Marvel's Spider-Man
I've always loved Spider-Man for as long as I can remember and I think Spider-Man games have had a rough history, which includes the Spider-Man 2 video game by the way, which I think is incredibly overrated. Nobody could ever seem to get the formula right and the fact that most of them are cheap movie tie-in games doesn't help. But I was excited when this game was announced because I think Insomniac is a great company and the E3 footage only made me more hopeful because it really looked like for the first time fans would be receiving a true Triple-A Spider-Man experience. So does it live up to the hype? Absolutely.
Marvel's Spider-Man is without a doubt the best Spider-Man game to date. The only other superhero game prior that has reached this level of quality, in my opinion, is Batman Arkham Asylum. The story is an absolute love letter to fans and offers arguably the best iteration of the character outside of the comics. Insomniac really understands the ins and outs of the Spider-Man universe and it shows. There is such a high amount of attention to detail here. The phrase that has been memed to death that the game "makes you feel like Spider-Man" actually holds some truth here not just because of the combat or the web-swinging but the world-building and attention to detail. The first small bit of the game basically sets up Spider-Man's daily routine of sorts and shows you exactly what it's like to be Spider-Man. There are a ton of little details that really immerse you into Spider-Man's world, your webs actually have to stick to a surface, enemies are webbed to the side of buildings by a device if they get knocked off, you can interact with citizens in the street and on the subway, and there are even two separate sets of dialogue that play depending on whether you're swinging or perched on a rooftop. There are backpacks in the game that can be collected and come attached with tongue in cheek references to Peter's past experiences, all the suits you can acquire are great nods to the comics, the dialogue between Peter and the supporting cast of characters is funny, charming, and executed so well like the whole "Spider-Cop" thing between Peter and Yuri Watanabe, and J. Jonah Jameson even has an anti-Spider-Man podcast that plays in the background while swinging around New York which is comedy gold.
And speaking of swinging the web-swinging mechanics here are perfect and have always been the most fun part of previous games and this one's no exception. Web swinging is fast, fluid, flashy, and controls better than ever. It really makes you feel like... jk ;)
And if that alone doesn't make you want to explore every inch of New York the game literally forces you to go do side quests if you do too many main quests which makes sense because it seems like something Spiderman would actually do, he is called "the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man" after all. These quests mainly consist of trailing missions and being someone's errand boy which are trends I hate in gaming but at least they feel so much more natural here as opposed to a lot of other games where it feels like forced filler. The weakest part of the game is easily the MJ and Miles Morales stealth sections which are not only frustrating but are pretty poor attempts to add some variety into the game.
The story was probably the biggest surprise for me though. It's can be incredibly hard to write a fresh and interesting story for a character that's over 50 years old but somehow Insomniac managed to do it. The story feels very familiar yet fresh and new all the same, the characters get a ton of memorable moments, the voice acting is impeccable, and the ending both tore my heart out and make me incredibly anxious for whatever is coming next in the game's sequel.
To wrap things up Spider-Man PS4 doesn't exactly revolutionize the superhero genre so if that's what you wanted out of this game you might be disappointed, but Marvel's Spider-Man is executed with so much more love and polish than a typical superhero game I think just about anyone can appreciate it and if you're a fan of Spider-Man like me this is a must-play.
