Image courtesy of Sony and Insomniac Games
With a myriad of Spider-Man games and even more superhero games that have hit the market over the years, does Insomniac’s latest attempt at bringing the red-and-blue-clad hero manage to stand out? With confidence, I can say that this is not only the best Spider-Man game ever made, but also a destined classic for the PS4 and the superhero genre.
After a four-year dry spell of mainstream Spider-Man games, the last being the mixed Amazing Spider-Man 2, Insomniac has done what Rocksteady Studios did for Batman in creating an experience that delivers both in narrative and gameplay.
PLOT
Image courtesy of Sony and Insomniac Games
With Dan Slott, a veteran Spider-Man comic scribe, and Insomniac’s writing team, the game spins an impressive web. Peter Parker, our friendly neighborhood web-slinger, has been at the superhero game for roughly eight years. He’s working as a research assistant for Dr. Otto Octavius, is behind on his rent, has put away plenty of his classic rogues behind bars, is helping out at the local homeless shelter (called F.E.A.S.T.) with his Aunt May, his relationship with Mary Jane Watson is on the rocks, and has finally put the notorious kingpin of crime, Wilson Fisk, behind the bars. However, with Fisk out of the way to manage crime in the city, Peter’s problems only seem to get worse as criminal misdeeds begin to spike in Manhattan when a new crime syndicate, the Demons, led by the mysterious Mister Negative, come into play.
What makes this plot work is how the writers are able to bring together so many elements from Spider-Man’s history in such a glorious fashion. Like plenty of classic Spidey stories, he’s down on his luck but manages to persevere with a grin and snappy quip to get him through it, but, thankfully, there are some twists along the way. While you have the usual stuff with Peter and how he tries to balance his personal life with his superhero life, there are also some of the newer components from the comics. He’s long since passed working at the Daily Bugle as a photographer, and is now working as a scientist. Mary Jane is no longer a model, and now works as an investigative reporter, much like her Ultimate universe counterpart. Miles Morales, one of the most popular Spider-Man characters in recent history, has been integrated into Peter’s life as a friend and helping hand around the F.E.A.S.T. center. The list goes on. With all of this interwoven with a plot that juggles Peter’s tragic friendship with Dr. Octavius, repairing his relationship with Mary Jane, the backstory and motivation of Mister Negative, escalating danger in New York, a conspiracy involving Norman Osborn (the city mayor and CEO of Oscorp), and the formation of Peter’s most reviled enemies, the Sinister Six, you’ve got yourself an engaging story that celebrates all eras of Spider-Man that’s both satisfying for fans and newcomers.
PERFORMANCES
Image courtesy of Sony and Insomniac Games
With motion capture blending together with voice acting, nearly every member of the cast give it their all in elevating the script and story to excellence. Yuri Lowenthal, best known for his roles in Ben 10, Persona 4, Paprika, absolutely shines as Peter Parker. With so many people that’s played as the character in the past, it was, no doubt, a difficult task to stand out, but Lowenthal accomplishes this in spades by delivering a performance that balances the traits of the character from his jovial mood, his unwavering sense of responsibility, his enthusiasm for science, etc. There’s such a level of humanity in his acting, once again praising the motion capture for capturing the subtle nuances in his face, that you don’t normally see that it’s not only refreshing, but also captivating. Other standout actors include Laura Bailey as Mary Jane, having great chemistry with Lowenthal, William Salyers as Dr. Octavius, giving us what I believe to be the best iteration of the character, Nadji Jeter as Miles, and Nancy Linari as Aunt May. All of these actors and more bring their A game and pull off the spectacular.
GAMEPLAY
Image courtesy of Sony and Insomniac Games
With fancy new gadgets, weighty web-swinging, and refined combat, it’s never felt so good to traverse the Big Apple while dealing out justice. Taking a page from the Arkham games, the fighting in Spider-Man mainly consists of punching, kicking, dodging, and using the environment to fight bad guys. Thankfully, unlike the gameplay from Beenox’s Amazing Spider-Man games, this manages to stand apart from being another inferior clone of the Batman games by emphasizing Peter’s agility and the use of various web-based tools to keep Peter fast and on the move. It works in adding a whole other layer to the style of gameplay as it doubles the variety you’d normally get with this type of gameplay. More on the gadgets, a handful of them are at the player’s disposal such as standard webbing to immobilize or yank weapons from enemy hands, impact webbing, web mines, taser webbing, robot spiders, and other such gizmos to meet whatever the player’s method of play. There are even stealth stages and side challenges scattered throughout the map, some even relating to other classic characters, such as Black Cat, Harry Osborne, and Taskmaster. While much of this seems familiar, no doubt bringing the mind to Spider-Man 2 or even other open-world games, it remains engaging because of these components working together with exceptionally polished execution.
If there’s one other thing the game had to get right, it was the web-swinging, and, like everything else, it’s just as skillfully realized. The weight of the character coupled with the momentum creates what’s possibly the most realistic swinging. It can take getting used to, but once it’s mastered, it makes for some fast and fun travel that never gets old. This along with the web-zipping and parkour-like moves all add up to the best traversal of New York ever developed.
Besides the usual stuff fans have come to expect from Spider-Man games, there are some new things brought to the table with some mixed results. Some sections of the game are dedicated to Peter in his civilian clothes as he solves two types of puzzles in Dr. Octavius’ lab and investigating, and stealth sections with Mary Jane and Miles. These sections are much slower in comparison to the rest of the game, so it can feel like the game comes to a halt, but they’re still amusing in their own right and provide a different perspective that’s unique in a superhero game.
GRAPHICS
Image courtesy of Sony and Insomniac Games
From the character models, to the breathtaking in-game map of Manhattan, to all the interactive components, the game looks and plays really well. After there was some concern about the frame rate only being 30 fps, it was a pleasant surprise to see the game run smoothly with such gorgeous visuals. The people in the game have a slightly stylized look, but the subtle details of the eyes and body language give them a realistic presence, and this goes for the city as well. Never have I experienced such a lively rendition of the often used city, and it’s the smaller details that help it come alive. There are squirrels scampering in the park, citizens having parties and lunches on rooftops, and so much more that feels organic to such a busy, populated place. Not to mention the occasional weather effects look absolutely beautiful, partially the rainy sections. There were some graphical hiccups with my character being stuck in a wall during the last boss fight, as well as a moment where the target icons cluttered the screen, but a few updates could handle that in no time if this problem applies to other copies.
FINAL VERDICT
From the story, to the acting, to the gameplay, Spider-Man is a triumph. If you haven’t already converted to Sony and bought yourself a PS4, then this is definitely a game worth buying a console for. Never before has it felt so good to do everything a spider can.
9.5/10
Now available for digital download and physical purchase.