The Defenders (2026 PS5 Video Game)

The Defenders is a 2026 action-adventure, detective, thriller, superhero team-up video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5, serving as a sequel to 2023's Daredevil video game and takes place within the same universe as the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 Spider-Man video games. The game went into development in 2024 and with new technology and innovation making it easier on the industry to create video game sequels from the base, this game only took two years in development, but is the biggest superhero game of all time, as this is the first game with more than three protagonists. The game lets players follow the lives and roles of Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage, as the fate of New York lies on their hands...
== Rating ==
M (Mature) for Blood & Gore, Strong Sexual Content, Nudity, Intense Themes, Intense Violence, & Use of Drugs and Alcohol
== Gameplay Dynamics/Features ==
# The game has four different protagonists and follows the circle-of-switch inspired by 2013's Grand Theft Auto V, with players having the ability to switch between Matt Murdock/Daredevil, Luke Cage, Danny Rand/Iron Fist, and Jessica Jones at any given time (unless there is a certain part in the story where something happens to one or a couple of the protagonists)
# Each of the four protagonists has different skill trees, with each of them upgrading on their own based on how the player performs in-game; each character has a level cap of 100.
# Daredevil is the only playable character with gadgets
# Iron Fist has different variations in using his iron fist
# Luke Cage can use different variations in using his bulletproof skin
# Jessica Jones's flight requires control
# The map includes of Manhattan; Harlem and even smaller towns in Manhattan look bigger due to Luke Cage not being able to fly or jump around buildings so quickly. The map also includes of the Kun-Lun temple, in which Danny has access to the entire interior of Rand Tower and access to an airplane to go to Kun-Lun or use his astral powers to transport there. Manhattan has multiple interiors; some examples are Harlem's Paradise (the home of Cottonmouth, one of the game's main protagonists), Matt Murdock's apartment complex, Luke Cage's apartment complex, Danny and Colleen Wing's dojo, Jessica Jones's Alias Investigations office, Nelson & Murdock law firm, the NYPD sections all over Manhattan, and Rand Tower; and even all these are just interiors important to the story of the game and are only 10% of what is accessible to players; Brooklyn is also accessible in the map and has multiple interiors as well
# Daredevil has a total of 20 (vanilla base) game suits that take skills to unlock; completing investigations, crime scenes, and Daredevil quests (some of them are secret)
# Jessica Jones has a total of 15 (vanilla base) game suits
# Luke Cage has a total of 13 (vanilla base) game suits
# Iron Fist has a total of 13 (vanilla base) game suits
# There are certain missions (specifically ones where all four heroes are together) where players can start the mission up with certain protagonists and will get unique dialogue and even unique objectives (e.g. there is a mission where all four protagonists are going after Cottonmouth's men and if the player starts with Luke Cage, he will have interesting dialogue with Cottonmouth. If the player starts with Daredevil, Daredevil will have to go over to Harlem's Paradise by himself)
# There are five difficulties in the game (Vigilante, Fighter, Hero, Superhero, and Defender); players get a massive reward for completing the game on Superhero or Defender; they get unique suits and unlock unique challenges and tokens in-game if they do complete these modes
# There is multiple endgame content
# Insomniac Games brought back the Raids mode introduced in 2025's Prowler DLC in The Spectacular Spider-Man; players will be able to plan raids with all heroes and there are unique raids that have to do with gangs in the main story and side stories
== HTLB ==
Main Story (alone): 48 hours
Main Story (plus a few extra activities): 81 hours
100% Completion: 112 hours
== Characters ==
=== Playable Characters ===
* Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Robin Atkin Downes)
* Danny Rand/Iron Fist (Josh Keaton)
* Luke Cage (CeeLo Green)
* Jessica Jones (Tara Platt)
* Trish Walker/Hellcat (Tara Strong; playable in separate story DLC)
* Elektra Natchios/Elektra (Maaya Sakamoto; playable in separate story DLC)
* Colleen Wing (Monica Rial; playable in separate story-duo DLC)
* Misty Knight (Kyla Pratt; playable in separate story-duo DLC)
=== Protagonists ===
* Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Robin Atkin Downes)
* Danny Rand/Iron Fist (Josh Keaton)
* Luke Cage (CeeLo Green)
* Jessica Jones (Tara Platt)
* Elektra Natchios/Elektra (Maaya Sakamoto)
=== Main Story Antagonists ===
* Kilgrave/Purple Man
* Cornell Stokes/Cottonmouth
* Davos/Steel Serpent
* Lawrence Cranston/Mister Fear
* Willis Stryker/Diamondback
* Mariah Stokes/Black Mariah
* John McIver/Bushmaster
* Agent Crock
* Carlos LaMuerto/Black Tarantula
* Alexandra
* Blackout
* Madame Gao
* Joy Meachum
* Bakuto
* Master Khan
* Sowande
=== Side Story Antagonists ===
* Andrea Von Strucker (all)
* Andreas Von Strucker (all)
* Angelica Roeg (Daredevil)
* Wesley/The Arranger (Daredevil)
* Bad Seed (Iron Fist)
* Haywire (Iron Fist & Luke Cage)
* Baron Mordo (Iron Fist)
* Ammo (Daredevil)
* Mary Walker/Typhoid Mary (all)
* Duc No Tranh/Bengal (all)
* Blackheart (Iron Fist & Daredevil)
* Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider (Iron Fist & Daredevil)
* Joseph Manfredi/Blackwing (Jessica Jones)
* Boris (Luke Cage)
* Brother Zed (Luke Cage)
* Lawrence Evans/Bolt (Daredevil)
* Carl Burbank/Bushwacker (Daredevil)
* Frank Simpson/Nuke (Luke Cage)
* Shades (Luke Cage)
* Comanche (Luke Cage)
* Jared Beekman (Jessica Jones)
* Willis Stryker/Diamondback (Luke Cage)
* Aarkus (Iron Fist)
* Ben Donovan/Big Ben (Luke Cage)
* Bison (all)
* David Lawson (Jessica Jones)
* Calavera (Jessica Jones & Luke Cage)
* Carl Lombardi (Daredevil & Luke Cage)
* Philip Masters/Puppet Master (Jessica Jones)
* Mind-Controlled Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic (Jessica Jones)
* Mind-Controlled Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Jessica Jones)
* Mind-Controlled Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Jessica Jones)
* Mind-Controlled Ben Grimm/The Thing (Jessica Jones)
* Coyote (Daredevil)
* Crimson Ash (Iron Fist)
* Count Nefaria (Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Jessica Jones)
* Criti Noll (Iron Fist)
* Bacillus (Iron Fist & Luke Cage)
* Batroc The Leaper (all)
* Damon Dran (Daredevil & Iron Fist)
* Jericho Drumm/Brother Voodoo (Daredevil & Iron Fist)
* Darris Kimbro (Daredevil)
* Demon Baby (Jessica Jones)
* Phillip Sterling/Death-Stalker (Luke Cage & Jessica Jones)
* Devos The Devastator (Luke Cage)
* Dr. Karl Stragg (Luke Cage & Daredevil)
* Eric Slaughter (Daredevil)
* Goldbug (all)
* Henry Camp/Bulldozer (Luke Cage & Iron Fist)
* Gorgon (Daredevil)
* Brainwashed Logan Howlett/Wolverine (Daredevil)
* Harold Meachum (Iron Fist)
* Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Jessica Jones)
* Griffin Gogol/Captain Ultra (Luke Cage)
* Paul Duval/Grey Gargoyle (all)
* Tony Masters/Taskmaster (all)
* Grotto (Daredevil)
* Agent Henry Dobbs (Jessica Jones & Daredevil)
* Chaka (Iron Fist)
* Hirochi (Luke Cage & Iron Fist)
* Curtis Carr/Chemistro (Luke Cage)
* Manfred Haller/Behemoth (Luke Cage & Iron Fist)
* Chondu (Jessica Jones)
* Chesire (Jessica Jones)
* Cockroach Hamilton (Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Daredevil)
=== Supporting Characters ===
* Misty Knight
* Colleen Wing
* Foggy Nelson
* Claire Temple
* Karen Page
* Ben Urich
* Phil Urich
* Stick
* Trish Walker
* District Attorney Blake Tower
* Turk Barrett
* Ward Meachum
* Malcolm Ducasse
== Synopsis ==
Just a year after Daredevil's final confrontation with Bullseye, Matt Murdock struggles to deal with the consequences of Foggy finding out about his secret identity and constantly worrying about his health. Meanwhile, Jessica Jones, Alias Investigator and vigilante, looks into a case about the return of her worst enemy, with the help of Luke Cage, who also witnesses the rise of a crimelord known as Cottonmouth, who is killing young black teenagers in Harlem. Danny Rand, with the position as the Immortal Iron Fist, notices his company falling to shackles with a new twist on the Rand name; Danny suspects this has something to do with the Meachums, who Danny has had a decade-long rivalry with for a very long time. The four of these heroes are forced together with each other when multiple civilians have been reported to kill themselves; Jessica's worst fear has come true; Kilgrave is back in action. With Kilgrave back and his manipulation even more powerful than ever, with the help of the Purple People, Kilgrave recruits the likes of Cottonmouth, the internally dark Black Mariah, Steel Serpent, Mister Fear, and other enemies of the heroes to join his circle of hate and manipulation. Will New York go insane under the rule of Kilgrave or will these Defenders be able to safe their city from imminent manipulation?
== Ending ==
All four heroes have hit their lowest points in this war against the Purple People; Kilgrave has managed to manipulate and fully control the minds and even lives of 50% of New York's population, with everyone killing one another and the murder rate going up; New York has turned into a complete and utter warzone; after Luke manages to take down Diamondback and put him back in an upstate penitentiary, Black Mariah has shown her true colors; she has killed Cornell, her own cousin and taken over Harlem's Paradise. Hell's Kitchen is now inhabited full of Seagate prisoners who have broken out and become Purple People, all under the control of Agent Crock, who has become Kilgrave's handy-man. Kilgrave, knowing Danny Rand is extremely powerful and provides the biggest threat, orders a portion of his Purple People to raid Rand Tower, but Colleen, Misty, Ward, and Trish all work on letting that not come to light. Meanwhile, Matt was forced to relive his worst fears of witnessing the deaths of his mother and Stick (from the Daredevil game), Luke Cage hides himself from society after a revelation from Kilgrave has been revealed that Jessica, under Kilgrave's control, was the one who killed Luke's girlfriend all those years ago, creating conflict between Jessica and Luke, and Danny has been stripped from his ability as the Iron Fist, as Davos has successfully defeated him in battle. Danny suits up once more and goes to Rand Tower to aid Colleen, Misty, and Trish. Danny must work on holding off the Purple People and not killing them, as there are real people under those Kilgrave-controlled minds. After a battle on the rooftop of Rand Tower ensues, Sowande shows up to taunt Colleen, due to her failing to get the iron fist. Colleen ends up killing Sowande and Davos arrives on the rooftop, where him and Danny have a rematch. After a long battle, Danny ends up gaining the upper hand. An emotional moment sparks between Danny and Davos, who admits that being banned for facing Shou-Lao illegally and losing the fight with Danny all those years have affected his life and all he ever wanted was the power of the iron fist. Danny downs Davos and apologizes, telling Davos he needs to be put away; Rand Tower is safe and Danny asks Trish to call Jessica. The player switches to Jessica