Summary
For decades the video game medium has been filled with games focusing on or featuringDC Comics’ Batman. From titular roles in theBatman: Arkhamseries to smaller appearances in games such asMultiVersus, the Dark Knight has remained a consistent figure in modern gaming generations. The same could not be said for the other half of the world’s finest heroes, Superman. While the Man of Steel has been featured in several games, includingInjusticeandSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, he’s seldom been the singular focus.DC Comicscould rectify this issue by adapting Superman into a more story-driven game similar toBatman: The Telltale Series.
Common Issues With Superman-Focused Games
The biggest issue with creating a Superman video game is how to properly adapt Superman’s powers into balanced gameplay.
Batman has dozens of games to his name, but Superman only has a few dedicated to him alone, with most of these games playing just alright or being abysmally broken and tedious. Games such asSuperman: The New Superman Adventureswere glorified flying simulators, more often restricting players to fly through rings than performing combat or rescuing people. Meanwhile,Superman Returnswas based loosely on the 2006 film of the same name but functioned more similar to Hulk video games, rather than allowing gamers to truly play as the Man of Steel.
The biggest issue with creating a Superman video gameis how to properly adapt Superman’s powers into balanced gameplay. Superman is often claimed to be an overpowered hero since he has near impenetrable skin, heat vision, x-ray vision, freezing breath, super strength, super speed, a genius-level intelligence (depending on who’s writing him), a solar flare explosion ability, and he can fly. Allowing players to be practically invincible with all of these powers could make Superman’s gameplay dull very quickly if not executed properly. Due to this concern, Superman is hardly ever able to use his powers to their full extent in his various game appearances.
Superman has only had 17 games dedicated to him alone, while Batman will have a total of 42 games to his name onceBatman: Arkham Shadowreleases in October 2024 for the Meta Quest 3.
A Telltale-like Superman Game Could Be a Knockout
One way DC Comics could solve this Superman gameplay issue is by developing a more story-focused game for the Last Son of Krypton akin toBatman: The Telltale Series. Similar to previous Telltale games,Batman: The Telltale Seriesand its subsequent season had gamers play as Batman via a point-and-click and quick-time event format. During action sequences, players had to pay attention or miss a button prompt, forcing players to restart a scenario or be left with a negative impact on future events. In between action sequences, players could often explore areas looking for items or clues for potential dialogue instances. During dialogue sequences, players can make choices that will impact their relationship with other characters and affect branching narratives.
With Telltale-like games, gameplay is rarely the focus. Rather, the story and the player’s choice to affect and change the story is the main appeal. For example, inBatman: The Enemy Within, players could either choose to trust John Doe Joker or attempt to arrest him, leading to widely different endings. If DC were to developa Telltale-like Superman game, Clark Kent could still use all of his abilities as he normally would in the comics without making him feel overpowered. It could also spotlight more of Superman’s less destructive side by having sequences focus on Kent’s relationship with his co-workers at the Daily Planet or having him work stealthily as an investigative journalist.
Potential Story Influences for a Telltale-like Superman Game
WhileBatman: The Telltale Serieswas designed as an original narrative, it still used aspects from classic Batman tales to construct its narrative, such asBatman: The Long Halloween. A Telltale-like Superman game could also be built around an original narrative or be built around one ofthe Man of Steel’s many acclaimed comics. If DC wants to reach a broader audience with a Superman game, they could adapt aspects of Peter J. Tomasi’sSupermanrun featuring Superman and Lois Lane raising their son Jon Kent as Superboy. For a more traditionalDC Comicsstory, this type of Superman game could adapt Geoff Johns’Superman: Secret Originand use parts from Johns’ later books on Superman, such as the New Krypton storyline.
