10 Lost Video Games That Were Discovered Years Later
3. Daredevil: The Man Without Fear
Before Arkham Asylum revolutionised superhero video games single-handedly, we had Treyarch's PS2 Spider-Man titles - often still described as some of the best comic book video games ever. However, Spidey was not meant to swing through the gaming sphere alone.
In the early 2000s, developers 5,000 Ft's pitch for a Daredevil game was approved by Marvel and they began in earnest on their first open-world adventure. The titular hero was able to complete side-missions on the way to his main objectives, using a "shadow world" to take advantage of Daredevil's senses to find enemies and heat sources.
Apparently, the development of Daredevil was pretty rough, in particular as it morphed over time with the announcement of the Ben Affleck film entering production. This meant Encore, Marvel and Sony Pictures all required approvals on everything the studio did. There was an engine switch, the open world was scrapped in favour of being a linear brawler, costs ballooned and there were even alleged drug abuse allegations at the studio.
In 2020, video game preservationist PtoPOnline uploaded a video of a 2003 build of the video game which reignited interest. Then, three years later, a 2004 build was discovered. Fans worked together to make this version (described as "somewhat finished") playable, unearthing a gem from nearly twenty years ago that most people forgot ever existed.