Nearly 30 Years Later, Is This Still the Worst Superhero Video Game?

Thanks to the colorful characters, unique powers, and inherent action of the genre, superheroes have long been a source of inspiration for game developers. This has resulted in some genuinely great titles over the years, with the likes of X-Men, Spider-Man 2, and Batman: Arkham City becoming influential touchstones of their entire era of gaming. That’s not always the case with these kinds of games, though, with plenty of disappointing adaptations or clunky tie-ins landing over the years.

Perhaps the most infamous of these is Superman: The New Adventures of Superman, otherwise known as Superman 64, which was released on the N64 nearly thirty years ago. Despite fostering excitement from members of the press ahead of release for its potential as an open-world adventure, the historically clunky gameplay and poor execution made it one of gaming’s most infamous critical flops (even if it actually managed to sell fairly well). Years later, it’s worth looking back at the legacy of the game, why it went off the rails, and if it really is the worst superhero game ever.

Superman: The New Superman Adventures Was Kryptonite To Game Critics

Debuting on the Nintendo 64 on May 24, 1999, Superman: The New Superman Adventures was an attempt to bring the Man of Steel’s high-flying action to the consoles. Tangentially tied to Superman: The Animated Series, the game centered on Superman being trapped in a virtual reality landscape by Lex Luthor and Brainiac, forced to confront some of his worst enemies to save his loved ones. Developed by Titus Interactive, the game quickly became an infamous example of how superheroes don’t always translate well to gameplay. The title largely saw players tasked with flying around virtual landscapes to maneuver through Luthor’s mazes, all while racing to save civilians and face off with brief flashes of combat.

The virtual landscape is the explanation for the largely empty version of Metropolis, leaving the game feeling vast and bland. It’s a far cry from the team’s original intention, which was to create an open-world superhero action game. However, due to the technical limitations of the console, only a fraction of the intended gameplay made it into the finished product. Efforts to rush development so it could come out alongside the ultimately canceled Tim Burton-directed film Superman Lives put extra pressure on the team to deliver the game early. Internal changes at Warner Bros. led to friction between the developer and the company, further complicating development.

The result was a game that had clunky gameplay, bland visuals, and a lackluster presentation that was only exacerbated by frequent bugs. Despite high expectations from gaming media at the time, Superman 64 was a critical and commercial flop. It earned a cumulative 23% on GameRankings and doesn’t have enough critical rankings to have a current MetaCritic score, with many decrying it as a low point for the medium’s adaptation of the superhero genre. Although the game sold fairly well for the era with consumers, the high cost of marketing the title and the price tag associated with the Superman license reduced any actual revenue the game pulled in. By most metrics, Superman 64 was a flop, one that has only become more notorious over time. 

What Is The Worst Superhero Game Ever?

Superhero games have had a real mixed history over the course of modern gaming. Going all the way back to the days of the arcade, genuine classics like Konami’s X-Men stood alongside more bizarre titles like Batman: Return of the Joker, which felt less like a Batman game and more like a strange Ninja Gaiden spin-off. There were some pretty notable stinkers released before Superman 64, too. 1995’s Batman Forever and 1997’s Fantastic Four were both incredibly clunky side-scrollers that were too cluttered or sluggish to deliver anything genuinely exciting. Meanwhile, games released since Superman 64 — like 2004’s Catwoman or 2011’s X-Men: Destiny — were also decried by critics.

In terms of raw critical reception, there are actually at least three superhero video games with cumulative review scores that at least put it on par with Superman 64. On MetaCritic at the time of writing, Superman: The New Superman Adventures has an overall score of 30/100. 2003’s Batman: Dark Tomorrow and Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis were both released for the GameCube and Xbox, earning dismal reviews for their clunky gameplay, dull combat, and glitchy game design. Batman: Dark Tomorrow is at least bolstered somewhat by a better narrative, leading it to be given a score of 29/100, while Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis came in at 26/100. Even beyond those, 2000’s Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker — which landed on the N64 — only scored a 24/100, with critics calling out the game’s shoddy design, laughable visuals, and dull gameplay.

Still, none of those games really captured the gamer audience’s attention quite like Superman 64. Maybe it’s because it was fairly widespread, leaving more players disappointed with the pared-down approach to the Man of Steel. Maybe it’s because the barren city and repetitive gameplay came to represent some of the worst impulses of the early 3D era. As with anything in entertainment media and artistic expression, subjectivity is key. Younger audiences at the time seemed to connect with Superman 64, while there are plenty of modern superhero games that may simply bother some players. At least in the popular imagination, this is the worst superhero game — even if there are some that managed to do the impossible and actually play a little bit worse.