[Review] Marvel’s Spider-Man

Note: I played Marvel’s Spider-Man exclusively with the PS4 StrikePack F.P.S. Dominator.

Video games based on comic book franchises have by in large been lackluster. Things started to turn around however when Rocksteady released Batman: Arkham Asylum in 2009. It didn’t take long for it to be hailed as the Batman game, a sentiment that I agree with. Marvel has always been behind the curve in regards to games based on their franchises, but has that changed with the PS4-exclusive Marvel’s Spider-Man?

Growing up, I was a huge comic book fan, and more so on the Marvel side. So, when I saw the Marvel's Spider-Man trailer during E3 2017, I was pretty excited. It looked like we were finally going to get a good Spider-Man game. The web-swinging looked fluid, Spidey's personality was dead-on. Of course, none of that was surprising, considering the game was developed by Insomniac Games, known for the Spyro series, Ratchet & Clank series, Resistance series, and Sunset Overdrive.

The story and world of Marvel's Spider-Man are self-contained. In the game, which was recently confirmed to take place on Earth-1048, Peter Parker has been Spider-Man for eight years, so he has already encountered most of his rogues’ gallery. So, luckily, we're not getting yet another origin story. He's an experienced hero. That being said, some of his more recognizable adversaries have not shown up yet. In addition, all the characters you know and love, like Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May, and J. Jonah Jameson, are in the game, albeit maybe not quite in the way you expect. However, the game isn't just about Spider-Man. Peter gets ample screentime as well.

The game is absolutely gorgeous. Insomniac really took care in creating the New York City and world of Spider-Man. The character models look great, as are the animations. From what people have said, it may be a condensed version, but it definitely is NYC. There are also locations from other Marvel properties based in NYC, which is a nice touch, albeit one you sort of have to expect. After all, everything is interconnected in most major comic book franchises.

The gameplay is very fluid. Web swinging feels phenomenal and gives you several options for traversing the city quickly. For better or worse, the combat feels like “Spidey Arkham,” thanks to his Spider Sense which alerts you an attack is incoming. This lets you dodge attacks before they land and keep your combos going. There are different types of main missions for you to complete as well, like stealth and traversal missions. During traversal missions, you have to move through the city, in pursuit of somebody. Pete/Spidey isn’t the only person you play as, either.

There are also a lot of side missions and collectibles for you to get. Some examples of these are: Over his eight years as Spidey, Pete put backpacks with various mementos all over the city, which you can find. Or you can go take out hideouts of various villains, or stop crimes. You can also go snap pictures of NYC landmarks, both real and fictional. Over the course of the game, these side missions will let you unlock different Spider-Man suits from throughout his 60+ year history, whereas the backpacks are your main source of in-game lore. Each suit has its own unique ability that is activated by pressing L3+R3.

The cast is star-studded, as it features such talent as Yuri Lowenthal, Tara Platt, Travis Willingham, Darin De Paul, Stephen Oyoung, and Laura Bailey, all of whom do a fantastic job, as always. I will say that Yuri Lowenthal does such a fantastic job as Pete/Spidey, that he has become my favorite version. Yuri really got the character’s personality down, as well as his battle banter. His lines come in two flavors: standard and exerted, and change on what you’re doing. If you’re just sitting there, you get the standard version, but if you’re swinging, you get the exerted version, and these change during the line. The music was composed by John Paesano, who has worked on such projects as Mass Effect Andromeda, Detroit: Become Human, and even Netflix’s Daredevil just to name a few. The game has many great musical cues in it. One example is that when you start swinging, the music becomes dramatic.

For me, accessibility in Spider-Man is a mixed bag. While it does have wonderful accessibility options, such as turning rapid button presses into holds, turning off quick time events altogether, and skipping the puzzles, the problem lies within the control scheme, which cannot be changed. The majority of the controller is used, the only exceptions being left and right on the D-Pad. This caused me to have to go into the PS4’s accessibility options and remap the buttons from there, which forced me to have to relearn the controller, which took a bit of time. Once I did however, I was pretty much unstoppable, although I did still die a few times. That being said, I still have trouble pressing L3+R3. The suit abilities may be optional, but as someone who only plays with one hand, I needed them. Also, L1+R1 is a thing that is used throughout the game.

Marvel has finally gotten a great video game, thanks to Insomniac Games. Marvel’s Spider-Man is about the only Marvel game that I would recommend outside of the Marvel vs Capcom series (barring Infinite), although playing it one-handed can be very tricky at times. It’s definitely worth playing, and it’s up there in my top 5 games of 2018. As of this writing, the standard edition has a MSRP of $59.99 USD, while the Deluxe Edition goes for $79.99 USD and comes with the Season Pass, which gets you all the upcoming DLC.

Game Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Accessibility Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars