Spider-Man Review: With Great Power Comes A Great Game?

In the realm of video games, nostalgia is often the most difficult enemy to overcome.
Since it's release in 2004, the movie tie-in game to Spider-Man 2 stole the hearts of comic fans by delivering a sandbox adventure unlike anything we've ever seen from Marvel comics.
However, Insomniac Games, creators of the exceptional Ratchet and Clank series and the criminally underrated Sunset Overdrive, have burst into the castle, hoisted the veteran web slinging game from it's throne, and taken the crown for it's own by crafting a game of cinematic and gameplay excellence.
DC and Rocksteady better watch out, Marvel have entered the video game space, and they're here to stay.

With Uncle Ben's fateful words etched into our brains thanks to decades of comics featuring the web slinger (something about power and responsibility?), we once again enter the world of comics' favourite arachnid, this time brought to us by the guys and gals over at Insomniac. Announced at E3 back in 2016, the aptly titled Spider-Man promised to deliver an epic tale of a seasoned web-crawler, alongside gameplay that promised to remind us why Spider-Man 2 was so darn fun.

At the core of any great Spider-Man game is a great web-slinging mechanic. Thankfully, the traversal presented here is arguably the best it's ever been, with the movement feeling fast-paced, precise and graceful as you seamlessly fly across the rooftops of New York City with ease. The game's excellent movement simply does not get boring, and thanks to a heap of interesting collectables poking reference to Spidey lore and beautifully recreated New York landmarks you'll never tire of zipping around the wonderfully recreated city.
Once you take the reigns of Peter Parker in several points of the story, however, the game's layout becomes a much simpler affair. The camera switches to an over-the-shoulder view as the gameplay shifts to accommodate the more cinematic and story focused segments of the game. This all sounds very contrasting; going from exciting web slinging to an uninteresting 'walking simulator', yet the narrative weaved into the game's ~30 hour runtime (if you want that sweet, sweet platinum trophy) keeps you thoroughly engrossed until you're let beck out into the playground that is the concrete jungle of NYC.


At the centre of Spider-Man is a story that strikes the perfect balance between intimacy and grandeur. Across the game's ~15 hour narrative, we see both sides of Peter's life, from his crime fighting, smart mouth antics as Spider-man to the humility and introverted nature of Peter that we've all come to know and love.
Impressively, the contrasting personalities of Peter Parker and Spider-Man never feel disjointed. It would have been so easy to fall into the trap 2014's Amazing Spider-Man 2 did, which is to introduce both faces of Peter Parker and have both sides feel like totally different characters. This time out, however, the excellent voice acting of Spider-Man from Yuri Lowenthal perfectly balances the two characters, allowing the transition from Spider-Man to Peter Parker in key moments of the story to feel incredibly smooth.
With an immense following in the pages of comics, Insomniac's venture into the realm of Spider-Man video games had lofty expectations with regards to the characters that would be present here. Through the first 2 acts, Spider-Man opts to tell a story that feels intimate and impactful. Set 8 years after Peter's maiden voyage as the notorious wall-crawler, we see a side of Spider-man lore that is often unexplored. Aunt May and MJ are introduced early on, and both are doing things with their lives that felt unexpected and welcome.
Despite annoyingly being shown in the announcement trailer at E3 2016, the Villain, Martin Li, strikes close to home for Peter. Without stepping into spoiler territory, he ties neatly into Aunt May's storyline, assuming the role of a charitable entrepreneur looking to use his resources to make the city a better place. His transition into villainy, while jarring at first, feels incredibly satisfying, as his motivations almost justify his deadly and despicable actions.
Once you burst into the frantic third act the game pulls no punches with it's extremely liberal use of Spider-man's iconic rogues gallery. The first 2 acts pull you in by enticing you with Peter Parker's life, the people around him, and the moral dilemmas he is faced with. Stepping into the final third feels like you're diving directly into a sea of comic book action, as the game lives up to it's Spider-Man title by gifting us action scenes and story devices worthy of the web-crawlers lofty reputation.

Alongside spectacular gameplay and a thoroughly engaging story, Spider-man also incorporates light RPG elements to help aid progression, with 3 distinctive skill trees to unlock new traversal and combat abilities. While the core webslinging mechanic is dangerously fun and addictive in it's simplest form, the skills introduced make zipping around New York and pummelling bad guys even more of a delight. However, while the perks unlocked add complexity to the game's mechanics, the skill trees themselves are all rather uninspired. I understand that levelling up (in the same vein of traditional RPG's) is not the main driving force for completing the game, but if skill points and upgrades are going to be intertwined with the gameplay then we should expect a system far more robust than the one we're presented with. I often spent lengthy stretches of 5 hours or more collecting backpacks oblivious to the fact that I have 12 skill points just waiting to be spent.

Gladly, the collectables and combat side-activities offer more than mere entertainment, as each completed crime, outpost and landmark gives the player 'tokens' to then be spent on gadgets and suit powers. The primary reason to clear out every Fisk Hideout, however, are the 27 iconic suits waiting for you to try out. With some all new for the game, and others that serve as great nods to some of the best Spidey comics of the last 70+ years, the collection of costumes for Peter to wear range from the Iron Spider (most recently seen in Avengers: Infinity War), to the rebellious 'Spider Punk' which comes packed with tatty converse shoes and a metal spiked mohawk. While some iconic outfits are disappointingly absent (where oh where is the Venom suit?), the selection presented here is expansive and varied, and with more on the way in the form of DLC, your favourite Spidey suit might be right around the corner.


It's hard to recall a game I've had more fun with in 2018. From it's delightful traversal to it's touching story full to the brim of epic set pieces and intimate character development, Spider-Man on PS4 is simply a must-play title for both gamers and comic fans alike, and sets the gold standard for superhero games moving forward.
Move over, Batman; your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man has swung into the realm of video games, and he's here to stay.