10 Licensed Games That Are Actually Amazing

There was a long stretch of time when video games based on licensed properties were met with a good deal of skepticism regarding their quality. This stigma had been hard-earned over many years, stretching all the way back to Atari’s disastrous E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (which was so bad 3.5 million unsold copies were buried in New Mexico).

In recent years, however, skeptical gamers have been rewarded with legitimately good games based on their favorite properties. Let’s shine a light on 10 of these fantastic licensed games and examine exactly what made them so good.

Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom

It’s hard to imagine a Spongebob Squarepants game being so adored by fans that it actually warrants a remake over a decade later. Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom managed to make this happen by being one of the few licensed video games of its time to be genuinely fun.

The 2003 game played well and had some classic Spongebob jokes sprinkled throughout. More importantly, it felt loyal to one of the most acclaimed cartoons of our time. Hopefully Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated stays true to the original when it releases on June 23, 2020.

Batman: Arkham City

It is well known that people considered the Batman property to be incapable of creating a good game for years. A vast majority of games featuring the dark superhero were honestly not great at all.

Rocksteady Studios fixed this in 2009 with the release of Batman: Arkham Asylum. Then in 2011, they came back and perfected the formula with Batman: Arkham City. The sequel takes everything that was great about the first game and improves upon it, solidifying it as one of the best licensed games ever made.