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Sadly, the movie might not be enough for ravenous audiences. Viewers may crave more craziness from their favorite symbiote. This is where Venom’s popularity benefits him. Throughout the years, several video games have captured the chaos inherent in his antics. Even if he doesn’t physically appear, the inspiration is plain to see.
Updated January 15, 2022 by Mark Sammut: Venom: Let There Be Carnage might not have been one of the best movies of 2021, but it provided an entertaining way to spend 90 minutes. Andy Serkis’ movie brought Cletus Kasady to the big screen, and it might be a while before Carnage makes another appearance outside of comics. A third Venom movie is also in the works, so Eddie Brock’s love/hate relationship with an alien symbiote still has a few chapters to go before it reaches its conclusion. To fill the time while waiting for more Venom goodness, fans can try out a few of the new games that have been added to this article.
12 Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
Venom is playable in every Marvel: Ultimate Alliance game, however, he is probably at his best in the second entry. While the first Marvel: Ultimate Alliance limited the symbiote to a DLC, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 incorporates Venom into the main story, and he is available regardless of which faction the player selects.
As part of a team, Venom’s destruction is somewhat limited in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2. That being said, the game does a great job of capturing the character’s moveset and tone, although it should be noted that this Venom is Mac Gargan and not Eddie Brock.
11 Spider-Man & Venom: Maximum Carnage
This is an oldie but a goodie. As a side-scrolling beat-em-up, Maximum Carnage’s gameplay may be basic. Thankfully, it also provides plenty of arcade-style fun and is well-suited to both protagonists. The sprites and move sets capture the acrobatic flair of Spider-Man and the brutality of Venom.
Couple that with a storyline taken straight from the Maximum Carnage comics, and the result is something special. It’s an action-packed tale about Spider-Man and Venom teaming up to take down the titular villain. What’s not to like about a blockbuster setup like that?
10 The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Venom: Let There Be Carnage does not fully reflect the eponymous villain’s talent for inflicting widespread chaos in the comics. While technically fighting for the side of good, Bruce Banner’s alter ego can unleash maximum carnage in The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. Outside of the story missions, players are free to smash their way through an open-world that is absolutely designed to be reduced to rubble.
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The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is an underappreciated superhero game that holds up incredibly well since its gameplay is so irresistibly fun.
9 Ultimate Spider-Man
This is another title split between Spider-Man and Venom, but it’s clear who everyone’s favorite is this time around. While the Web-Head’s segments are standard stuff, the Venom gameplay takes a page out of The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.
The super-sized symbiote sports unbridled strength and a talent for mayhem, tossing cars and flattening anyone in the vicinity with his tendril attacks. Venom also needs to feed, so he consumes both enemies and innocent bystanders. Yes, even children. It’s a twisted flip of the formula that should please anyone searching for a symbiote power fantasy.
8 Marvel Vs. Capcom 2: New Age Of Heroes
Outside of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds and its ultimate counterpart, Venom is available in every Marvel vs. Capcom game. Although they all have their positives, even Infinite, Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes is generally considered the best in the series. A staple of arcades and the competitive scene, this fighter provides timeless visuals, accessible but deep combat, and a massive selection of Marvel and Capcom characters.
Brilliantly animated, Venom combines speed and power to create a deadly moveset that pays plenty of homage to the character’s comic origins. Carnage has yet to appear in any of these games, although a red version of Venom can be unlocked in Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes.
7 Prototype
If you thought Ultimate Spider-Man got dark with its Venom segments, take a look at the Prototype titles, two cult superhero games where players are essentially cast as Carnage. Technically, the first entry’s Alex Mercer and the sequel’s James Heller are original characters, but one glance at the tendril attacks will draw immediate comparisons.
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These two anti-heroes not only consume people but completely rip them apart. The blood and guts are matched only by the property damage. Plus, the knives and other weapons these guys form with their slime powers are much more in line with Carnage’s deadly arsenal. If gamers ever want a solo slaughter-fest starring the sadistic crimson criminal, this is the closest they’ll get.
6 Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
As indicated by the title, this adventure boasts four web-slingers from four different dimensions, each representing a distinctive era in the hero’s career. The gameplay of the Ultimate universe is appropriately a spiritual successor to the Ultimate Spider-Man game.
Players sport the symbiote suit for these levels, giving them the Web-Head’s agility and the widespread power of Venom. They then cap off this chaos with a battle against Carnage, who’s turned the S.H.I.E.L.D. heli-carrier into his symbiote stronghold. That’s a lot of slime.
5 The Darkness
If a solo Venom game were to ever come to fruition, it might play something like The Darkness, minus the first-person shooter element. Based on Top Cow’s comic series with the same name, The Darkness follows a gangster, Jackie, who winds up possessed by a vicious demonic entity called the Darkness. Along with some other nifty benefits, the Darkness gives Jackie access to tentacles that can rip enemies to shred (among other things).
Producing two entries, The Darkness series hits it out of the park in both the gameplay and story departments, although the first entry excels at the latter and the sequel at the former.
4 Spider-Man (2000)
A fondly remembered classic on the PlayStation and Dreamcast, this high-flying adventure starts as a standard Spidey tale but soon spirals into a widespread symbiote invasion. Players regularly contend with these slimy creatures throughout the game’s second half.
More important, though, is the unmatched charm of the characters. Specifically, Venom’s personality here is the closest to his portrayal in the recent movies. He’s a dopey anti-hero who loves messing with “Spider-Wuss” and the rest of the Big Apple. Those who enjoy that version of Venom will get a kick out of his antics.
3 Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows
This is another tale involving a mass invasion of symbiotes. What sets Web of Shadows apart is its grander scale, placing the premise in an open world. The slimy scum gradually infests all of New York, leeching off the environment and making monsters out of the populace (including several other Marvel characters).
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Complementing this is the constant moral and gameplay dilemma of whether to embrace the destructive anti-heroics of the black suit or the selfless altruism of classic Spidey. It’s basically a knockoff of similar systems in Infamous and Mass Effect, but it works, even mirroring the conflict in Let There Be Carnage to an extent. What holds it back is one of the most annoying Spider-Man voices ever recorded.
2 Mortal Kombat
Let There Be Carnage has no shortage of gruesome kills by its titular psycho. Venom himself isn’t much better, constantly pestering his host about biting people’s heads off. Those subscribing to this sick sense of humor can do all that and more in the Mortal Kombat series.
The horrifically creative ways of dismemberment in this series (especially the recent entries) can only be the product of a demented imagination. Several fighters like Sindel even have similar move sets to the symbiotes. Her sadistic glee will satisfy the most gluttonous of goo monsters.
1 LEGO Marvel
As with any entry in this enjoyably escapist franchise, LEGO Marvel Superheroes places gamers in a wide world of possibility. The entire Marvel universe is your playground, and symbiotes like Venom and Carnage are among the many faces fans will see in this massive sandbox. For some added variety, they come in normal size as well as “big-figs” who rival the Hulk.
LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2 expands its setting to other time periods and dimensions. This gives the spotlight to more obscure figures like Agent Venom. Where else can you say that? The LEGO Marvel titles are a love letter to comic lovers from all walks of life, Venom fans included.
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