The gaming landscape has evolved significantly since my childhood, where a common belief prevailed: “licensed games are never good.”This notion was largely accurate, as many licensed titles were rushed, poorly made cash grabs that players would rent from local video stores like Blockbuster and quickly forget. While a few managed to stand out as decent, they were more of an exception than a rule. By the late 2000s, the trend of releasing licensed games dwindled considerably.
Yet, the gaming industry has witnessed a shift in recent years. The rarity of licensed titles has given way to a newfound emphasis on quality and development for the games that do emerge. Although there are still subpar releases, many licensed games have transcended mediocrity, offering compelling experiences drawn from beloved movies, television series, and even anime. Your enjoyment of these games may be influenced by your attachment to the source material, but in my opinion, here are the standout licensed games from recent times.
For clarity, we define “modern”as any licensed game released within the last two console generations.
9 LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
More Bricks, More Fun
Since the mid-2000s, LEGO adaptations of popular films and series have consistently delivered enjoyable experiences. While they may not be considered high art, their charm lies in fun gameplay and light-hearted humor for fans. Among all the LEGO titles, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga stands out as a pinnacle of this genre.
At first glance, I dismissed this game as yet another redundant cash grab, questioning the necessity of revisiting the LEGO Star Wars universe. However, instead of merely repeating prior releases, The Skywalker Saga offers an expansive and optimized experience. Rather than following a rigid path through movie scenes, players can explore a vast, LEGO-themed galaxy filled with familiar characters and locations.
Unlike some overly ambitious Star Wars games, the LEGO approach retains focus, allowing players to engage with beloved moments from the films through streamlined controls and visuals.
8 RoboCop: Rogue City
Surprisingly Spry for a Metal Man
RoboCop has historically lagged behind other iconic 80s franchises in terms of video game adaptations. Aside from forgettable NES and SNES tie-ins, earlier games from the 2000s failed to make an impression. The much-anticipated RoboCop: Rogue City marks a genuine attempt to transform this iconic character into an immersive gaming experience.
Reflecting the film’s reputation for violence, Rogue City allows players to unleash RoboCop’s formidable power, showcasing his ability to withstand gunfire and engage in brutal takedowns. Playing as this legendary character is more than just engaging in action; it embodies the experience of being an unstoppable force.
In addition to chaos, the game incorporates routine police duties, such as managing the front desk and issuing citations, providing depth and humor. After all, even RoboCop needs some downtime amidst the action.
7 Dragon Ball FighterZ
The High-Speed Dragon Ball Experience We Always Wanted
Here’s a controversial opinion: I was never a fan of the Dragon Ball Z Tenkaichi games during my youth. While they captured the series’ aerial combat, they often felt too floaty and imprecise to me. The true essence of Dragon Ball combat lies in its speed and the barrage of punches and ki blasts delivered within mere moments.
This desire for fast-paced combat contributed significantly to the success of Dragon Ball FighterZ, developed by Arc System Works. Rather than being just a Dragon Ball game, FighterZ is a well-crafted fighting game that emphasizes speed, precision, and a deep learning curve for competitive play.
It embraces the franchise’s core elements—intense beam struggles, transformations, teleportations, and iconic power-ups—showing that Dragon Ball can thrive in the competitive fighting game community, even if half the roster features various iterations of Goku.
6 South Park: The Fractured But Whole
Fun Game, Topical Humor
The 2014 release of South Park: The Stick of Truth caught many players off guard, being the first credible South Park game to blend the show’s humor with a classic Paper Mario-style RPG format. While it’s now too old for this list, its sequel, The Fractured But Whole, continues the tradition.
This sequel refines the mechanics from its predecessor while capturing the topical humor of the show, taking place immediately after a season 21 episode where the boys grapple with the best way to format their superhero narrative—a clever nod to the MCU’s dominance at the time.
Players revisit familiar locations from Stick of Truth while enjoying continuity in story. A humorous highlight is learning “magic farts” from Morgan Freeman, supporting the game’s engaging absurdity.
5 One Piece Pirate Warriors 4
The Ideal Spin-Off Musou
My admiration for the series may color my view, but the One Piece: Pirate Warriors games stand out for delivering the most enjoyable gameplay among licensed Warriors spin-offs. A significant appeal of One Piece is watching Luffy and crew take on hordes of enemies, encapsulating the Warriors franchise’s core premise.
Pirate Warriors 4 stands especially strong as it covers thrilling recent arcs from the series, including Whole Cake Island and Wano, while enhancing character development and gameplay features compared to its predecessors. This installment showcases Luffy’s Gear transformations, including exciting new abilities added post-launch through DLC.
One downside is that the story’s ending was crafted hastily since the Wano arc was still unfolding. However, I anticipate that future entries will improve upon this aspect.
4 Indiana Jones and The Great Circle
Swashbuckling, Tomb-Plundering Action
Despite the Indiana Jones film franchise’s acclaim, its gaming adaptations have yet to achieve significant success. Older games often felt constrained by their need to follow the movie plots closely.Indiana Jones and The Great Circle breaks this trend by offering a fresh narrative while preserving the essence of the beloved character.
The game not only features stunning graphics that depict a young Harrison Ford traversing exotic landscapes but also encapsulates the character’s resourcefulness and intelligence. Unlike other shooters, Great Circle emphasizes stealth, strategy, and classic hand-to-hand combat.
In contrast to older games that felt like shameless cash grabs, this title resonates as a labor of love from fans committed to authentically portraying Indiana’s adventurous spirit.
3 Marvel’s Spider-Man
One of the Best Spider-Man Games, Period
Among licensed games based on Marvel properties, Spider-Man is notable for its relatively high success rate. While fond memories of old PS1 titles linger, few games have managed to capture the full breadth of the Spider-Man experience—especially when it comes to fluid web-swinging across Manhattan.Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4 stands out in this regard.
Beyond the exhilarating web-swinging, the game thrives by presenting an original storyline that diverges from the MCU ties often seen in other adaptations. Instead of being burdened by cinematic baggage, this iteration leans into the essence of Spider-Man’s “friendly neighborhood”ethos.
The experience transcends mere combat; it emphasizes community connection and helping those in need. The attention to detail, such as Peter Parker taking the subway for fast travel, captures the essence of a relatable, modern Spider-Man—a character grappling with his dual life.
2 Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Kickstart My Heart
Similar to Marvel’s Spider-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy is set in an original continuity rather than strictly adhering to the MCU. This choice was risky, yet, thankfully, it paid off remarkably well. The game is aptly described as “pleasantly straightforward.”It avoids the pitfalls of sprawling open worlds, unnecessary collectibles, and convoluted online components, delivering instead an engaging action-adventure filled with quirky characters set against an unforgettable soundtrack.
Despite its award for Best Narrative at the 2021 Game Awards, opinions on its story may vary. Nevertheless, it serves as an enjoyable introduction to the Guardians of the Galaxy, devoid of the MCU’s complex backstory.
1 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
A Loving Throwback to the Arcade Age
Among the many titles bearing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles name, the arcade classic Turtles in Time remains a beloved favorite. When it came to launching a new TMNT game, it made perfect sense to draw inspiration from this iconic title, which is precisely what Shredder’s Revenge does.
This game is not only an enjoyable homage to classic arcade beat ’em ups but also a heartfelt tribute to the TMNT franchise itself. The developers enlisted as many original voice actors from the classic cartoon as possible, adding to the nostalgia, and broadened the playable character roster to include fan favorites like Casey Jones, Splinter, and April—who isn’t relegated to being a damsel in distress this time.
While one could argue that it leans into nostalgia, it does so effectively, updating the original concept to meet modern gaming standards while preserving the fun of the past. It certainly outshines the poorly received remaster of Turtles in Time that appeared on Xbox Live.
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