Marvel's Spider-Man

Incredibly surprised by this title, one of the better games I've played in recent memory. Not only is it visually gorgeous, and the webslinging is obviously top-notch, I didn't expect to enjoy the combat as much as I did. So much attention went into making this the most immersive superhero experience it could possibly be, and it's definitely appreciated.

The MJ and Miles parts are awful though.

I’m a fan of Spider-Man games but even I can admit that they’ve lost their allure over time with me due to the over saturation of them. I applaud developers for at least trying to add more depth to the game with the side missions and it’s a great game if you’re a fan of the superhero

above all the main draw of this game is it’s story, the fighting mechanics are the standard Arkham series style beat ‘em up, the swinging mechanics though are unparalleled by any other spider-man game previous

(written sep 22, 2018)

It’s hard to find an open-world game purely about doing the right thing. The very nature of the genre is designed for experimentation, letting the player take on a persona through the consequences of the world’s workings. And yet, Spider-Man becomes one of the best open-world action games by the virtue of defying that very idea.

The gameplay by itself is a welcome improvement to the Arkham formula, but Insomniac gives a certain warmth to it. Context is half of what makes Spider-Man; web-swinging across skyscrapers is only as good as the onlookers, cheering from the streets of New York, allow it to be. Violence is a necessary evil without having to sacrifice the combat’s integrity. Side missions are for cleaning up the environment and taking down mafia thugs. Such a light tone is what inspires that fluffy feeling in your stomach when playing Spider-Man, realizing that your action is for the good of New York.

There’s been light discourse surrounding the depiction of the NYPD in this game, but I found it hard to interpret anything as controversial. Parker never collaborates with the police directly; only with an off-the-books captain, whom stresses the danger of collaborating with Parker in the first place. In fact, light criticism of fascist police is offered later in the game! It’s no Papers, Please or This is the Police, but Spider-Man knows what it’s dealing with and deals with it appropriately.

As it should, Spider-Man is concerned with a basic (and quite literal) “light vs. dark” moral system. I’m reminded of Hideki Kamiya’s “The Wonderful 101“, where justice is a hyperbolic force to be reckoned with, friend and foe are clearly defined, yet we’re given room to consider otherwise. It may not be pushing new boundaries, but does it have to? In our political climate, perhaps further defining the boundaries is what we need.

Fun fact: Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man is the first Marvel-licensed game to feature the iconic flipbook logo crawl that preludes their blockbuster films. A small gesture, but one that says a lot; the type of iconography that indicates crafted grandeur to the highest degree. Spider-Man proves itself worthy of its placement.

Could be better, could be worse. Spider Man for PS4 is very entertaining in gameplay - it’s pretty standard for the beat-em-up genre, and the open world is very neat. New York is well rendered and all around I really like to just swing around in different ways whenever I can. Unfortunately, the story seriously drags this game down.

The story of this game is very bare-bones. The characters aren’t especially charismatic and I didn’t really find myself caring about anyone besides the main character (that obviously being Spider Man himself). The biggest issue is that the villain (or well, villains) present(s) no real threat to the character. You technically hear about bad things in the city, see prisoners everywhere, and according to Yuri Watanabe Spider Man has several broken bones when you return to finish the fights. And yet, it affects the gameplay in no way at all. Quite literally nothing changes. You are basically just given more enemies to fight.

The gameplay, combat-wise anyways, is boring beyond the gadgets. It’s very basic and has just some standard combinations and movement options.

All in all, good game, very fun and entertaining, and a personal favorite. Unfortunately it isn’t the best game.

Long story short, this is the Spider-Man equivalent of the Batman Arkham games. Both combat, stealth, and overall gameplay are almost identical. The open-world activities are not too exciting, but swinging from buildings like a super-fast wrecking ball and using gadgets in combat has been pretty exciting, for the first few hours at least.

The plot and overall presentation are always respectful of the source material, but at the same time it's noticeable that they also tried to play with the characters a little without adapting a specific story. They have been clearly saving up on iconic villains for the sequels, but there are enough popular characters complementing the more obscure ones. There are some spectacular scripted sequences here and there, but strictly gameplay-wise, most story missions felt rather average for an open-world game.

The DLCs offered a few not-too-exciting story sequences featuring minor characters, as well as minor variations on activities already featured in the main game.