Review: Marvel’s Spider-Man is nothing short of spectacular

DISCLAIMER: A review copy was provided by the publisher.

Platform: PlayStation 4

Developer: Insomniac Games

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

MSRP: $59.99

Release Date: Friday, September 7th, 2018

Introduction:

When I was two years old, I was exposed to my favorite superhero and character in all of fiction: Spider-Man. Marvel’s iconic character has had an incredible impact on my life and when I was little, all I wanted was to be able to be Spider-Man. Many years later, I can finally say I feel like I have swung through the streets of New York at breakneck speeds to save the day as the web-slinger thanks to Marvel’s Spider-Man.

The feelings this open world superhero simulator achieves are unparalleled in any game available today and are something only Insomniac Games, Marvel, and Sony could’ve created together. Emotion is the core of Marvel’s Spider-Man and that could be through something exciting within gameplay like the incredible thrills you get from jumping off Avengers Tower and swan-diving until you’re mere inches from the pavement only to shoot a web and begin narrowly propelling yourself through the bustling street. It could very well be through something incredibly gripping in the story like an emotionally charged battle with a villain, a heart-wrenching moment for Peter Parker, or something else entirely.

A Spider-Man game should make you feel something because if you want to portray him accurately, that’s the most important thing. It would be bizarre if you have a character that navigates the world almost like he’s on an off the rails rollercoaster yet you as the player don’t feel that within the traversal mechanics. Literally from minute one the game made me crack a big smile and swell up with some tears because Insomniac cements their passion and understanding of the wall-crawler, it was clear they knew even the most intricate and subtle elements of the character.

A powerful reimagined take on a fictional icon:

In Marvel’s Spider-Man, we meet Peter Parker eight years into his crime-fighting career. The game opens with you locking up Kingpin in a bombastic set piece that sets the stage for what’s to come. With Kingpin and a number of Spidey’s other recognizable baddies behind bars, things are peaceful. That is of course until a new gang known as the Inner Demons rise up in the ashes of Fisk to begin their dominance over New York which quickly unravels into something bigger than anything Spidey has ever faced.

The origin story is totally unseen in this game, we all know what happened, Insomniac wants to give us something new and not bog us down with things we’ve seen before. Spider-Man is wholly original, going as far as to take a Telltale’s Batman-esque approach by changing characters into something different. Peter Parker/Spider-Man isn’t someone radically different, he’s the quippy nerd you know and love but characters like Mary-Jane Watson have undergone changes. MJ is a journalist instead of the sexy bombshell next door that Peter drools over that she has previously been seen as.

She is still the prime love interest in this game but she’s very different, she has a bit of Gwen Stacy in her with a sense of resilience and independence. MJ is keen on making a name for herself and making a difference in the world without Peter holding her back from danger. This dilemma serves as an incredibly interesting wrench in the complicated relationship between the classic couple. Their chemistry is wonderful – even when they’re bickering – and a lot of the moments between Peter and MJ are highlights of the game.

The writing and story of Marvel’s Spider-Man are some of the best in any Spider-Man medium to date, it gives the best films a run for their money and would rank highly among some of the most classic Spidey comics to date.

Leading up to launch, Insomniac was very vocal about wanting to create a game that isn’t just a Spider-Man story but one that shows the collision of Spider-Man and Peter Parker’s worlds. We’ve seen this demonstrated very well in the movies, shows, and comics but the games have rarely ever pulled it off until now. Thanks to a healthy blend of down to earth moments between Peter and characters like Aunt May, MJ, and Miles Morales along with adrenaline-fueled Spidey action, we see the two sides of the mask. Even when he’s wearing the mask, there’s a subtle distinction between if Peter or the Spider-Man persona is the one doing the talking.

That distinction begins to almost mold into one entity as you get deeper into the game, really blurring the lines of the dual identities. As the stakes raise, Peter begins to take things more seriously and invests himself more into the battle raging in New York, allowing his more delicate emotions to channel through him. It’s a crucial element to the crux of the story Insomniac wants to tell and it’s handled brilliantly.

What is probably an equally strong theme in the story is this element of idols and heroes falling from grace, the corruption of men with good intentions. In past Spider-Man games, villains have always felt just like the bad guys with an evil plan. There has never really been a great Spider-Man game where it was rooted with personal stakes, just “Ah, a bad guy doing bad things! Gotta save the day!”

It’s much more intimate here for a number of reasons. Martin Li (AKA Mister Negative) is the primary antagonist of the game but he’s not just generic evil guy #1 in a roster of super villains, he has a connection to Peter. The two know each other through Aunt May who works at Martin Li’s homeless shelter, he’s a good man deep down but his evil alter ego brings out a darker side to him. With Peter Parker being the optimist that he is, he seeks to reason with Li instead of just webbing him up and sending him on his way.

This theme extends into other characters you meet along the way and it grows stronger and stronger, giving it the emotional weight it needs to set itself apart from anything we’ve seen before in a Spidey game.

This is also a darker story than I initially anticipated, it’s not super edgy and depressing but there are moments where the game really makes you sit there and feel almost appalled by what’s going on. There’s one incredibly lengthy sequence where my jaw was suspended in the air for an extended period of time simply out of pure awe of where Insomniac was going. There are still plenty of moments of levity but the game doesn’t pull its punches either, it hits incredibly hard when it wants to.

The definitive Spider-Man gameplay experience:

Speaking of punches, Spider-Man himself is no punch-puller either. The combat in this game is fast, fluid, and when you’re really in the thick of it with everything working flawlessly, it’s incredibly fun. Unlike in the Batman Arkham games, you’re not just punching and countering. All those gadgets you’ve spent upgrading, they’re easily accessible and they feel much more purposeful in combat.

With the ability to bring up a gadget wheel at any time and slow down time a bit to switch between various webbing types and other tools, you’re able to make fights feel much more engaging. Use your web shooters to tie up a foe and beat them into submission, shoot an impact web at a thug and send them flying into a wall where they become stuck, stick a web mine in between a pair of evildoers and smash them into each other, it’s all about creativity and acting on the fly.

The more you play and the more you experiment, the better the combat becomes. Surprisingly, even the most basic brawls aren’t simple or easy. While this isn’t the Dark Souls of superhero games, it can be pretty challenging and that’s why you’re heavily encouraged to upgrade and use your abilities than just mash the counter button over and over again.

Sometimes fighting can feel a bit clunky due to Spidey’s agility and speed, it’s not frustrating or awful but it can break that immersive flow of combat when he bounces too far away or isn’t doing exactly what you expected him to do in your head. It’s a small flaw in an otherwise masterful combat system but one worth noting for those that want a true Spider-Man experience.

Before a fight usually kicks off, you usually have the chance to take a stealth approach and eliminate some stragglers. You crawl on walls and overhead rafters/light posts to web up enemies or sneak up behind someone and knock them out, it’s not the most thrilling stealth combat but it’s an effective way to make combat a bit easier on yourself and survey your environment in case you want to fling objects placed around you like electricity boxes or fire extinguishers during combat.

Some stealth sections in the game see you playing as MJ and this is probably the least enjoyable aspect of the game. It’s not dreadful but it grinds the game to a halt when it feels very rapid otherwise. You’ll be forced to crouch through areas, wait for enemies to walk away from you while hiding behind boxes, and create distractions to progress. It’s really not the most exciting thing in the world, it’s not bad it a weaker cog in an otherwise well-oiled machine.

These moments are done sparingly enough that it doesn’t hurt the game very much at all and as you get towards the end of the game, these sequences actually become much stronger. One of the most exposition heavy parts of the story comes during one of MJ’s levels and it’s done in such a smart way that it became an instant standout for me.

A vibrant world to protect and play in:

When you’re not stealthing around or putting carjackers in silk cocoons, chances are you’re doing what Spider-Man does best: Traversing New York City. There’s really nothing like moving around this world.

Webs attach to actual surfaces as opposed to just floating in the sky, you can press L2 and R2 to launch yourself towards key points like flag poles or ledges and instantly bounce off of them to keep your momentum, you can wall-run and use your speed to kickstart a fast web swing, and much more. It’s honestly hard to put into words how good it all feels, Insomniac just nails it.

When you’re moving through the world so fast that when you land next to someone on the street they fall to the ground and scream in terror, you know Insomniac has done something right. There’s a fast travel system in this game but you probably won’t use it much because web swinging is so damn good and the world is worth exploring.

You’ll see iconic locations like Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum and Avengers Tower, have the ability to interact with civilians, and hear frequent updates from J. Jonah Jameson’s hilarious Alex Jones-esque podcast, Just The Facts. Seriously, it’s worth listening to and it includes one of several references to the balloon kid from the Spider-Man 2 video game.

The world feels alive, it’s like you’re a part of it as opposed to it just being a vessel or background for this story. People shout things at you – both good and bad, the city is still split on Spider-Man and isn’t sure if he’s a hero or menace – there’s an in-game version of Twitter which is actively being filled with posts about the masked vigilante, the events of the story and the impact it has on the city, and other random nonsense.

Insomniac manage to capture a New York City that feels lively, familiar, and at the same time, new. It has that maze-like quality to it where even after the credits roll you’ll still feel like you’re exploring new areas regardless of if you actually are.

The Verdict:

With an emotionally rich story, gameplay that fulfills childlike dreams of being a superhero, and an engaging world with no shortage of puddles, Marvel’s Spider-Man is not only the definitive Spider-Man game but one of the best games of the generation.

There was a lot of talk before this game released about how this would be Spider-Man’s Arkham game but it’s not, it’s much more than that. It takes risks, going beyond pre-established notions for the IP to give welcome surprises and changes as well as lay new ground for the character. Insomniac’s not playing the “greatest hits” of Spider-Man, they’re making a new era of the webhead that will go down as a groundbreaking age in superhero gaming.