Venom has always been one of the coolest Spider-Man villains. When the symbiote was introduced to the franchise, it quickly corrupted Peter Parker before he became wise to the situation. After ditching the symbiotic suit, Venom would return with a series of new hosts in an attempt to ruin Spider-Man’s life.
Video games are the perfect medium to capture Venom at his most destructive. Being able to play as Venom or seeing a new incarnation of the villain is always something to look forward to whether it’s a classic beat ’em up or a fighting game. These are the eight best appearances of Venom in video games.
8 Spider-Man 2 PS5
A Symbiote For A New Era
One of Venom’s most recent appearances has been in Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2. The Symbiote is the main villain of the game with a very familiar introduction. This includes Peter Parker once again struggling as the power of the symbiote suit starts corrupting the friendly neighborhood hero.
When Venom finally emerges, he showcases the full corruption of the symbiote by creating new enemies for you to face. The game also allows you to play as Venom during various sequences. While the game may not let you play as Venom from start to finish, there are plenty of other games to satisfy the craving for more brutal symbiote action.
Full Fighting Venom
One of Venom’s most iconic fighting game appearances is in the legendary Marvel Vs Capcom 2. This entry is considered one of the best fighting games of all time and with a roster as big as this one, it gives Venom plenty of characters to go up against.
Venom’s sprite in this game looks fantastic, and his moves are all perfectly animated to showcase his more brutal nature. His sprites are also quite fluid, allowing the symbiote to change shape as he lands more punches in.
6 Marvel Nemesis: Rise Of The Imperfects
An Underrated Gem
Both Venom and Spider-Man are caught up in an alien invasion that leaves characters such as Captain America, Hulk, and The Punisher dead. This underrated fighting game features a destructible environment and throwable objects. It is a surprisingly gritty Marvel game with characters from the 2000s movies.
Venom once again shows off his brute strength, but can also use webslingers to combat enemies. In addition to this, Venom has a corrupted form which makes him glow green and makes him even more threatening than he usually is. His abilities allow players to grab hold of enemies from afar and send them crashing through concrete or even off the stage.
5 Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage
Let There Be Carnage
Venom is by far one of the most popular Spider-Man Villains ever introduced to the franchise. In fact, he’s probably up there along with Doc Ock and Green Goblin. However, fans craved Venom so quickly that it was only a matter of time before he took center stage alongside Spider-Man.
Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage for the Super Nintendo, puts the symbiote right on the cover. While they may usually be enemies, this time they must work together to stop an even greater threat. What makes this Venom appearance so cool is that you can immediately play as him from the start of the game as you beat through waves of enemies.
4 Ultimate Spider-Man
When Venom Gets Hungry
The Ultimate Spider-Man game was released on multiple platforms, including GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and many more. The game features a very comic book-inspired look and feel to it with panels being incorporated into the cutscenes. One of the best elements added to it is the addition of a playable Venom in certain sequences of the game.
While Spider-Man can regain health by picking up health packs, Venom’s vitality is constantly draining. The only way to remedy this is by feeding on people in a very gruesome display for a mid-2000s comic book game. However, this gameplay element makes playing Venom an absolute treat and very in-character.
3 Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
A Brilliant Team Up Of Heroes And Villains
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: Black Order brings together almost every hero and villain from the Marvel franchise. You can play as Star Lord, Iron Man, Wolverine, and of course, Venom himself. The game does a good job of adapting every character’s abilities and Venom gets this premium treatment as well.
Venom is featured in this game as both a playable character and as a boss to take down. He has moves that allow him to change shape as he brutally attacks enemies. So, if you’re the type of player that likes to smash through enemies head to head, then this is one game that will let you embrace the symbiote.
2 Venom And Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety
A Sequel The First Venom And Spider-Man Team Up
If you’re looking for a sequel to a decent SNES game, Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage, then you’ve come to the right place. This time Venom’s name comes first on the title, which already tells you where the focus of the game is. However, while it doesn’t have many cutscenes, you get plenty of opportunities to bash bad guys. Or in this case, worse guys than Venom.
The game shares some inspiration from prior Venom comics such as Venom: Separation Anxiety and Venom: Lethal Protector. Once again, the goal is to go up against Carnage, whether you do this alone or with a co-op player who takes the role of Spider-Man.
1 Spider-Man Web Of Shadows
It’s The Symbiote Apocalypse
Spider-Man Web Of Shadows has you playing as Spider-Man but focuses almost entirely on the Symbiote menace. Venom isn’t the only enemy you need to face but the darkness within, as the symbiote takes over Peter Parker. This gives him the famous black suit which can be upgraded.
There are also plenty of other Symbiote creatures that Spider-Man will have to fight on his way to defeat Venom. The final boss is also iconic due to how huge Venom becomes and his monstrous new look. This game really does seem like a Venom apocalypse. However, try to be heroic when playing this game. Some choices will let the Symbiote consume you.
