The Flash is one of DC's most famous superheroes, but it may not be possible to make a video game about him. Almost every well-known member of the Justice League has had a video game of their own, but not The Flash. When one considers how many other heroes have games while he doesn't, perhaps there is a good reason for that.
The Flash is one of DC's premier superheroes. A moniker shared by Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, and Wally West, every iteration of the Flash has used their gift of superhuman speed to fight crime. The Flash has been involved in several important events in DC history, most prominently the Flashpoint crossover that led to the creation of the New 52 continuity. However, while there have been many great superhero games such as the Die Hard-esque Batman: Arkham Asylum, the Flash has never had one of his own.
Super speed sounds like a fairly simple superpower. In fact, Sonic the Hedgehog, one of the most famous video game characters of all time, has that as his primary ability. However, there are some significant differences between Sonic and Flash. While Sonic is incredibly fast, his games are platformers that are designed around his speed. In other words, he is a platformer character that exists in a world meant to accommodate his main attribute. In addition, Sonic has other abilities aside from simply being fast, most notably his spindash and homing attack. While Flash's speed allows him to perform many feats, including mimicking all of the Fantastic Four's powers, super speed is still his only true ability. He's also forced to use this in the real world, which isn't built to make use of it, limiting his options for gameplay.
The Flash's Super Speed Would Be Hard To Adapt Into A Game
Another issue is the scale of Flash's speed. While Sonic is "fast," Flash's speed is essentially a force of nature. In his comics, the Flash frequently solves problems and defeats enemies by moving at speeds that are absurd to imagine. The Flash has even traveled though time with his speed, such as in the aforementioned Flashpoint. Essentially, The Flash is so fast that it would be extremely difficult in order to make a game that accommodates his level of speed. However, if the Flash's speed were to be toned down for a game, then it would remove the point of playing as the DC hero in the first place. Unlike the technology of the Batman: Arkham games, Flash's powers only get more overpowered the more they are explored.
The Flash has appeared in video games before, such as the Injustice series, but there has always been something a bit off about his appearances in these games. Using Injustice as an example, Flash should theoretically be able to dodge virtually any attack that comes his way. However, he only sparingly uses his speed. It almost feels like he is actively avoiding using his powers, which makes playing as him feel fairly odd. One could say that perhaps a fighting game is not a good fit for the Flash, but it underscores one problem with using him in games generally. The absurd strength of his superpower would make him almost impossible to balance without him feeling intentionally underpowered. Even in Injustice, where Flash joins the evil Superman, he feels lacking.
The Flash has been a great hero in comics and on TV, but his own video game probably isn't in his future. The Flash unfortunately has a superpower that makes it very difficult to adapt him to games while still genuinely feeling like himself. The Flash is still a great superhero, but he may have to settle for not having his own video game until someone figures out how it could be done.