Ranking The Best Spider-Man Games Ever Made

Although Insomniac has made Spider-Man rise to prominence like never before in the gaming industry, Peter Parker has quite a history across the multiverse with a deluge of playable games on different systems. After all, who we’re talking about here is one of the most — if not the most altogether– iconic superheroes to ever exist, winning hearts with his good heart and clever humor.

We’ve compiled a list of the top 10 Spider-Man games ever made below, ranking them according to their general reception, along with a touch of my own opinion mixed in there as well. Keep on reading to discover some neat classics or some of the more recent Spider-Man titles that are outright pleasurable to get into, given how they revolve around a character that we all know and love. 

Top 10 Spider-Man Games To Play 

Here is our rundown of the 10 best Spider-Man games out there that you can play and end up having a great time. Make sure to read until the end for the best results. 

10. Spider-Man: Edge Of Time

• Release Date: October 4, 2011
• Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, DS, 3DS
• Developer:  Beenox, Other Ocean Interactive

Tracing its initial release back to 2011, Spider-Man: Edge of Time is a fairly enjoyable adventure with good combat and alluring visuals. Beenox developed the game while Activision took hold of the publishing part, releasing the project to a fairly positive reception across the board. The game tells the tale of two Spider-Men instead of one, and takes players on a wild time-hopping journey through different dimensions. 

The lead composer for God of War’s — an exceptionally noteworthy PlayStation IP — score music, Gerard Marino, worked on Edge of Time’s soundtrack. The title received mediocre reviews from major gaming publications, which criticized the overall depth of the storyline. That said, the game still manages to put up an enjoyable experience at the end of the day and is worth checking out.

That is especially after Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 featured a Spider-Man 2099 reference at the end of one of its side missions, so who knows? Perhaps, Insomniac would look into a multiverse cross-over for one of its later projects, thereby intertwining Miguel O’Hara with Peter Parker and Miles Morales. 

9. Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage (1994)

• Release Date: September 16, 1994
• Platforms: Super NES, Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) 
• Developer: Software Creations

Turning back time a little — well, not a little — Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage is one of the best retro Spider-Man games that you can play in 2023. It was released in North America and Europe in 1994, followed by a Japanese version as well in the following year. Expect enticing side-scrolling, beat ’em-up gameplay from the title in question, along with a highly gratifying storyline.  

8. Spider-Man (2000) 

• Release Date: September 1, 2000
• Platforms: PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, Game Boy Color, PC 
• Developer: Neversoft

Moving ahead, we’ve next got the 2000-released Spider-Man at our disposal, coming out for PlayStation first, but then receiving a port to other platforms as well subsequently, including Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, PC, and even Dreamcast. From playing the game back religiously in my childhood, all I can tell you is that this Spider-Man game is extremely well-made and is no less than a treat to go through. 

In the era this game was launched, it was revered as the best Spider-Man available to play, and take it from, that’s no understatement. It features an absorbing storyline where the antagonist pretends to be Spidey at first, causing havoc in his name and making all the blame go to Peter, and a ton of Marvel easter eggs, along with narration from the man Stan Lee himself for one whale of a fun time.   

7. Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows 

• Release Date: October 21, 2008
• Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Nintendo Wii, DS, PC
• Developer: Shaba Games, Treyarch, Aspyr, Griptonite Games, Amaze Entertainment

While Spider-Man: Web of Shadows may not have sat well with critics and fans, looking back at the game after all these years in a different light makes me want to pick it up again and go for another run, as should you. Marred by its clunky animations with apparent loopholes, Web of Shadows takes pride in its otherwise great combat system and cameo appearances of multiple characters from the comics. 

6. Ultimate Spider-Man 

• Release Date: September 22, 2005 
• Platforms: Game Cube Advance, GameCube, Nintendo DS, PS2, Xbox, PC, Mobile
• Developer: Treyarch, Beenox, Vicarious Visions, Mforma

Don’t expect flashy visuals or anything of the like from Ultimate Spider-Man, but what you can anticipate from the title is a distinctively different gameplay experience, considering its cel-shaded world, and subsequent characters in a never-before-seen way. Developer Treyarch did a splendid job creating the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox versions of the game with all that it brought to the table. 

Talk about enjoyable mission diversity and an engaging plotline that spins circles around Peter Parker and Eddie Brock, with both of them crossing each other’s paths and fending off other concerns at the same time. If you haven’t given it a go, Ultimate Spider-Man is one of the most unique Spider-Man games you’ll come across—that’s for sure. Do give it a go if you’ve still got one of your old consoles lying around. 

5. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

• Release Date: June 29, 2004
• Platforms: Xbox, PlayStation 2, PSP, GameCube, DS, Game Boy Advance, N-Gage, PC
• Developer: Treyarch, The Fizz Factor, Digital Eclipse, Vicarious Visions

With the title’s release dating back to 2004, Spider-Man 2 is considered one of the best superhero games of all time, let alone being a noteworthy Spider-Man game. The storyline follows the same plot as the movie that came out in the same year, but the game retains its specialty with its quirky set pieces, NPC interactions, and relatively fantastic open-world gameplay. 

Thanks to Treyarch (again) here, Spider-Man 2 wasn’t just revered for how it made players truly feel like Spider-Man with the web swinging, crime-stopping, and city-exploring, it received high praise for setting a quality standard defining free-roam games at the time. Plus, the cherry on top is that the main cast from the Spider-Man 2 movie hopped back in for another ride, voicing their pertinent characters in the game.  

4. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions 

• Release Date: September 7, 2010
• Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, Wii, PC
• Developer: Beenox, Griptonite Games

Ever wanted to play as different Spider-Men from alternate dimensions? The title in question holds its own as one of the best Spider-Man games ever made, recognized across the board for its terrific pacing, great voice acting from some A-grade artists, and the ability to step into the shoes of someone other than Peter Parker for a change. 

As such, you don’t just control Spider-Man in Shattered Dimensions but play from the perspective of three other web-heads as well, namely Spider-Man Noir, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Spider-Man 2099. The fact that the game portrays each wall-crawler with remarkable accuracy while presenting multiple gameplay variations is nothing to sleep on. It’s a fun time, I promise.  

3. Marvel’s Spider-Man 

• Release Date: September 7, 2018
• Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC
• Developer: Insomniac Games 

This right here, folks, is when everything changed for our favorite wall-crawler. Setting the standard for future Spider-Man games at least for a while, Insomniac Games pushed out one mighty fine product in 2018 for the PlayStation 4 exclusively, revamping everything as we knew it regarding the web-head. Best-in-class swinging, top-notch combat, and a bustling open world with much to do—you name it. 

2. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

• Release Date: November 12, 2020
• Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC
• Developer: Insomniac Games 

The second top spot belongs to Marvel’s Spider-Man’s DLC, titled Miles Morales. Right at the end of the base game, the arrival of another web-head to the mix is foreshadowed, teasing that the next game will feature Miles as the second Spider-Man, and that truly comes through. The expansion lets players step into Miles’ life and save New York from his perspective.

All of that comes at a time when Peter is off to another country, entrusting Miles to keep his home safe and sound. The expansion improves upon the already brilliant combat of Marvel’s Spider-Man and introduces more traversal features to waltz around New York even more fluidly. As for the storyline, the game does a great job with character building and involves a seriously heavy twist that encompasses both friendship and betrayal.

1. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 

• Release Date: October 20, 2023
• Platforms: PlayStation 5
• Developer: Insomniac Games 

With polished combat, fantastic accessibility features, and amazing graphics, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is the best Spider-Man game to date. There’s no surmounting this one, considering the number that Insomniac has done on the project. It shows familiar faces, pits the Spider-Men against new threats, and tests the bond between Miles and Peter — student and master — in an emotionally telling storyline.

Although the fundamentals are still there and Spider-Man 2 is in no way some outstandingly different game than the two of its predecessors, it’s a significant improvement in multiple ways, and when done right, this is all that matters sometimes. In eXputer’s review, Usama rated the game 4/5, praising its seamless traversal with the all-new “Web Wings” mechanic, among other stellar features.

Summing Up

The superhero flavor in the gaming industry isn’t something that all characters have been able to get right, but Spider-Man, thankfully, is not among those. Sure, the Webslinger has had both good and bad games over the course of its inception in video game format, but the way things are looking at the moment, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is one of the best games on the planet right now, let alone a good Spider-Man title.

Whether you have a suggestion to make or you simply want to share a fond memory of playing some of these Spider-Man classics in your childhood, do comment ahead and let us know your thoughts. Now, excuse me while I get myself some more of that Spider-Man 2 greatness.