Spider-Man Games From WORST To BEST

Spider-Man is one of the most iconic superheroes ever, and for good reason. Peter Parker has had many legendary stories told about him over the years, including in the video game space. In fact, he’s had SO many video games about him that I honestly can’t cover them all. Some just don’t hold up or are too old to mention. So I’m going to do my best as I show you these Spider-Man games from worst to best. To keep this video from being too long, we’ll keep our descriptions brief.

#20 The Amazing Spider-Man 2

What better place to start the “worst” part of the Spider-Man gaming lineup than with a movie adaptation game? Yep, there are going to be plenty of those on this list, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is what starts it off.

So why is it the worst? The plot isn’t that great, the gameplay is rather tedious, there were plenty of glitches, and the game honestly didn’t look that good to boot!

There’s a reason why many people hate movie adaptation titles, and this helped solidify that.

#19 Spider-Man: Edge of Time 

It’s always sad when a sequel doesn’t live up to what came before, and Spider-Man: Edge of Time was that in many ways. Unlike its predecessor, Shattered Dimensions, the game focused on just the “main timeline” Peter Parker and Spider-Man 2099.

What really brought down the game wasn’t its story but its gameplay. It’s really easy to make a Spider-Man title repetitive if you’re not careful, and this team wasn’t in that regard.

This is an “A For Effort, D For Execution” kind of deal, sadly.

#18 Spider-Man: Friend or Foe 

Despite its looks, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe isn’t directly tied to the original Spider-Man film trilogy. It just based the looks of the villains on the films so people might be drawn in. It kind of worked.

The game focuses on a unique plot where a villain has brainwashed Spider-Man’s greatest foes into helping them complete a plot. To counter them, Spidey will call in other Marvel heroes to assist and even recruit his foes after they’re beaten.

#17 Spider-Man 3 

Is it surprising that one of the worst Spider-Man movies had one of the worst movie adaptation titles? Not in my mind. The irony is that the previous entries in the movie/game franchise were well-received, but Spider-Man 3 wasn’t.

The game just didn’t have the polish and the quality of the other titles, which is very odd given how well those games came out. Sometimes, especially with movie adaptation games, the teams behind them just don’t go the extra mile.

#16 Spider-Man: Mysterio’s Menace 

Ah, the handheld gaming market. I have fond memories of those platforms, and Spider-Man: Mysterio’s Menace was specifically on those platforms.

The game focused on the universe created within a certain set of titles I’ll discuss later and followed Spider-Man as he tried to foil a plot from Mysterio.

It’s not the deepest game on this list, but it was good for what it was.

#15 Spider-Man: Battle for New York

If you’re a fan of the Ultimate universe, then you’ll like Spider-Man: Battle for New York. The game took place within that universe and serves as a prequel to the main gaming entry in the Ultimate verse I’ll talk about later.

The title revolves around the rivalry between Spider-Man and Green Goblin, the latter of whom has figured out who Peter is, and tries to recreate the “spider formula,” which leads to the creation of the “Goblin Army!”

#14 Spider-Man: Web of Shadows 

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows was a fairly robust title, and I’m honestly a bit surprised that other games on this list that came after it didn’t try to match what it did.

Not only did it allow you to bring in allies to fights, including Wolverine and Venom, but there was a choice system that was designed to help you shape the story and make you wonder what would’ve worked better had you made a different choice.

Plus, the game was open-world, which obviously did get brought back into things later on.

#13 The Amazing Spider-Man 

Yep, I have another movie adaptation for you. Considering how many Spider-Man films there were, you can expect a few more. But this time, I’m talking about the first game in The Amazing Spider-Man series.

Curiously, unlike others on this list, the game didn’t follow the movie’s plot in full but created an “alternate ending” that was just for the games. This was the plot that was followed in the sequel, which, as I noted, wasn’t the best.

#12 Spider-Man: The Video Game

I admit, that title is pretty on the nose, but when you’re dealing with some of the early generations of video games, that’s what you’re going to get. Spider-Man: The Video Game is a title from all the way back in 1991, and yes, it was on an arcade cabinet!

That meant the game was a classic side-scrolling beat’em up that lets you wail on foes as Spider-Man via an assortment of techniques.

You could also play as Black Cat, Namor, and even Hawkeye! I have no idea why those last two were in the game, though.

#11 Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro 

Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro isn’t based on the movie, that’s coming later. In fact, it’s based on a 2000 title I’ll also touch on later, so just try and keep up for now. 

The game had Spider-Man fighting off not only Electro, as the name suggests, but a cavalcade of other villains from across his franchise.

The reason it’s lower on the list than its predecessor is that many agree it wasn’t as good, especially because of some obvious changes made due to real-world events.

#10 Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions 

You might not realize it, but Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions influenced the Spider-Man franchise in a big way. The game was simple enough, it featured a plot that brought together the “main Spider-Man” alongside Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Man 2099 and the Ultimate universe version of Spider-Man.

You got to play as these four Spider-Men as they attempted to fix their universes before things got really bad.

The twist is that a writer for the game, Dan Slott, liked this idea so much that he used it to make the Spider-Verse line of comics, which led to the development of the beloved Spider-Verse movies. Pretty cool, huh?

#9 Ultimate Spider-Man 

If you don’t know, there aren’t just “multiple versions of Spider-Man” throughout the Marvel multiverse, there are fundamentally different universe in which Spider-Man has an entirely different life and allies. Ultimate Spider-Man is a video game based on the “Marvel Ultimate Universe” where Spider-Man wasn’t as “isolated” for his younger years as a crimefighter, and was more than up for working alongside the X-Men, Fantastic Four and more.

The game adapts some of those adventures and delivers a unique visual style to highlight how different this universe is from the main ones.

#8 Spider-Man (2002)

There have been many peaks in the Spider-Man franchise, and one of them was when Sam Raimi got a hold of the franchise to make a true live-action adaptation. Naturally, that movie’s success led to Spider-Man the 2002 released video game. Also known as Spider-Man The Movie: The Game. Rolls right off the tongue.

Like the other movie adaptations I’ve talked about, the game follow’s the movie’s plot while also fleshing out the world even more and giving you more time as Spider-Man.

#7 Spider-Man Unlimited 

It’s honestly a bit hilarious that someone would make an Endless Runner featuring Spider-man, considering that…well…he doesn’t run that often. He’s a wall-crawling, web-slinging hero, and yet, here’s an endless runner with him via Spider-Man Unlimited!

The irony here is that there is a story in this endless runner. You’re playing not just the “main version” of Spider-Man but his multiversal counterparts as they try to defeat all sorts of villains.

It’s a simpler game compared to others on this list, but that might be enough for you.

#6 Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Widely hailed as one of the best movie adaptation video games ever, Spider-Man 2 follows the overall plot of the beloved 2004 movie while also doing its own thing to make it exciting for gamers.

For example, they expand upon certain scenes to give some of the characters more screen time.

Furthermore, the web-swinging mechanic was some of the best we had ever seen at the time. A prelude to everything we would get later. So you see? You can make a good movie video game if you put effort into it.

#5 Ultimate Spider-Man: Total Mayhem 

You might think this is a sequel to the game I talked about earlier, but you’d be wrong. Instead, Ultimate Spider-Man: Total Mayhem was a mobile game that was on both iOS and Android back in 2010.

While the game isn’t available anymore, it is something that did well when it came out, getting favorable reviews from critics and gamers.

Plus, it took a different approach to the story by having a “series of events” going down versus trying to tie it all together.

#4 Spider-Man (2000)

No, not the video game based on the movie, I already talked about that one. Instead, I’m talking about the 2000 title that was made by the unique duo of Neversoft and Activision for the N64.

The title had Spider-Man trying to swing across the city to clear his name after he was framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Now wanted, he has to both fight for the truth while also fighting off the numerous supervillains who absolutely still want him dead.

The game is better than you might think!

#3 Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales 

No, I don’t hate Miles Morales, thus putting him below the other titles. But it does need to be said that while Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a great game and easily better than most others on this list, it’s also significantly shorter than the main title titles that I’m about to discuss.

Still, even with tighter storytelling and missions, the game served as a great spotlight to who Miles Morales is as a Spider-Man and his own struggles that he has to face when Peter isn’t in the city.

We got to see how differently he played, too, via his “venom powers” and beyond. Yes, the story wasn’t as great, but it holds up.

#2 Marvel’s Spider-Man 

Insomniac Games had plenty to prove when they announced they were going to do a title based on Spider-Man. Thankfully, Marvel’s Spider-Man took everything that a certain Caped Crusader did in his title, turned it into a web-slinging crusade, and created a near-masterpiece of a video game.

Everything about this title just feels like an epic Spider-Man game. The cast is perfectly voice-acted, there are multiple storylines featuring both Peter Parker and Spider-Man, and the villains deliver good boss fights. What’s not to love?

This was the Spider-Man game we deserved, and then, it got even better…

#1 Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Insomniac Games proved they could do a Peter Parker title, and they proved they could do a Miles Morales title. So, could they do one with them together, fighting threats that threatened New York City and overcoming their personal trials along the way? The sales on PS5 alone would indicate that they did!

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 took everything that the original games did and cranked them up to 11. New moves, even deeper stories, the ability to switch between Peter and Miles in the overworld, it was great stuff.

Plus, we’re probably going to get a third main title!