Creating a new Spider-Man game isn’t an easy task. People are expecting miracles and want an experience that’s as close to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as possible. We all know that games based on movies aren’t always that good; but what happens when you task a developer like Insomniac Games with the job to create the new Spider-Man game? Time to find out!
This is a Marvel product
First things first, the team stayed true to the Marvel universe (which shouldn’t come as a surprise since Marvel worked closely together with Insomniac Games on this product). No, this doesn’t mean we’re following the same Peter Parker here, they created a new story including a new Peter Parker. This Peter has been Spider-Man for eight years and is currently in his prime. He understands his powers way better and he dealt with a lot of enemies in the past. Right from the start, it’s clear that this Peter and thus Spider-Man is a different character. Forget everything you know about him and prepare for a completely new adventure that easily could have been the new Spider-Man movie.
I don’t say this lightly. It’s amazing to see how close the team managed to come to a storyline that’s actually even better than the last Marvel movies. Right from the start, the game feels like a true Marvel product including great jokes, amazing visuals, and a solid soundtrack. The way Marvel’s Spider-Man takes off in the first mission is breathtaking, it feels like you’re playing an interactive Marvel movie. This is the feeling I got during the entire story missions, which took me close to twenty hours to finish. During these hours, I laughed at the brilliant jokes, cried with the unexpected events and was speechless due to the many plot twists and new characters. No, I won’t spoil the story for you, it’s simply too good and you’ll have to discover every piece for yourselves, but let me say this: ‘Prepare to be blown away, the story is even better than you could ever imagine’. It seriously has some extremely strong moments that had more impact on me personally than any scene from the movies.
This is an Insomniac Games product
When Insomniac Games revealed that they were working on the new Spider-Man game, a lot of fans were surprised. It’s a strange choice, at first sight. The team never worked on an existing franchise, right from the start, they created new worlds and new stories. What brought them to the Spider-Man franchise? Well, Sony and Marvel Games actually approached them (as said in my interview) and it was simply one of those things Insomniac couldn’t refuse, being fans of the franchise. After spending a lot of time with the final product, it’s clear to say that Insomniac Games was the right candidate for the job. They already created fast-paced open-world action in Sunset Overdrive and the Ratchet & Clank franchise already gave them tons of experience with gadgets. Combine these two things and you have Marvel’s Spider-Man.
Let’s talk traversal first. Insomniac Games knows traversal is the key for a great Spider-Man game and they really achieved on this part. Never before could I swing around the city this easily. This Spider-Man is fast, fluent and extremely flexible. In no time, I was swinging around the city, launching myself to gain more speed, dropping down to take down the enemies. Traversal feels great and I often got lost in it. Swinging around simply takes the edge of the stress, it’s a fun thing to do and I caught myself swinging around with no purpose a lot of the times. It feels great to be Spider-Man and thanks to the free running, I was even able to maintain my momentum on the ground too, truly impressive!
Moving over to the gadgets. Spider-Man really has some amazing new tricks up his sleeve. The more missions you complete, the more skill points you unlock. These can be used to enhance your web-slinging, attacks or gadget innovations, adding a small RPG layer over the game and making it more fun to level up. Besides your skills, you can also gather several tokens that are spread over the city. Some tokens are unlocked by finding an old backpack, while others can only be unlocked if you solve several smaller crimes in the city. During your progressions, you’ll unlock different side-missions, all resulting in their specific tokens. These can be switched for new suits or better gadgets. Insomniac Games really went all out in this department. The suits range from the most famous ones to the most obscure ones, all having their own place in the deep Spider-Man lore. To top it off, almost every new suit comes with a suit-specific power that can really alter the outcome of combat.
The gadgets, on the other hand, offer more variation and innovation in your gameplay. Webbing your enemies with a bomb is a lot different then webbing them with single shots, to name just one example.
A massive open world
The story is amazing, suit and gadgets are fun to explore, but what about the open world? Needless to say, the game takes place in an alternate version of New York City. It’s Insomniac Games biggest open world to date but I think the team managed to create something interesting. While playing Spider-Man, you’ll see the city from a top-down perspective most of the times, since you’re swinging over it. The city is huge and fun the discover in the air but I recommend to drop down to the streets from time to time. This is an impressive open world filled with hidden details and Easter Eggs.
Did they manage to create an interesting open world? I think they did. The map stays true to the real Manhattan and if you’ve ever been there, you’ll easily recognize the iconic landmarks and streets. Since this is a Marvel game, you’ll also see some familiar buildings like the Avengers tower popping up in the distance. The city looks good and there are plenty of things to do next to the main story. The game even pushes you to explore the city by giving you some extra time to discover new things in between missions. Not only that, the tokens you need to change your suit are mostly found in the city too.
But, it’s not perfect
As said in my introduction, creating a new Spider-Man game is hard since people are expecting miracles from it. Insomniac Games really delivered and gave us the most memorable Spider-Man game to date, but it’s not perfect. While swinging over the city, I sometimes got stuck or my web didn’t attach to the building I was hoping for. The pedestrians in the streets all look familiar, just like the enemies and the story missions lack variation. These were some of my frustrations during my first hours in the game. At first, the story missions tend to repeat themselves in a different setting. I often had to chase something or was forced to sneak around without being noticed. Things get a lot better in the second and final act but prepare for some less interesting missions first. In the end, I think it was worth struggling but in my dream scenario, all missions would have been unique and unforgettable, which isn’t really the case now. What you do get is a great looking game filled with Spider-Man action and a story that’s worth completing. No, it’s not perfect, and yes the puddles are smaller than the ones shown at E3 but that doesn’t make the game any less good. It’s be far the most impressive Spider-Man experience to date.
Conclusion:
Marvel’s Spider-Man on PlayStation 4 is by far the best Spider-Man game I’ve ever played. The story is, generally speaking, really good and impressive, it will keep you hooked to your screen for hours. Insomniac Games managed to create a different kind of Spider-Man, including amazing suits and gadgets and a more grownup personality. The game suffers from small bugs and the story has its dull moments but don’t let those things hold you back from one of the best games currently out on PlayStation 4. Don’t worry about those smaller puddles, you’ll enjoy this game from start to finish.
