Summary
As one of the biggest comic book publishers,DChave expanded their empire to put their iconic superheroes in TV shows, movies, and even video games. These games have performed very well over the years, withthe Batman Arkham trilogybeing a particular highlight among superhero fans. However,DChas also given their readers plenty of co-op video games over the years.
It’s always great when more than one player can jump online or on the same console to fight crime, andDChas some of the best co-op superhero video games out there.
Batman has always proved to be a popular character forDC Comics. That is why he is one of the heroes who have received the most video game adaptations, one of which was released on the PS2 in 2003, and features many of the character designs used inthe animated series from the 1990s.
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzuis a co-op side scrolling action beat-em-up that lets two players choose to play as either Batman, Robin, Batgirl or Nightwing. The combat is fairly simple, but this game has a unique story featuring plenty of villains from Batman’s rogues gallery. Overall, it is just fun to play this game set in theBatmanuniverse alongside a friend and unlock new gadgets or abilities on the way.
DC Universe Onlineis a massively multiplayer online game that has been running since 2011. The game is free to play, and it allows new players to create their own superheroin theDCuniverse,and interact with some well-known heroes and villains from the comics.
Players must choose if the character they have made is a hero or villain, and this impacts the story missions that unfold in the game. These missions usually involve some heavy action gameplay, and players can fight alongside or battle against friends and other random players, sinceDC Universe Onlineis an MMO with one large connected server.
Activision were having great success with their multiplayer dungeon crawler games based in the Marvel universe at the beginning of the 2000s. Both theX-Men LegendsgamesandMarvel Ultimate Alliancegameswere selling well, and each of these co-op games allowed players to assemble a team of four superheroes to defeat waves of enemies. With theJustice Leagueanimated cartoon also doing well during this time, it only made sense for them to get a video game as well.
Justice League Heroesis another top-down dungeon crawler from this era that allows two players tocontrol iconic DC heroessuch as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Zatanna. However, instead of assembling a unique team of four heroes, this game has set levels in which players can only play as two of the characters at a time.
With Traveler’s Tales succeeding in turning major franchises from pop culture intoLEGOgames, it only seemed natural that one of the most iconic characters in history would receive his ownLEGOvideo game. As a result, the firstLEGO Batmangame was released and allowed players to solve puzzles and play as a multitude of characters in levels set in Gotham City.LEGO Batman 2expanded on the first game in a big way, though, as it introduced an open-world Gotham City to explore, and was the firstLEGOgame to introduce voice acting in the cut scenes.
The second game in the series also featured Superman in amajor role during the story, which eventually led to all members of the Justice League making an appearance. These characters would all return inLEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham,which is a game set in space and includes a story more focused on allDC LEGOcharacters.
While theLEGO Batmanseries slowly builds toward a game that includes everyone in theDCUniverse,LEGO DC Super-Villainsthrows the player into a fully established version of theDC Universe from the beginning. The game does feature Gotham as an open-world location, but it also features Metropolis, Smallville, Apokalypse, and plenty of other locations from the comics to explore.
LEGO DC: Super-Villainsis very much like any otherLEGOvideo game. Players must play through levels and solve puzzles to progress, while also unlocking collectibles in the open world. The main difference here is that the player does thisby controlling iconicDCvillainslike the Joker, Harley Quinn, and Lex Luthor, in a story that sees these characters save the world from an evil Justice League.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueis a game set in the same universe as the single player Arkham games. The main story of this game is also a single player experience that pits four charactersfrom this villainous team against Brainiac and his evil Justice Leaguein a frantic action shooter. However, this game is also a live service game.
This means that a player can take one of the members of the Suicide Squad and jump into an online match with their friends. In these online lobbies, players work together to defeat enemies and level up their characters, while other players can drop in and out of a game at will. There is still more content to come fromSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, but it is currently one of the best co-op games fromDC.
