]

It's hard to make a fun game with combat. Superman is just too strong. Without every enemy carrying kryptnite i can only imagine Mary Jane defeating him with her stun gun.

 

[Duchess]

The only way you could do this is to give Superman a reason for his loss of powers, that he needs to regain as the game goes on. Maybe the game could open with him fighting a powerful enemy, that causes him to become much weaker than he should be.

 

[Paltheos]

Santa Monica, Naughty Dog, Insomniac.

Naughty Dog are maybe the worst studio to handle a fantastic* character like Superman. They haven't made a video gamey video game in actual decades.

*As in his abilities. I'm not using the word as a synonym for 'good'.

 

[crackajack]

It's not impossible, sure, but it is kinda hard. Imho only Man of Steel worked really well, since the final enemies were truly on his level. Earlier him walking around in search of himself and not hiding in plain sight with stupid glasses and acting clumsy or some shit. So an Origin game might work.
Everything else I ever saw of Superman was always rather cringe if you think about it. Maybe Smallville was okay too, since an immature/unfinished Superman is the only okay, lower power level. Kryptonite, the Achilles' heel of him, as a singular weakness is just meh and awkward.

 

[electricmastro]

It's hard to make a fun game with combat. Superman is just too strong. Without every enemy carrying kryptnite i can only imagine Mary Jane defeating him with her stun gun.

And yet superpeople like Goku just carry on largely fine in his own games despite the notion of being "too strong" as well?

 

[cireza]

Funnily enough, I think it is probably the most difficult super hero to make a game with, if you actually try to fully implement all of his powers.

Guy is basically a God. Should be able to travel around the world in an instant, destroy everything, go in space etc...

A good game could be a survival game where the enemy is actually Superman.

 

[acm2000]

superman is an incredibly boring character and the speed that he can fly just wouldnt make for a playable game

 

[Ceadeus]

That hero is almost invincible. It would make no sense to add normal enemies. Then where would you fit platforming for a dude who can fly? How do you upgrade a character who already has it all?

 

[Impotaku]

The market is infested with enough comic book capeshit already, I'm surprised more people aren't burnt out already. The market is now flooded with it.

 

[RaidenJTr7]

They could give the enemies a weapons shooting kryptonite like bullet to hurt superman or tanks and F16 an army or Cell like soldiers in crysis or super soldiers, it can be done a good superman game.

 

[Revolutionary]

If Superman was nothing but a brawler, your God of War comparisons would hold some weight... but Kratos can't even jump in the new games, dude. How the hell do you design or balance a game like Dad of War when your character can just take off into space in the blink of an eye??

In order to make a Superman game by today's standards, you'd have to make concessions and take away aspects that define the character (flight, speed, strength, imperviousness, etc.), but at that point it's not even Superman anymore.

 

[Cakeboxer]

And yet superpeople like Goku just carry on largely fine in his own games despite the notion of being "too strong" as well?

I don't watch or play Dragon Ball so no idea about that. I don't think you could make a fun game with Superman. How would you design the combat?

 

[BlackTron]

It shouldn't be hard at all and Superman's abilities don't need to be adjusted. For it to be challenging to do anything but paste a hero in a template of beating up goons shows how creatively bankrupt we've become.

 

[hemo memo]

I don't watch or play Dragon Ball so no idea about that. I don't think you could make a fun game with Superman. How would you design the combat?

Superman lost all his powers yada yada.

 

[BlackTron]

Funnily enough, I think it is probably the most difficult super hero to make a game with, if you actually try to fully implement all of his powers.

Guy is basically a God. Should be able to travel around the world in an instant, destroy everything, go in space etc...

Sounds like you just described Sonic and they make those.

I think we're stuck in the concept of what a super hero game should be, maybe solidified by Insomniac and Rocksteady titles. Superman should just be a very different game, actually I see it as an opportunity.

In Crazy Taxi, you are a god. You cannot get hurt, and somehow always know where the next person who needs help is. Trouble is, you just can't get there fast enough.

The lack of Superman games is lack of ambition.

 

[Randall365]

Tricky because he is way overpowered.

The main game loop could not be combat - because you could destroy people with a sneeze - it would have to be getting between stuff i.e. rescues, foiling robberies etc in the nick of time. Maybe some stealth with the changes to the extent that nobody can know Clark Kent is Superman.

Not saying you could not have the odd battle against another kryptonian or get weakened by kryptonite for a bit.

 

[PlayStaytion]

I could see Marvel/Insomniac doing it and would allow it to happen, not sure about WB/DC though.

 

[VulcanRaven]

Superman Returns game already did flying really well and the open-world city was huge. They just need to build a great game around it.

 

[Audiophile]

I don't think it's so much the overpowered part in terms of dealing with enemies, but the scale of the game world and how fast he can traverse it. You'd have to find some creative way to limit him from going too far, but even then, with his speed it'd make the world feel small.

The other option is if they can find a way to generate a more expansive world without it being too repetitive. He'd probably go across a large city in seconds, so you'd probably need a large country, a continent or even a full planet (it'd kinda suck if he couldn't fly into space).