Marvel's Avengers may have given both Kate Bishop and Clint Barton a chance to shine as Hawkeye, but it's time to take things even further and give the characters their own video game. Hawkeye might not be the most well-known or popular Marvel figure, but his stock is on the rise after his hit show, and if there was ever a time for him to star in his own game it's now. A video game for the world's greatest archer just makes too much sense.
While not the world's most popular Avenger, Hawkeye has been playable in many Marvel games, most recently starring as a main character in Marvel's Avengers. However, to put it mildly, Marvel's Avengers did not at all live up to fans' expectations, and despite having some fun gameplay mechanics was weighed down by an underwhelming live-service model. Hawkeye deserves a game that lives up to the character's greatness, one with a more story-driven approach that wouldn't be bogged down by microtransactions and repetitive level design.
So why is now the perfect time for the Hawkeye solo game? In addition to the character and superhero video games being more popular than ever before, other recent games have laid out a perfect blueprint for how the character's unique skill set could translate to the medium. It might not seem like it at first, but Marvel hero Hawkeye deserves his own game.
Hawkeye's Popularity Is At An All-Time High
As mentioned before, the obvious reason to give Hawkeye his own game now is to strike when the iron is hot. Hawkeye on Disney+ earned rave reviews from critics, and has been considered by many to be the best Marvel Disney+ series to date. Its always been hard for Hawkeye to reach the same levels of popularity as his fellow Avengers, but his new show might finally have been enough to put him on equal footing with many of the more beloved heroes in the Marvel universe. In addition to the character's stock being at an all-time high, superhero video games are also bigger than ever before. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still primarily responsible for thrusting new superheroes into the mainstream spotlight, recent Marvel games like Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy have also done a ton of good for the Marvel name.
Disregarding the disappointment that was Marvel's Avengers, other recent games have been massive hits, both critically and commercially. When Insomniac created its Marvel's Spider-Man game back in 2018 it gave many people a brand new reason to purchase a PlayStation console. The game sold extremely well, and was considered by many to be one of the best games of the year. The PS5 remastered version and subsequent Miles Morales standalone title were equally well-received, and anticipation for the sequel is already running wild despite it not releasing until 2023. Insomniac recently showed off a trailer for its upcoming X-Men game, Marvel's Wolverine, as well, which should further cement Marvel's presence in the medium, and lay the groundwork for less popular characters to lead a game of their own.
Of course, no amount of hype and popularity for a character can hold up a game if the gameplay isn't good (just look at Marvel's Avengers), but luckily a Hawkeye game could very easily take inspiration from many other great titles on the market. Hugely popular recent releases such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Ghost of Tsushima have both relied heavily on solid bow and arrow mechanics, and a game featuring the world's greatest archer could very easily draw inspiration from and expand on these concepts. The upcoming Horizon Forbidden West will utilize the DualSense and employ haptic feedback for its bow.
A Hawkeye game that relied even more heavily on such a feature has the potential to be fantastic. BOTW boasted tons of different bows for Link to use, which could be something a Hawkeye game could implement as well. Imagine having a full arsenal of different bows and a variety of trick arrows and having to utilize each one for different combat and puzzle-solving mechanics.
Hawkeye's Arrows Could Open Up Different Gameplay Possibilities
As natural as combat mechanics could be in a Hawkeye game, there is also a lot of potential for world traversal. Hawkeye obviously doesn't have the mobility of a character like Spider-Man, but he's still on the more nimble side as far as heroes go, and his skillset could easily be incorporated into an open world-style game similar to Marvel's Spider-Man. Hawkeye wouldn't be able to swing from building to building with webs, but he could use grapple arrows to propel himself up buildings, and could easily parkour up and down objects similar to the way the heroes in Assassin's Creed games do.
Hawkeye's arrows could have more creative effects on movement as well. Perhaps as the player progresses they unlock additional arrow types which open up more traversal options. An area that was once out of reach might become accessible once Hawkeye gains access to his Pym Arrows and is able to enlarge or shrink an object to open up a new pathway. Things like this could give the player all sorts of progression options while staying true to the Hawkeye character.
Finally, like many Marvel heroes, Hawkeye has a rich history that can be drawn upon and easily incorporated into a potential video game. In addition to his many years of backstory from the comics, the game could also draw from the recent TV series in many ways. Including fan-favorite Kate Bishop (who also featured in Marvel's Avengers) would not only give players the chance to see a unique spin on the character, but would also give Hawkeye a companion similar to the role Miles Morales played in Marvel's Spider-Man.
Despite its flaws, Marvel's Avengers still did a decent job of showing what a full Hawkeye game could be like. Hawkeye might never have the popularity that some of Marvel's other superheroes do. However, the character's stock is still at an all-time high, and his unique skill set makes him the perfect candidate to star in the next great superhero video game.