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Nearly 20 years after the superhero action game was unceremoniously canceled, a playable prototype for Daredevil: The Man Without Fear has appeared online. Developed by the now-defunct 5,000 Ft. Studios, the beat ‘em up title would have seen players stepping into the shoes of the titular superhero to stop a gang war that’s enveloped Hell’s Kitchen.
A playable PS2 prototype for the canceled Daredevil: The Man Without Fear game has been posted online
As reported by Eurogamer, new footage of Daredevil: The Man Without Fear has shown up online along with a playable prototype of the PlayStation 2 version of the game. The prototype, which was posted to video game archive site Hidden Palace, gives gamers a chance to try out the Marvel superhero game nearly two decades after its cancellation. While the game is reportedly rife with bugs, with Hidden Palace noting that glitches can cause players to clip through walls, most of the content that was finished prior to Daredevil: The Man Without Fear’s cancellation is apparently available in the leaked copy.
Originally meant to serve as a loose collection of some of the most iconic moments from the protagonist’s long career as a superhero, Daredevil: The Man Without Fear was a third-person action title planned for release on PC, PS2, and Xbox. Following the announcement of a Daredevil movie starring Ben Affleck, the size and scope of the game ballooned drastically leading to numerous production delays.
Planned for a February 2003 launch to coincide with Affleck’s film, the game was repeatedly pushed back before Daredevil: The Man Without Fear was canceled outright following the departure of several 5,000 Ft. Studios developers and Marvel’s refusal to approve its release. The finished game would have seen players acrobatically flipping and fighting through Hell’s Kitchen to try and bring an end to a gang war that erupted following the apparent assassination of criminal mastermind, Kingpin.
While gamers will never get a chance to see what a fully finished version of Daredevil: The Man Without Fear could have been, at least there’s still hope for the Marvel hero to make a long-awaited return to gaming. Following years of rumors about Daredevil making an appearance in Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man series, it appears the crime-fighting lawyer may soon have a cameo. Recent remarks from Insomniac’s Senior Creative Director Bryan Intihar regarding a Daredevil Easter Egg in Spider-Man 2 hint that crossover content could be in the works, with Intihar telling gamers to “Stay tuned.”