Review: MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN (PS4)

Marvel’s Spider-Man was our most anticipated game of the year. We’ve professed our love for the Batman Arkham series many times, and our passion for Spider-Man even more. So, what if I told you that Marvel’s Spider-Man was the perfect marriage between the two? Let’s talk some Spider-Man.

Insomniac took Spider-Man in a slightly different direction than we’ve seen lately. We have Peter Parker who is in his prime; a 23-year-old college graduate, who’s long past taking selfies for the newspaper. This Peter has been Spidey for almost 10 years, he’s good at, which makes for fantastic gameplay. Swinging is like a dream. Combat takes some getting used to, you’ll die a lot, but once you learn how to use focus and Spidey sense, you’ll be good. Making Spider-Man older means we skip the learning curb and go straight into the action, and boy does it have action.

The story is relatively simple. Peter’s big bads break out of the Raft, while two new baddies emerge out of the shadows. He has to juggle all of this while helping Aunt May at a homeless shelter, Mending his relationship with Mary Jane, working with the NYPD, befriending Miles Morales, and working at the lab. It’s definitely a Spider-Man story, and that’s what makes it great. It’s an immersive adventure that makes you feel like the Web-Head. There is always something to do. New York is alive and feels like a character in its own right. Random crimes happen to lead to many distractions. You might feel like they’re pointless side quests, but they actually shape the city’s opinion on Spider-Man. If you chose to ignore crime, people would call JJJ, and he will blast you on his podcast. Everything move you make, every swing you take has a purpose.

The game isn’t perfect. The side missions do get a little repetitive, and the combat takes some getting used to. At first glance, it looks like a Batman Arkham combat system, but it’s very different. You have to use a combination of webs, grabs, throws, and aerial attacks. That’s not a bad thing, but it gets pretty challenging.

Marvel’s Spider-Man doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it doesn’t drastically change the character of Spider-Man, but it gets everything right. The gameplay, the story, the voice acting, everything is the best it can possibly be. This game is one of the best games on the market right now and is worth buying a PS4 alone. There’s plenty more I’d want to talk about, but we’d be entering spoiler territory, so I’ll leave you with this. Marvel’s Spider-Man is one of the greatest versions of the character in any medium.