Feels Like Spider-Man

It is a trite meme at this point in time, but Spider-Man (PS4)‘s best feature is that the game makes you…feel like Spider-Man. The web-swinging is enormously fun, so much so that I rarely fast traveled: I enjoyed spending a few extra minutes traversing the city, taking in the beautiful depiction of NYC before starting a mission. It is not uncommon for video game characters to talk to themselves to aid in character development and story progression; in the context of Spider-Man, however, this makes total sense, as talking to/joking with himself is one of the Web-Slinger’s defining characteristics. The combat (see below) also makes the player feel like a formidable superhero.

Feels like Peter

Players expect to enjoy playing as Spider-Man; the game succeeds in also making you enjoy playing as Peter. Indeed, this is quite important for a quality Spider-Man game, because Spider-Man has always been as much about the superhero’s secret identity as it has been about crime-fighting. Peter is fundamental to any good Spider-Man story due to his relatability, and Insomniac masterfully captures this reality. For instance, he is bad with girls; there is a very touching scene when he texts MJ, accidentally saying “it’s over” when referring to taking down Martin Li, but MJ’s initial assumption is that Peter was referring to their relationship. The game is filled with fun Peter-MJ interactions, another favorite of mine being “Did you just leave your clothes in the kitchen?!” Finally, Insomniac accurately portrays what a young Peter would be like in modern times - e.g. a research project that aims to create plastic-eating bacteria and his use of social media and text messaging.

Combat

The combat system - clearly influenced by Arkham - is fluid and fun, and one of the best features of the game. The basic attack and dodge maneuvers are supplemented by gadgets (e.g. web bomb, electric web) and suit powers (everything from Iron Spider arms to comic book quips). The combat system evolves over the course of the game as Spidey gains new gadgets and abilities as well as encounters new enemies. By the end of the game, combat becomes primarily about prioritizing different enemy types; the new enemy types, in particular, keep combat novel and difficult from start to finish. Spider-Sense makes dodging easier, as the player is alerted to incoming attacks and given a small window of time to respond to them before taking damage. Building up an attack combo raises Spidey’s focus meter, which can be used either to heal or to activate the aforementioned suit powers; the focus system therefore creates a nice risk-reward of trying to chain together a high number of consecutive hits while not taking damage.

Some critiques:

• There is no punishment for unnecessary dodges, perhaps making the game a bit too easy.
• There never seems to be much incentive to use the different types of attacks and gadgets; rather, the player ends up using the same combinations repeatedly.
• Using gadgets can make the game too easy.
• Gadgets slow down the pace of combat due to the wheel select that the player must use to switch between them.

The Story

Simply put, this is one of the best Spider-Man stories in any media; indeed, many have argued that it is THE best. Insomniac wasn’t afraid to take creative liberties on the source material, with some noteworthy re-imaginings including

• Dr. Octopus’ origin that leads to a neo-Sinister Six
• Otto and May knowing Peter’s secret
• Miles’ origin
• MJ’s job
• JJJ’s re-branding

Specifically, the new take on Doc Ock allows Insomniac to tell a story that is primarily about his character progression. The story progression is brilliant: it develops in a way such that the player does not want Otto to become Doctor Octopus; yet from the beginning of the game anyone with a small amount of Spider-Man knowledge likely assumes that the transition is inevitable. Indeed, Otto goes from a scientist that Peter worships, to a character with a degenerative disease that the player wishes to save, to the overarching enemy that united the rest of the Sinister Six against Peter. In some ways, the story is about Peter being the role model to Miles than Otto should have been to him.

Bosses

Taking down the Sinister Six requires two fun duo boss battles, one with Electro and Vulture and the other with Rhino and Scorpion. The last two boss battles - Mr. Negative and Dr. Octopus - were not quite as fun, and it would have been more intriguing if the game forced the player straight from the former to the latter, since Dr. Octopus nearly kills Spider-Man and drastically reduces his fighting capabilities after he defeats Mr. Negative. Unfortunately, the middle of the story is void of bosses, and this creates some minor pacing issues.

All of the villains, not just Doc Ock, have real motivations that make us feel (somewhat) bad for them:

• Rhino hated being the Rhino and just wanted to get out of his suit
• Scorpion was in serious debt from gambling and wanted it all gone
• Vulture wanted to extend his life as he had spinal cancer and didn’t want to die
• Shocker was being threatened by Li’s gang and forced him against his will to become Shocker again, even though he gave up his life of crime
• Li had severe mental illness and a traumatic past because of a science experiment gone wrong, and even though he was trying to do good by making others happy, his demons sadly got the best of him

Almost every villain felt human; life gave them the hardest times, and in turn it created monsters.

End Scene

Oh, the ending…Peter and Ock’s last conversation, the culmination of the story, caused me to tear up. But that was nothing compared to the final cutscene. Insomniac ingeniously flipped Uncle Ben’s death with Aunt May’s death. Whereas Ben died due to a lack of responsibility, Aunt May died due to Peters sense of responsibility:

• Take off your mask. I want to see my nephew.
• You knew?
• I’ve known for a while.
• I never wanted you to worry –
• I DID. And I am so proud of you, and Ben would be too.
• I don’t know what to do…
• Yes you do.

Setting Up the Sequel

In the mid credits scene, Miles reveals to Peter that he has powers, and Peter reciprocates. This could make for some fun co-op action in the sequel, or more varied mission structure that features both Miles and Peter as Spidey.

But the end credits scene is when things get quite juicy. Norman Osborn enters a secret laboratory where Harry is kept in stasis with a black, web-like substance. As Osborn places his hand on the tank, the substance reacts and copies him. (Completing the research stations post-credits yields a call from MJ saying that she published an article because Oscorp is going to fund Harry’s stations. They both want to share the news with him, but know they cannot confront Norman about Harry’s whereabouts - yet trust that he is getting the care he needs.)

Side Content

Side options are hit or miss. Crimes, though they help with immersion, begin to feel repetitive, especially with the short well of quips Spider-Man spouts at the end of them. Car chases, though they look awesome, are quite simplistic - merely timing triangle and square appropriately, i.e. not much more than glorified QTEs. The criminal bases, separate from the crimes, were quite enjoyable, as they often forced the player into tough combat situations.

There are also Research Stations and sidequests, both of which feature missions that can be quite fun or somewhat boring.

The collectibles, while perhaps overdone, feature some nice nods to the comics and some other fun easter eggs…

Speaking of Easter Eggs

I thought it would be fun to list some of the fun references!

To Spider-Man Lore:

• Peter mentioning that his parents were spies
• Referencing the serum that Peter used to revert the Lizard back to Dr. Connors
• A card from Peter’s time working as a photographer for the Daily Bugle signed by Betty Brant and Joe Robertson
• A scene where Spider-Man lifts debris off himself like in the classic “Spider-Man No More!” comic

To the larger Marvel universe:

• Something “Strange” at Sanctum Sanctorum,
• The Wakanda Embassy
• Murdock the blind lawyer
• Stan Lee cameo as a cook
• A nod to Captain America when you’re fighting one of Hammerhead’s shield enemies: “You know, I know a guy with a way cooler shield”
• “It’s Webbin’ Time” is a reference to the Thing from the Fantastic Four (“It’s Clobberin’ Time”)
• Giant bull replaced by Lockjaw from the Inhumans

And lastly, a nod to Batman: Spider-Man remarks that they “would get sued for a spotlight with a spider logo.”

Attention to Detail

In addition to the aforementioned easter eggs, there are some other small details that are worth acknowledging - details that don’t truly impact a player’s enjoyment of the game, but nevertheless illustrate the care Insomniac took when developing it.

• Spider-Man’s voice actor recorded two sets of lines for Spidey’s phone conversations, depending on whether the player is or is not swinging.
• Rockets say “guaranteed to kill spiders.”
• The suit that you wear appears in cutscenes! While this is perhaps expected, it certainly required a lot of extra legwork to make a reality.

The Flaws

No game is perfect (except maybe The Last of Us). I loved Spider-Man, but it is worth it to acknowledge its faults so that Insomniac can address them in the sequel.

• I have already addressed most of the combat flaws above, but a final one is that it would be quite fun to have a truly endless fighting arena.
• It is no secret that the levels played as MJ and Miles are slow. They serve as a way to break-up the pace of the bulk of the story missions, and they give the player a new perspective on the story. But I tended to want to rush through these levels to get back to playing as Spider-Man. I think these missions have potential, but they need to be reworked dramatically.
• The game is not without some technical errors. Notably, I had to reload three times due to glitches: twice due to audio that cut out, and once due to an enemy that was stuck behind a wall on a level that would not end until all enemies were defeated.
• Even within the rules of world, realism is lacking: there is no fall damage, no collateral damage from rockets, civilians cannot die even as a war between Spider-Man and criminals plays out around them. (And no one reacts to the secret Spidey underwear costume!)
• The stealth aspects leave some to be desired. Stealth sections were often reduced to Spider-Man simply swinging above everyone. There was never much of a punishment for being caught, yet it was always frustrating when a single enemy seeing you immediately alerts the rest of the foes of your location.
• Even the amazing web-swinging can be improved. For instance, it could be neat to have Spider-Man shoot webs out of either his left hand or his right hand, depending on which button was pressed. Further, when trying to zip around quickly, the player sometimes ends up in unintended spots that at best break the flow of the game and at worst can lead to Spidey being spotted in a stealth section or incurring massive damage in a combat section.

DLC

Overall, the DLC trilogy is a good, but not great Spider-Man story that does a little to spice up the gameplay, but nothing groundbreaking. It is worthwhile if you loved the main game, but probably not otherwise.

Conclusion: A beautiful love letter to everything Spidey.

If you like Spider-Man, play this game; you will enjoy it. If you like action games, play this game; you will enjoy it. If you like stories about relatable villains, play this game; you will enjoy it. If you check one or more of those boxes, play this game; you will love it.

Masterpiece: 9.75/10

Spider-Man vs. Arkham City

Picking between arguably the two best superhero video games of all-time (and my two personal favorites) is quite difficult.

• I like Spider-Man’s story better (not just a superhero tale - Spider-Man is humanized), but that might be recency bias. Aunt May’s death was more emotional than Joker’s; the player feels bad for Otto, but not for Joker.
• Though this is reductive, combat is essentially the same in both games - which is to say that it is great in both games!
• Traversal is fun in both games, but I’d rather web-sling trough NYC than glide through Gotham.
• Spider-Man has suit customization. Although this doesn’t change the core elements of the game (e.g. story, side content, combat - with the exception of suit powers), it was a very fun addition.
• There are no Miles/MJ level equivalents in Arkham City.
• (Unfortunately, it has been too long since I’ve played Arkham City to compare boss battles and side content.)

Overall, your preference could very well come down to which game you played first (the so-called “Zelda Effect”) or which hero you find more interesting.