Marvel Rivals is a fantastic 6v6 hero shooter. It is also a team game that actively punishes solo players: queue times stretch longer when you solo-queue, matchmaking puts you against coordinated duos and trios, and role balance depends on teammate cooperation you cannot control. If what you want is the fun of playing as Marvel-adjacent heroes without the team-coordination tax, you need different games entirely.
This is the hero-game cohort of our Solo Gamer’s 2026 Playbook. Six single-player games that deliver superhero fantasy, flashy combat, or team-roster variety as a complete solo experience. Our sibling article on Marvel Rivals in 30-minute sessions without ranking anxiety covers how to play Marvel Rivals itself if you still want to. This article is the alternative.
The short version
- Marvel canon: Spider-Man 2 (superhero peak), Marvel’s Midnight Suns (card RPG with Marvel roster).
- Superhero-adjacent: Hi-Fi Rush (stylish rhythm action), Control (supernatural powers).
- DC side: Gotham Knights (Batman family solo).
- Team variety: Guardians of the Galaxy (the Eidos one, surprisingly excellent).
- All six work fully solo with no matchmaking, no queue times, no ranked pressure.
Quick-pick table
| Game | Solo playtime | Hero flavor | Skip if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 | 30-40 hours | Superhero traversal + combat peak | You want team-based play |
| Marvel’s Midnight Suns | 40-60 hours | Marvel roster as tactical card RPG | You want action combat |
| Hi-Fi Rush | 12-15 hours | Rhythm-action with Xbox hero energy | Music games are not your thing |
| Control | 15-25 hours | Supernatural powers, weird fiction | You prefer bright and cheerful |
| Gotham Knights | 30-50 hours | Batman-family solo (DC) | You insisted on Batman specifically |
| Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos) | 15-20 hours | Marvel team adventure, narrative-driven | You want open world |
The 6 games in detail
1. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Insomniac’s open-world superhero sequel is the purest solo Marvel experience in gaming. Peter and Miles both playable, New York City to swing through, 30 to 40 hours of campaign, side content, and traversal joy. No matchmaking. No multiplayer. Just you and two Spiders, alternating as needed. Our 20-minute save points shortlist includes it because it respects short sessions.
Solo playtime: 30 to 40 hours main. 50+ for full completion.
Why it replaces Marvel Rivals: if what you wanted from Marvel Rivals was superhero power fantasy, Spider-Man 2 is that fantasy undistilled. Better traversal than any hero in Rivals can do, and all of New York is your playground.
2. Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Firaxis’s tactical card game mashup has 13 playable Marvel heroes (Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and more), a long campaign, and a surprising amount of character-building depth. The turn-based card combat is uniquely satisfying, and the Abbey hub is a solo social simulation that hit harder than expected.
Solo playtime: 40 to 60 hours main campaign. 80+ for full completion with DLC.
Why it replaces Marvel Rivals: the roster variety. You can play as nearly any major Marvel character, customize their cards, and build a team across 40 hours of solo play. No team coordination required; your “teammates” are AI-controlled on your orders.
3. Hi-Fi Rush
Tango Gameworks’ rhythm action game is the stylish underdog of Xbox exclusives. You are Chai, a wannabe rock star with a heart implant, fighting corporate enemies in a cel-shaded world timed to a funky soundtrack. Twelve to fifteen hours of tight, colorful combat that rewards both solo focus and musical intuition.
Solo playtime: 12 to 15 hours main campaign.
Why it replaces Marvel Rivals: the style and swagger of Marvel Rivals heroes is here without the team shooter framing. Chai is basically a hero-shooter protagonist in a solo game.
4. Control
Remedy’s third-person action game is a weird-fiction love letter to supernatural powers. You are Jesse Faden, investigating the Oldest House, a building that is also a federal bureau. Telekinesis, levitation, shield-crafting out of debris. Fifteen to twenty-five hours of solo supernatural combat, plus both DLCs extending it further.
Solo playtime: 15 to 25 hours base game. 10 more with DLCs.
Why it replaces Marvel Rivals: if what you wanted was “I have cool powers and use them creatively in combat,” Control delivers that harder than any team shooter. Plus the atmosphere is unique and the writing is sharp.
5. Gotham Knights
WB Montreal’s Batman-family solo game lets you play as Nightwing, Robin, Red Hood, or Batgirl across a 30-to-50 hour Gotham City. The co-op is optional; the single-player experience is fully intended. Combat, traversal, and four distinct movement styles make solo play genuinely replayable.
Solo playtime: 30 to 50 hours across four heroes.
Why it replaces Marvel Rivals: DC’s answer to Marvel Rivals is solo by design. Four hero characters, each with unique combat feel, in an open city. If you wanted “hero shooter but alone,” Gotham Knights is close.
6. Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos)
Eidos-Montreal’s 2021 narrative action game is a sleeper pick that most gamers missed. You play Star-Lord leading the Guardians through a linear campaign (15 to 20 hours) with dialogue choices, combat encounters, and genuinely funny character banter. The team-of-heroes feel is preserved as a solo experience.
Solo playtime: 15 to 20 hours main campaign.
Why it replaces Marvel Rivals: if what you liked about Marvel Rivals was “Marvel characters interacting,” Guardians has more of that per hour than any other game on this list. Star-Lord’s team dynamic is written with genuine wit, and every mission has meaningful character beats.
Platform availability
Not all hero games are universally available. Here is the honest state as of 2026.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: PS5 exclusive until late 2024, then PC. Steam Deck plays at 30 FPS with compromises. Not on Xbox. Not on Switch 2.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns: PC, PlayStation (4 and 5), Xbox (One and Series). Switch/Switch 2 versions exist. Steam Deck plays well.
Hi-Fi Rush: originally Xbox-exclusive, now on PlayStation and Switch 2. PC via Steam. Steam Deck runs it beautifully.
Control: PC, PlayStation (4 and 5), Xbox (One and Series), Switch Cloud. Steam Deck runs at 30 FPS.
Gotham Knights: PC, PS5, Xbox Series. Not on previous-gen. Steam Deck plays fine.
Guardians of the Galaxy: PC, PlayStation (4 and 5), Xbox (One and Series), Switch Cloud. Steam Deck Verified.
Four of six run natively on Steam Deck. Two are Sony-primary (Spider-Man 2) or not-yet-ported (Gotham Knights on Switch 2 TBD).
If you came from these team shooters
From Overwatch 2: Spider-Man 2 for traversal-plus-combat, Hi-Fi Rush for stylish single-character play.
From Valorant / Counter-Strike: Control for tight power use, Returnal (on our Helldivers 2 alternatives list) for precision combat intensity.
From Paladins / earlier Marvel Rivals-likes: Marvel’s Midnight Suns for roster variety, Gotham Knights for character-switching.
From Destiny 2 (solo content): Control for supernatural powers, Spider-Man 2 for action-focused hero fantasy.
Match the muscle memory and the appeal, not just the surface. The team shooter scratch can be solo-filled as long as you identify what the scratch actually was.
What we left off (and why)
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Rocksteady’s 2024 live-service shooter is the exact thing we are telling you to avoid. It has a solo mode but the entire game is designed for groups.
Marvel’s Avengers. Crystal Dynamics’ live-service Marvel game is abandoned and partially decommissioned. Solo play is possible but unsupported. Skip.
Injustice 2. Fighting game, not really “hero game” in the Marvel Rivals sense.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Great solo shooter-RPG, but the hero flavor is borderland-fantasy rather than superhero. If the power fantasy is what you want, fine, but it is not the closest match.
Batman: Arkham trilogy. Still excellent solo hero games, but predate our 2018-2026 scope. If you have never played them, add them to your backlog.
Hero fantasy, solo mode
The real question is what specifically drew you to Marvel Rivals. Match the answer to the replacement:
Hero power fantasy (being overpowered): Spider-Man 2, Control, Hi-Fi Rush.
Roster variety (playing different characters): Marvel’s Midnight Suns, Gotham Knights.
Team banter and character drama: Guardians of the Galaxy, Midnight Suns.
Stylish combat: Hi-Fi Rush, Control, Spider-Man 2.
Pick the game that matches your actual hook, not the one that is most famous. The roster-variety person will love Midnight Suns and hate Hi-Fi Rush. The stylish-combat person will love Hi-Fi Rush and bounce off Midnight Suns. Know what you want.
The hidden cost of team shooters for solo players
If you have been solo-queuing Marvel Rivals for months and feeling tired, the fatigue is not in your head. Team shooters extract a specific toll on solo players that the multiplayer-gaming discourse rarely names.
Cognitive load of strangers. Every match, you are sharing a team with 5 strangers whose competence, tilt level, and communication style you cannot predict. That uncertainty is work. Solo single-player games eliminate it entirely.
Tempo mismatch. When you want to play fast, your team is slow. When you want to play cautiously, someone charges in. The constant micro-compromise adds up. Solo games let you set your own pace completely.
Result dependency. In team games, losing because of your team feels worse than losing because of your own mistakes. Even when you played well, a team loss still hurts. Solo games give you clean ownership of outcomes.
The six solo games above eliminate all three of these costs. That is why they feel more “restful” to play even when they are mechanically demanding. The mental overhead is lower. Ex-team-shooter players often report that their first week back on proper solo games feels shockingly relaxing, even when the gameplay itself is harder than a Marvel Rivals match. That delta is the cognitive load of strangers getting refunded to you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Spider-Man 2 the best Marvel solo game ever made?
For superhero traversal and combat, yes. For Marvel roster variety, Midnight Suns wins. For narrative character work, Guardians of the Galaxy is the best per-hour pick.
Can I still play Marvel Rivals occasionally while playing these?
Absolutely. Nothing wrong with solo main games and occasional Rivals sessions when you feel social. Our Marvel Rivals 30-minute sessions guide covers how to play Rivals without the ranked spiral.
Which of these is the shortest?
Hi-Fi Rush at 12 to 15 hours and Guardians of the Galaxy at 15 to 20 hours. Both are finishable in a couple of weeks at normal adult pace.
Are any of these on Game Pass or PlayStation Plus?
Hi-Fi Rush and Guardians of the Galaxy have both appeared on Game Pass. Marvel’s Midnight Suns rotates on both services. Spider-Man 2 is PlayStation-exclusive (and PC). Control is usually on PS Plus Extra. Check current catalogs.
What if I want competitive hero shooter feel but solo?
That is a contradiction, honestly. Competitive multiplayer inherently requires opponents. The closest solo experience that scratches “skilled character-based combat” is probably Hi-Fi Rush’s hardcore difficulty modes or Control’s Expeditions. Neither is truly competitive, but both demand precision.
Related reading
- The Solo Gamer’s 2026 Playbook: the cluster pillar.
- Marvel Rivals in 30-Minute Sessions Without Ranking Anxiety: the Marvel Rivals-specific counter-article.
- Best Marvel Rivals Heroes for Beginners in 2026: if you are sticking with Rivals.
- Single-Player Alternatives to Helldivers 2: the shooter sibling article.
