Daredevil has one of the most storied comic book histories of all time, with the Hell’s Kitchen vigilante doing battle with the likes of Kingpin and other crime lords through decades of different stories. At one point, however, Daredevil was meant to get his own video game to tie-in with the 2003 movie.
Titled Daredevil: The Man Without Fear, the game was going to be released for PC, PlayStation 2, and the original Xbox if it had ever completed development. Unfortunately, that release never happened, as little-known developer 5000ft Inc. canned the project after months of development. Still, with greater interest in the character spurred by an excellent Daredevil Netflix series, fans managed to dig up a good bit of the footage from the game.
Plenty of details on the canceled Daredevil game have released over the years, such as how the game ran on the same Criterion Engine used for Grand Theft Auto 3 and how it switched between open-world and linear gameplay styles during its time in development. A recent video from YouTuber PtoPOnline showcases actual footage from the doomed title, however, including gameplay and story details that give an indication of what Daredevil: The Man Without Fear could have been.
Players may be able to dress up as Daredevil in Fortnite nowadays, but back in the early 2000s, this canceled game was set to let fans live out their fantasies of playing as the blind superhero. The gameplay shows Daredevil grinding on the rails above Hell’s Kitchen, a mechanic that was perfected over a decade later by titles like Sunset Overdrive.
The rest of the gameplay shows off numerous unfinished stages, with PtoPOnline doing an excellent job of covering the game’s troubled development. Daredevil has access to an unfinished “Shadow World Vision” that works like Listen Mode from The Last of Us, as well as his expected hand-to-hand combat skills. An alternate suit based on the costume of Daredevil’s nemesis Bullseye is also showcased. On the story side of things, the canceled game would have seen the death of Kingpin and the inclusion of Black Widow, with the latter used as a guide of some kind. With Daredevil’s rights soon reverting to Marvel, perhaps the romantic relationship between the heroes could still be referenced via a film set in the MCU.
Regardless, the game would have included Hammerhead and other Marvel mob bosses in villain roles, with Elektra and Foggy Nelson appearing as well. With Marvel recently shooting down rumors regarding a next-gen Daredevil project, this footage of the canned video game focused on the Defenders member may be the closest fans ever get to playing as the hero.
