Insomniac have made some great games over the years, from the crazy wacky fun of Sunset Overdrive to the Pixar-esque quality of Ratchet & Clank, and even the gaming icon Spyro the Dragon. That said, it’s arguably been a while since the studio have created something incredible. Marvel’s Spider-Man however, is just that.

The Spider-Man license is one that’s been plagued with mediocre video games and movie tie-ins. Thankfully this time around some incredible web swinging mechanics, awesome set pieces, strong combat and downright immense production values have lead to a game that’s truly special.

Marvel's Spider-Man Review

Right from the get-go the title does a fantastic job of making you feel like Spider-Man. This is the best web slinging in any Spidey game to date, even the infamous Spider-Man 2. Holding R2 sends you swinging forward fairly automatically. By timing the jump button whilst coming out of a swing you’re able to get further height and momentum.

The swinging has a fairly short learning curve, but the basics are straight forward enough to pick up and play. Over time I was able to pick up some incredible momentum and speed, especially after unlocking various swinging based mechanics such as the ability to pull yourself forward twice without losing height.

The result is some of the finest open world traversal seen in a video game. Spider-Man’s webs even attach to buildings specifically, rather than empty skylines often seen in previous Spidey games, allowing you to curve around skyscrapers in satisfying fashion.

Marvel's Spider-Man Review

The buildings come together to create a spectacular recreation of New York City. Thanks to some impressive visuals and gorgeous lighting, swinging around the city feels stunning. It surprised me just how detailed the city was too, from underground motorways and junctions to tonnes of civilians and vehicles. There’s a shocking amount of work gone into creating the perception of a living breathing city at ground level, it’s particularly surprising in a game where you’ll spend most of your time flying through the skies – Insomniac’s love and attention to detail really does shine through here.

The game’s combat takes some obvious cues from the Arkham series. Chain together combos of attacks to fill your focus meter. When enemies are about to attack a Spider Sense indicator displays above Spider-Man’s head, allowing you to dodge in time. Sounds familiar right? Even down to the button combination of Triangle + Circle to initiate a ‘finisher’ attack after building up your focus meter.

Whilst the combat is somewhat derivative, it still manages to feel fresh, satisfying and certainly suits the game perfectly. Spidey is much more agile than Batman, allowing you to swing around and zip between enemies. The further into the game you go the more things open up too thanks to the various gadgets, generally unlocked via story progression. These gadgets end up adding a substantial amount of depth to the combat system.

In combination with that is the game’s progression system. Spidey levels up as you complete story missions, side missions and activities. With each level grants a skill point, allowing you to purchase a new skill or modifier from one of the game’s 3 skill trees. You’re never locked into any tree, so mix and match as you see fit. These skills range from traversal options such as boost jumping, to the ability to steal an enemy’s weapon mid fight. The more you play, the deeper the game’s mechanics go, and the more options you have available to you; simply put the game gets more enjoyable the more you play. I found myself enjoying the game far more in the 10th hour than the 1st – don’t get me wrong, it’s a blast from the start, but it’s a game that absolutely continues to improve as you play.

Gadgets can also be improved and suits unlocked using tokens, earned via the various side activities on offer. These side activities include standard Spider-Man affair such as police scanner alerts for criminal activity such as stolen vehicles or shop robberies etc. There’s also backpacks to find, and even slightly more unique activities such as catching pidgeons or various research station tasks which end up feeling like mini missions of their own. Whilst some of the activities do feel a little overly familiar, the core gameplay of swinging around the city is so fun that I still had a blast doing them. There’s also a bunch of locations to take shots of using the in-game camera – I had way more fun than expected taking photos of buildings from awkward mid-air angles whilst swinging past them at speed.

Marvel's Spider-Man Review

Oh, and about that photo mode. Spider-Man’s photo mode is one of the best I’ve experienced in recent memory, allowing you to tweak almost every aspect of the shot you’d like. Adjust the FOV, tilt, whether Spider-Man’s present or not, and even flip the camera around to take amusing selfies mid-swing. It’s sure to lead to some awesome shots online.

The game’s story kept me interested throughout too, with multiple twists and turns. Granted many of the plot twists can be seen coming, it’s fairly standard Spider-Man affair. However, it does feel almost perfectly in line with the series’ films. This is a game that almost feels like it was literally directed to that same production quality you’ve come to expect from a Marvel cinematic experience. Nailed it.

Spider-Man isn’t perfect though. The game has numerous stealth sequences throughout which just never feel great. Spider-Man’s zippy movement works better when used on a larger scale; once you’re in-doors trying to jump between small beams and remain undetected it just feels clunky. It’s clear stealth wasn’t the game’s mechanical focus. Whilst the Arkham series can’t match Spidey’s incredible movement, their stealth mechanics are significantly superior.

Marvel's Spider-Man Review

Thankfully though the game makes use of some great regular check-pointing along with surprisingly fast load times. Even playing on Hard, I never felt frustrated in the slightest. In fact the harder difficulty level felt great for me, forcing me to make smarter combat decisions and utilise all of the tools available. Upon each death it’s only a matter of seconds before you’re right back where you left off. Insomniac obviously prioritised fun over frustration.

The game borrows plenty from various open world titles that’ve come before it. Yes, there’s even Ubisoft style towers which unlock icons on your map. As eye roll inducing as that might seem, the game’s core gameplay and movement is just so downright fun that they manage to get away with it.

Marvel's Spider-Man Review

There’s just so many little touches of love here that I could easily spend all day going over each one. From the way the perfectly fitting music kicks in as you begin web slinging from a standstill, to the amusing fast travel loading screens. Insomniac have probably hidden a tonne of easter-eggs in here. The world is vast, detailed and an absolute pleasure to traverse around. This is a game that’s obviously been made with intense passion, care and attention to detail.

Spider-Man highlights just what happens when a great dev is given a brilliant license, a blank cheque and plenty of time to come up with something truly special. The game is undoubtedly one of the best super hero video games I’ve ever played. I can’t wait to see what Insomniac have up their sleeves next, Marvel’s Spider-Man is certainly up there as one of the finest games released this year.

REVIEW OVERVIEW
Overall Score
Charles is the editor of Gaming LYF. Self proclaimed industry news addict, currently researching ways to feed Twitter, Reddit and other news sources straight into his veins.
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