Hulk: Ultimate Destruction has long been considered the gold standard when it comes to Hulk games, but Hulk is long overdue for a next-gen sequel. While the Hulk has been playable in a number of recent Marvel games, including Marvel's Avengers and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, the alter-ego of Bruce Banner has not been the star of a solo game since The Incredible Hulk movie tie-in game that released in 2008 to overwhelmingly poor reviews. Hulk: Ultimate Destruction was the last game to really understand what made the Hulk so fun to play as, focusing on the character's destructive nature and how that impacted the world around him. But having released all the way back in 2005, the game has (along with its destruction physics) sadly grown outdated.
Crystal Dynamics did its best to bring Hulk's destructive capacity into modern consoles, even upgrading Marvel's Avengers' Hulk destruction physics in its next-gen versions. Unfortunately, the game's attempts to balance all of its playable characters (including characters with no superpowers, like Hawkeye) leaves the Hulk feeling far weaker in his gameplay than he should. It's difficult for gamers to truly feel the power of the Hulk in their hands when it takes 10 punches to defeat one A.I.M. bot. The issue of trying to balance the Hulk gameplay-wise with other heroes is a problem that most team-based Marvel games seem to struggle with, including Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Marvel Heroes, and a number of mobile games the hero appears in.
Because of this, the Hulk needs an Ultimate Destruction sequel or spiritual successor to really capture the feeling of being the Hulk, and with the power of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, there's never been a better time to take advantage of how the beloved Marvel hero can showcase new destruction physics. Current gen versions of games such as the Battlefield series have shown off just how impressive destruction physics have gotten in games, not only looking and feeling more realistic than ever, but able to happen on a far larger scale thanks to the upgraded processing power on the consoles. These destruction physics to showcase the Hulk's immense strength like never before, and without the need to balance the Hulk against other heroes, the potential is nearly limitless.
A Next-Gen Hulk Game Needs To Be Open-World To Truly Showcase His Destructive Capacity
Marvel's Spider-Man that an open world was the best was to showcase all of Spider-Man's unique abilities, something that a potential Hulk solo game should take advantage of. If, like Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, a PlayStation 5/Xbox Series X/S solo Hulk game focused itself on the Hulk's destructive abilities, an open-world game would be the perfect way to show that off. Setting a Hulk game in an open-world playground filled with destructible environments would be an excellent way to give players the feeling of immense power that comes from being the Hulk. In particular, it would be interesting if the open-world regularly saved the world state, keeping track of what has been destroyed and how, leaving the player feeling as though their actions truly affected the world around them.
While games like Marvel's Avengers have gotten Hulk's abilities right, the lack of a truly destructive environment has always left the character feeling far less impressive than his big screen or comic book counterparts. A modern successor to Hulk: Ultimate Destruction could really change this, finally giving the character the feeling of power he deserves. A fully destructible open-world, in concert with updated destruction physics is the best way to showcase the character and finally give Hulk fans the game they've been waiting for.