Marvel's Spider-Man was one of the most hyped games coming into this year's fall slate. Created by developer Insomniac Games (Rachet & Clank, Sunset Overdrive) and published by Sony as a platform exclusive, this game had the perfect developer and tools behind it that allowed it to become one of the best games of the year. This game is the most fun I have had playing from start to finish since Horizon: Zero Dawn. Even in moments where the game was difficult or a bit slow, I still had a smile on my face because of either Spider-Man's witty quips or because of the way MJ and Peter Parker interacted with each other.
Story:
For the most part this game is a standard Spider-Man story starring all the usual heroes and villains. There are certainly some surprises in terms of villain cameos and plot twists that I really appreciated as well, especially towards the end of the game. However, I felt like, for the most part, that I knew the direction the story was heading and how most of the character arcs would finish. Just because some moments were predictable though and flowed like a great Spider-Man story does not mean I did not feel the emotion and experience the payoff the creator's had built when the big set piece moments did happen.
This story is just as much about Peter Parker as it is about Spider-Man. They fully flesh out his relationship with MJ, Aunt May, and his enemies. Peter and MJ are in a complicated part of their relationship and watching them talk to each other, learning about their past, made me feel like a was watching a great teen dramedy combined with the action and adventure of a Spider-Man movie. Their relationship grows and strengthens throughout the story as Spider-Man learns to trust MJ more and allow her into his life, not only as Peter, but as a hero as well.
The most interesting part about the story to me was New York city, and how the game was as fleshed of a character any one with dialogue. It felt like it was beaming full of life and, because of everything you could do in it, made the city feel alive, welcoming, and gave me a desire to save it. Every time there was a major emergency or crime happening in the town I wanted to be there to swing in and save everyone like Spider-Man always does. The story takes play 8 years into Peter Parker's career as Spider-Man and as a result you are not really sure who he has faced yet or who knows his identity. Both of these things are revealed through both dialogue and through exploration of the city. During the game, you will be asked to take photos of famous landmarks and find old backpacks Peter has left throughout the city. Each backpack and photo has a memory and a few lines of dialogue that help flesh out the world for anyone wondering what Peter has been doing for eight years. They hold plenty of Easter Eggs and had so many fun pieces of Spider-Man lore in them that I had the desire to immediately go out and look for every single backpack in the city once I was given the chance to.
Jumping off what I said before, this story takes place 8 years into Peter's life as Spider-Man and as a result, you're not really sure who is who and if all of these characters you meet are the same as the one's in the comics. This adds an extra element of fun and surprise to the story. The best reveal character comes pretty early on in the game and as a result, leads to an great payoff at the end because you know that this character's story ends in tragedy , but there is nothing you can do to stop it. You can only help to make it happen.
The story paces really well and had me constantly wanting to find out what happens next, however around 75% into the story, the game starts to feel a little cramped and I felt like they had you doing too many things at once. There could have been more spacing in this part as they had you doing multiple boss fights and taking down dozens of enemies all within a short time period of each other. I would have preferred they broke up that part better, but that is more of a nitpick than a critique of the story itself. It feels overwhelming at this point, but maybe that's what Insomniac is going for? They want you to feel like the odds are stacked against you and that you need to do all you can to save the day.
Gameplay:
This is, far and away, the best playing Spider-Man game to date. The swinging is near perfect. Every web you shoot attaches to a real building near by and the game uses momentum to pull you forward at high flying speeds. Although there is a slight learning curve to start and swinging at the beginning of the game can be a little annoying when you have not mastered the controls yet, once you figure it out, swinging through out New York is as satisfying as ever. There is an option to fast travel, but once you become an expert at swinging you will never want to fast travel (except to get the Trophy for fast traveling 5 times).
The overall game, with side-missions and collectibles will take about 25-30 hours to beat, but can be much longer if you choose to explore all of the Easter eggs that are not even displayed on the mini map or listed as a collectible. So if you're looking to 100% the game and achieve the Platinum trophy then expect to put in that many hours. Even after completing everything, I still have the desire to go back and swing around New York, stopping crimes when they arise.
An additional feature that makes exploration so great is that you have about 20 costumes you can unlock and wear at any point of the game. From Spider-Man's 2099 suit to his Homecoming Stark suit, you can wear pretty much any suit from any Spider-Man story (except for one major one). Each suit has its own bonuses and powers, but once you unlock a suit and its power you can apply it to any suit which means you can wear the suit you want to the most. I personally preferred the Stark Suit and the White Spider-Man suit they game give you because I felt like they both fit best in the world as I was swinging around. Choosing a suit does not affect any cut scene (except for the final one) which is great because entering a cut scene does not switch your suit and allows you to play as any Spider-Man you like. I know this is not a major feature, but it was a touch I really appreciated.
The combat, although on the surface, can appear to be a knockoff of Arkham's combat, is far from it once you become ingrained in the mechanics and start to chain together multiple combos and use all of Spider-Man's gadgets frequently. Yes, I realize what I have said sounds a lot like Batman combat, but what separates Spider-Man from Batman is how he fights. The interface and basic controls of attacking and dodging are close to Batman's, but Spider-Man's athleticism and high flying nature allows him to fight entirely in the sky and bring enemies towards him, as well as use his webs to disable enemies. You also move so much faster and will be frequently using your webs to swing to higher ground and create strategic advantages for yourself against tougher enemies toward the end of the game. You can try to play this game like Arkham, but if you do, you will be punished quickly and have little to no chance against the hardest enemies at the middle and end of the games, especially if you are playing on the hardest difficulty of Spectacular.
There were not as many boss fights as I would have liked, but when they do happen, they are awesome and do not force you to resort to button mashing, or quick time events (although there definitely are some which create incredible cinematic moments so I am fine with them). Insomniac allows you to fight in open space in New York, not a cramped pre-rendered level. As a result, the boss fights happen in large open areas of New York City which allows you to utilize all of your skills as Spider-Man to swing, dodge, and look for openings to win.
When you are playing as Spider-Man you are always moving at 110% speed and is frantically packed with tons of action and explosions. So, it was important for Insomniac to slow the game down at some points and let you catch your breath. They did this through stealth scenes where you play as Mary Jane and use her wits to get around bad guys. They also did this by assigning you Science Homework. The stealth missions can be a little frustrating because you cannot bully through them like you can with Spider-Man, but if you move patiently enough and do not try to rush the missions, you can finish these with ease and continue to play as Spider-Man afterwards. These missions are controversial among reviewers, but I think they were important to have in the game because they add value to MJ's story. Instead of just showing you a cut scene; solving puzzles, sneaking around, and engaging with bad guys Spider-Man could take down in seconds helps you feel like an average person would in this Super hero world. The Science Homework, as I deemed it, are Mass Effect type puzzles where you need to connect circuit boards together in order to diffuse bombs, unlock new suits, and complete story missions. They are not necessarily difficult puzzles and if you do have trouble, you have the option to skip them (the story based ones, not the optional ones), but I felt like they were unnecessary and really took away from the rest of the game. I understand that the game wants you to be Peter Parker and feel like it is his story as much as it is Spider-Man's, but I just simply was not a fan of these puzzles because they felt a bit lazy and boring even compared to playing as MJ. Like I said before though, they do not take too long and are fairly simple, so you can move quickly through them and get back to playing as your favorite web-slinger.
Overall, this is the best Spider-Man game ever, hands down. It is the most fun and enjoyment I have gotten out of a game in a long time. There is plenty to do, the characters are all fun and enjoyable (especially some of the villains), and the gameplay is unique and non-repetitive enough so that you do not feel like you are just button mashing for 30+ hours. The only major critique I have it that I wish there was more! When New Game Plus comes out and the DLC drops throughout the rest of this year I will jump back in for sure.
My Score: 95/100
+ Spectacular gameplay
+ Amazing story, although a bit predictable and cramped in some places
+ Beautiful open world and fleshed out city
- Science Homework puzzles
Trophies:
There are no missable trophies in this game and you will probably get most of the trophies by just playing the game. There are a few combat and swinging trophies that you may not get, but those are pretty easy to achieve if you just decide for a couple enemy encounters that you will focus on getting them. Overall, this is one of the easier and most achievable Platinum trophies I have seen. I would definitely recommend going for it as you will enjoy the journey along the way.
***Photos taken from Insomniac's website and Amazon.