Who doesn’t love an anti-hero? Of allthe Spiderverse’s heroesand villains, few are quite as awesome as theravenous alien symbiote, Venom.
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Venom’s exciting to encounter, whether you’re teaming up with him as Peter Parker, battling alongside fan-favorite host Eddie Brock, or tackling Venom in a Big Bad Boss Fight.
Let’s dive in and see the best games Venom has attached himself to throughout theSpider-Manfranchise.
10Marvel: Contest of Champions
Weirdest Venom Variants
Marvel Contest of Champions
This mobile fighting game cracks onto our list for one simple reason:Marvel Contest of Championsfeatures weird new variants of the symbiote.Namely, Venompool and Venom the Duck!
If you’ve playedwaytoo muchMarvel Vs. Capcomand want a different fighting-game take on Venom,Contest of Championsis worth checking out.
The touch-screen controls can be a bit jank, inevitably, but it’s still a fun way to kill time with a favorite franchise.
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9Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Tactic: Hungry Alien
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
In thisX-COM-styleapproach to superheroes, Venom’s endless hungerprovides your team with a potent damage-dealer.
He can be a bit tricky to use, since Venom’sRavenouspassive increases your damage when hehasn’tbeen fed. With the right team and setup, though, Venom’s burst damage is brutal.
Despite being present in the baseMarvel’s Midnight Sunsgame, Venom only becomes playable with theRedemptionDLC. I love it when Venom flip-flops sides—showing off his truly alien mindset—but it would have been great to play with him in the base game, too.
8Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage
OG Playable Venom
Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage
This 90s cult classic features Venom’s first appearance as a playable character. Based on a comic book series by the same name,Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnagestands out as one of the most faithful reproductions of a comic storyline into a video game.
It even features comic book pages directly in the game! Combined with gameplay letting you switch between Spider-Man and Venom freely, it’s no wonder this retro beat ‘em up has kept a fanbase for decades.
7Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
Best Venom Boss Fight
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
Spider-Man: Web of ShadowsIt may not be the greatest Spider-Man game, but you know what it does have? A freakingamazingVenom boss fight.
As New York City gets increasingly infected and overwhelmed by copies of the Venom symbiote—including battles against other Venom-enhanced heroes like Wolverine—the game comes to a climax as you battle an enormous multi-headed Venom from atop the S.H.I.E.LD. helicarrier.
This slugging match, as you whittle down giga-Venom’s extra heads, is a tense battle which, in my opinion, is probably the best fight against Venom in any Spider-Man game.
6Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
Villainous Team-Up
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
InMarvel: Ultimate Alliance 2you’re forced to pick a side during theCivil War comic story arc.Whether you’re Pro- or Anti-Registration, however, Venom’s still a playable option!
This action-RPG sticks out because it gives us a playable Venom while also ramping up his “villainous” side.
Initially presented as a supervillain antagonist, even when Venom joins your team he’s not exactly a “nice” guy. He’s just eating your foes … for now.
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5Spider-Man 3
Corrupting Alien
Spider-Man 3
Just like Raimi’sSpider-Man 3,this movie tie-in game is all about the relationship between Peter Parker and the Venom symbiote. Featuring the “black suit” version of Spider-Man as a symbiote-fueled power-up, this game emphasizes Venom’s role as Parker’s “alter ego” akin to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
For die-hard Spider-Fans of the Raimi trilogy,Spider-Man 3stands out due to voice acting by the film’s original actors. (Which is good, considering J.K. Simmons is the “one true” J. Jonah Jameson in my book!)
Yet, like most tie-in games, this game’s quality really depends on whether you like how the film presents Venom more like a “force” than a “personality.”
4LEGO Marvel Superheroes
Power And Flexible Utility
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
Venom’s breaking blocks and collecting studs in this LEGO take on Marvel! Naturally, this iteration does tone down the violence for its kid-friendly audience, but the LEGO games’ classic satiric humor still lets our favorite Friendly Neighborhood Symbiote shine.
And shine, he does! Venom’s one of the best characters inLEGO Marvel Superheroesbecause his diverse moveset blends the mobility of Spider-Man with a “Big-Fig” option for super strength like Hulk.
Add in special symbiote walls hiding secrets throughout the game, and Venom’s a great inclusion on your mission roster.
3Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
All About Venom
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
One of the best stories about Venom in recent years comes from theeaster-egg filledlatest installment in Insomniac Games' Spider-Man series.
Despite similarities to other Venom storylines, this one stands out due to its deft juggling of the symbiote as both a corrupting influence and a villain in its own right.
The combination of both themes really helps capture the nastier side of our favorite alien menace. Add in a few more symbiotic characters—like Anti-Venom—and our color palette stretches beyond Venom’s classic all-black for some entertaining and surprising variety.
2Marvel Vs. Capcom
Iconic Fighting Game Masterpiece
Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes
The thirdMarvel Vs. Capcomgame saw Venom take the fighting stage for the first time. While initially restricted to arcades, this enduring classic has been ported, updated, and reworked repeatedly to keep it freshly available for fighting game enthusiasts.
Venom is in a number of fighting games—including the most recent entry in this series,Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite,as a DLC character.
He really stands out in the classic game, though, for how “monstrous” his playstyle feels. With webs, tentacles, enormous fangs, and more, 1998’s Venom truly felt alien in a way difficult to match at the time.
1Ultimate Spider-Man
Amazing Comic-Style Action
Ultimate Spider-Man
The Ultimate Venom, perhaps unsurprisingly, is also theUltimate Spider-Man!The best of Treyarch’s Spider-Man titles,Ultimateexcels by successfully evoking thefeelingof its comic source material through gameplay and visual style, rather than merely emulating it.
Despite an early boss battle with Venom, the symbiote is playable early and throughout much of the game. Constantly-depleting health echoes the alien’s hunger, forcing you to feed or perish and setting an interesting contrast against Venom/Brock’s anti-hero tendencies.
A strong, faithful story combined with ravenous alien battles? Hard to top!
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