21 Years Ago Today, Marvel Fans Got the Darkest Superhero Video Game Ever

Superhero games tend to make their central characters a bit darker than they are usually depicted to justify the more combat-heavy mechanics of video games. Look no further than adaptations of Batman and Spider-Man, where characters typically defined by their commitment to saving lives is pushed to the limit by game mechanics where you can hit people with a Batmobile or web-swing them off a rooftop. It makes gaming an intriguing place for superhero adaptations, having to balance fulfilling power fantasies without betraying the core of the characters.

One game that actually benefited from the violence that typically comes with shooter-heavy video games was The Punisher. Developed by Volition and released by THQ for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Windows on January 18, 2005, The Punisher seems like a perfect fit for a violent shooter game. More than the dark comedy and the non-stop action, though, The Punisher incorporated a torture mechanic that makes it the darkest superhero game ever.

The Punisher Video Game Was Really Dark

Taking inspiration from the then-recent film adaptation starring Thomas Jane as well as the incredibly brutal (and very well-written) comic stories by Garth Ennis, The Punisher doesn’t hold back in terms of raw violence and dark comedy. Fundamentally, the game works as a third-person shooter, with players taking over the role of Frank Castle and shooting their way through hordes of criminals and killers as the gun-toting vigilante known as the Punisher. However, the way The Punisher separates itself from other contemporary shooters of the time, like Max Payne, is its focus on intimidating and executing enemies.

Frank can capture enemies and interrogate them for information, using environmental “hot spots” to make the threats particularly clear. Players are tasked with balancing their intimidation with restraint, as going too hard too quickly can result in the enemy being executed. It places the onus of torturing the NPCs on the player, forcing them to make the decision and go through the motions themselves. It’s a vicious game with some genuinely memorable boss encounters and a darkly hilarious script, thanks largely to Ennis co-writing the game with fellow comics creator Jimmy Palmiotti with the same grim edge that he brought to the character in the comics.

The Punisher Is Shockingly Violent, Even Considering The Source Material

The game’s depiction of Frank Castle’s brutal side feels consistent with who the Punisher is in the original comics and in other media, but takes on a different edge when adapted into a game. Whereas comic readers or movie audiences might be able to take a grim pleasure from seeing the Punisher dispatch horrible people through terrible methods, it’s an entirely different thing to have the player go through with it themselves. Some of the kills are truly ridiculous, especially in the zoo level, where players can have Frank execute enemies with swarms of piranha or with a rhino. Others are genuinelly unsettling, like when the player can hold an enemy under burning liquid and melt off their face.

The kills are so brutal, in fact, that The Punisher almost got an “AO” rating from the ESRB. The “Adults Only” rating meant the game wouldn’t be able to be sold through many major outlets. The developers worked with the ratings system for a year, softening the edges of the experience (in part by depicting the executions in black and white) so that the game could be lowered to an “M” rating. This also included putting emphasis on players losing potential upgrade points if they didn’t show mercy to certain enemies, and an automatic level failure if a civilian was killed. Even with those guardrails, there’s something darkly unforgettable about being the Punisher and forcing an enemy through a wood chipper that makes The Punisher stand out years later.

How The Punisher Plays With The Struggles Of Superhero Adaptations In Video Games

One of the things that makes The Punisher such a uniquely dark game for superhero fans is the way it recognizes the typical rules of the genre and subverts them. This is a Frank Castle who exists in the same world as superheroes like Captain America, Iron Man, and Black Widow. This is a world typically defined by the morality seen in their adventures, and even there, the Punisher can arrive on the scene and slaughter his way through scores of people. It’s reflective of who the Punisher is in the Marvel Universe and is one of the better examples of a video game adaptation fully representing the superhero character, warts and all. The Punisher has historically killed pretty much every criminal he gets his hands on — and if the player wants to really be him, they have to be the one to make those decisions.

One of the more intriguing elements of the game is the way players can choose to spare some of these people or go through with the executions. It places the decision on the player to decide what kind of Punisher they are, and makes you complicit with the actions of the anti-hero. It might have come into play as a means of keeping the game from getting too severe a rating, but it actually serves a good purpose in the game design. It forces the player into the role of Frank Castle, with sudden flashes to his deceased family at specific moments serving as natural motivation for his more absurd kills. Most video games about superheroes have trouble balancing the realities of gaming with the specific moral compass of the genre. The Punisher took that divide and implemented it into the game design, making for a vicious shooter that forces the player to make some pretty dark decisions.