#other adaptations do it much better like the insomniac spider-man suit or a lot of the designs in young justice

[stairset]

Haven't seen the Stargirl show but it has the best live-action superhero costumes cause they're all just straight out of the comics. None of that boring leather crap like Arrowverse. None of those overdesigned costumes with too many line details like MCU. Stargirl costume designers said we don't give a SHIT if these comic outfits look kinda goofy irl we're gonna use them anyway and you're just gonna roll with it and I respect that.

[an-aussie-button-masher]

Video Games Assemble: All Upcoming Confirmed Marvel Games

   Superheroes are all the rage lately, dominating film and TV series - but it’s in the video gaming world where they’re really shining. What better way to experience the power of your favourite heroes than controlling them yourself? The long-awaited Spider-Man 2 is right around the corner, but it’s being followed by a slew of other new Marvel gaming projects that you may not have heard about. Very little has been confirmed about these projects beyond the fact that they’re in development, but the small bits of info we do have can actually tell us quite a bit about them. Ready your web-shooters, your claws, your high-tech armour and your mighty shields as we explore all confirmed upcoming Marvel superhero games!

Spider-Man 2    On October 22, everyone’s favourite web-slinging duo will be teaming up for real in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. 10 months after Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Kraven the Hunter aims to turn New York into his personal hunting grounds, with Peter Parker and Miles Morales at the top of his list, while the mysterious Venom symbiote begins to corrupt Peter. Insomniac Games’ beloved superhero adaptation will be expanding even further, tripling the size of the playable map as Queens and Brooklyn are added alongside Manhattan. Switch between playing as the two Spider-Men on the fly, and try out their new tricks and upgrades like wingsuits carrying them above the cityscape or Peter’s dangerous new symbiotic powers.

Wolverine    While the Spider-Men tackle Kraven and Venom in New York, an older, angrier hero prepares for a much more violent mission in the crime-riddled city of Madripoor. Armed with incredible regeneration powers, indestructible bones and, of course, his signature claws, Wolverine will be taking centre stage in Insomniac Games’ upcoming 2024 superhero project. Set in the same universe as the Spider-Man games and exclusive to PS5, Wolverine’s game will have a more mature tone considering the bloodstained teaser released earlier this year - perfect for ripping apart baddies with razor-sharp claws and regenerating from usually-fatal injuries. Sharing a universe with Spider-Man also points towards a possible wider Marvel Games universe, opening up possibilities for grand crossovers, or just a guest-star cameo here and there.

Iron Man    It’s not just Insomniac Games that gets all the fun - EA Games and Motive Studio will be bringing us a game that puts us in the repulsor-powered shoes of technological billionaire genius Tony Stark and his trademark red-and-gold suit of high-tech weaponised flying armour. Iron Man’s upcoming adventure will be built on the fancy high-power Unreal Engine 5, in the first of many planned collaborations between EA and Marvel. The game will feature an original single-player action-adventure story campaign, and players will be able to customise Stark’s suits as they see fit with all kinds of cool gadgets and weapons. There isn’t any known release window for this game, but considering it was announced in 2022, it’s likely to drop sometime in 2025.

Black Panther    One of Marvel’s most fascinating locations is the hidden high-tech African nation of Wakanda, home to incredibly advanced technology made from the indestructible metal Vibranium, and protected by the mighty warrior known as the Black Panther. EA Games and the brand-new studio Cliffhanger Games will allow players to explore the vast jungles and shining cities of Wakanda in a possible open-world adventure, in a new story said to give a lot of player agency - so expect a very “choices-matter” storyline! Rumours also suggest that instead of controlling the more well-known established Black Panther, Prince T’Challa, players will create their own original character to don the mantle of Wakanda’s defender.

Captain America & Black Panther    Turning back the clock, Skydance New Media will be bringing us a superhero period piece set at the height of World War II and featuring a powerful playable ensemble: Captain America (a.k.a. Steve Rogers, an American super-soldier) teams up with Black Panther (King Azzuri, the grandfather of the modern Black Panther), alongside the soldier Gabriel Jones and Wakandan spy Nanali. Across the war-torn Paris and the hidden nation of Wakanda, these four heroes will be fighting the dangerous Nazi splinter group Hydra in a narrative-heavy storyline featuring high-stakes espionage action alongside combat. Seemingly based on the comics storyline Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of our Fathers, this duo has plenty of history that will make for a fascinating gaming experience.

   The future of Marvel gaming is looking bright indeed! With all these heroes at your control soon, who knows - we might get a grand connected Marvel games universe to rival even the films themselves! Let me know which of these games you’re most excited for; feedback, reblogs and likes are appreciated!   Thanks for reading!

An Aussie Button-Masher

[joshwrites]

Be Greater

Spider-Man PS4 is a great game. The webswinging and combat were as fluid, frantic and polished as I would expect from the developers of Ratchet and Clank and Sunset Overdrive. I didn’t know what to expect going into the game’s story, though. Since story was never Insomniac Games’s strong suit and the IP they were adapting couldn’t be more..hit or miss in that regard. I came away pleasantly surprised, though. 

The story begins with Peter Parker in a different point in his life than most recent Spider-Man media, and it’s a little more interesting for it. Peter is fresh out of college with many of his iconic stories behind him. He’s entering the adult world now and struggling the way through with that typical Parker Luck biting at his heels. This place in the timeline isn't just a novelty and turns out to be key to the story’s. For Peter and his peers the last few training wheels are coming off and with that transition brings ugly truths. Solid ground and stability becomes harder to find and idols are taken off of their pedestals as people with all of their vulnerabilities and vices exposed. Spider-Man has always preached themes of responsibility and this game embodies that better than any book, show, and comic I've seen in a long time. Peter Parker’s personal life is constantly strained by the vigilantism, but he can’t resist the pull of helping others. His ideology of sacrificing himself for others is instilled in him, and it’s this core ideology that defines his entire character. It also undoes him, as the various mentors in his life he thought embodied that reveal their selfish natures.

The first thing I want to give this game credit for is how it handles Peter’s origin. Uncle Ben’s death isn't drawn out and replayed for players because of the reasonable assumption that we’ve all at least seen a Spider-Man movie. His presence, impact, and the hole he leaves in his absence are all tangible and felt throughout the game. From wistful conversations with Aunt May to Peter’s musings when you come across certain collectables that paint a picture of this take on the character’s history, the absence of Uncle Ben’s guidance is felt. Peter is entering a new stage of his life just a bit aimless, and it becomes key in his eagerness to embrace a new mentor figure in the form of Dr Octavius. Their relationship forms the backbone of the game’s story.

Despite the shakey payment, Peter ultimately takes a job with Octavius because he looks up to him. Otto has dedicated himself to fully functional prosthetics for people who've lost their limbs. It's a perfect marriage of Peter’s love of science and devotion to helping others. A dream job. Of course, the job itself turns out to be pretty thankless as Otto struggles to maintain funding for his work and Peter struggles to keep the landlord off his back. The classic relatable struggle to stay afloat that rung more true to me now than ever. Peter continues to reaffirm that it's all worth it, though. The two’s devotion to eachother is rife with tension to anyone who knows these characters though. It was hard to say whether this partnership was just one of many changes made to the universe that would stick or if the game was just waiting to drop the other shoe.

Otto eventually embraces his role in the Spider-Man universe, though. The catalyst wasn’t as simple as “he’s crazy” either. Peter learns partway through that his mentor is affected with a sickness that will destroy his motor functions. His obsession with mechanical limbs has gained a tragic edge: he’s ultimately doing it all to save himself, despite how justified his feelings are. This one little detail makes his spiral just a little more interesting: How long did he know about his disease? How much was his research into his field driven by survivor instinct versus selflessness? Dr. Octavius ends up being one of the most complex characters in the game. He is driven by a mix of a desire to prove his ambitions that have gotten him to nowhere but dead ends are worthwhile before he dies and getting revenge on the man who ruined him: Norman Osborne.

Martin Li has a similar arc. A recent character in comparison to the others in this game, there’s a lot more freedom when there’s less of a legacy to uphold. The team ends up positioning him as another higher authority figure Peter respects with his work running a homeless shelter that Aunt May works for with Peter frequently volunteering. He is essentially a selfless, hardworking man, but he carries a deep darkness inside of him that manifests itself as literal destructive energy that has the power to corrupt others around him. It’s a bit on the nose, but it works as far as the theme of upholding your responsibilities to others. Martin Li genuinely loves the work he does for the city, but the temptation of revenge over tragedy of his parents death consumes him. Martin Li and Otto Octavius are very different characters, but the thing they have in common is that they let the people who look up to them down hard when they give into their hubris and rage.

This is all for revenge against Norman Osborn, and while it may seem like with the trail of blood and rage he’s left in his wake seeking “Devil’s Breath” that he might be a bit of a bastard, one of the game’s most satisfying reveals turns out to paint him in a different light. The “trip” to europe that has kept frequent Spider-Man mainstay Harry Osborn out of the game outside of a series of voice messages seems a bit suspicious from the jump, but most might write it off as a sequel hook and keep playing with it burned far in back of their mind. Harry turns out to be lethally ill, and his “Europe” trip turns out to be a lengthy and so far unsuccessful series of treatments Norman is conducting to save his son’s life. “Devil’s Breath” is so saught after by Norman because it is a failed attempt at a cure he has yet to perfect. For his many, many faults Norman Osborn may ironically be one of the only mentor like figures in this story who is doing his best for his charge. This doesn’t even get into how much of a predominant force Oscorp’s technology is in the city. Ultimate monetary goal or not, Oscorp’s technology redefined several key aspect of New York’s systematic structure in this city. It’s essential, so Norman and Li’s attempts to undercut his influence only really end up harming civilians in the long run. What could be considered Spider-Man’s greatest nemesis comes out of this game pretty clean.

Some of this game’s emotional highs come from the heartbreak Peter experiences when he finds out Osborn and Li’s true natures. One of the hardest hitting moments in the game comes from the rage Peter feels when Octavius knew he was Spider-Man all along. The lethal battles that defined the entire game’s second half all get recontextualized as Peter realizes that even he was disposable if it meant Octavius could achieve his goals. Octavius’s mind is supposedly being manipulated by the tentacles at this point but his plan has been so far reaching and so well thought out that it’d had to have been at least formulating before that point. To put it simply: Otto was always a bit of a bastard. The arms just exaggerated what was ultimately already there.

This is why Aunt May’s place in the game is so important, and her death even more significant to the game’s themes. She remains Peter’s rock: a remarkable, near flawless influence of a good, hardworking person who helps others no matter the cost. When Peter loses his apartment, Aunt May immediately gives him space in her office, and her generosity doesn’t just end at family. She takes full control of the homeless shelter and continues to help others even as things become grim in New York. FEAST becomes a safe haven for not just Peter, but many of the lost and injured in the wake of the destructive egoes of the game’s antagonists. That’s why it’s all the more impactful and important that she ultimately dies as a result of her actions. She gets infected with Devil’s Breath while helping to treat those inflicted. In the most painful moments of the game’s surprisingly dark story, Peter must choose the rest of New York over her. It’s what Aunt May would want, and what she was doing all along, but Peter having to make that sacrifice in such a brutal way outlines one of the classic Spider-Man morals perfectly. To take some choice words from Peter himself here: “Doing the right thing, even when it hurts like hell.”

With Aunt May gone and his other mentors fallen Peter has completed his transition to adulthood. There’s simply no one left for him to look up to for guidance. He can only move forward with what they’ve given him and try to be the best person he can be. The whole point of the subplot with Miles is to set up Peter with his own charge: someone lost that looks up to him for guidance. Even Peter notices how similar their situations are and offers to take him under his wing himself. The credits sequence where the two find kindred spirits in eachother over their Spider-Powers is heartwarming, and I’m guessing the sequel will explore this game’s themes further through this dynamics. Peter Parker isn’t above falling short or making the wrong choices, so it’ll be interesting to see how those decisions influence Miles in later parts of the story. Time will tell if Peter can help Miles turn his pain into empathy. The future looks bright for now, but things never go quite so smoothly in the world of the wall-crawler

It goes without saying at this point, but Spider-Man PS4’s story is about being good not just for it’s own sake, but for the sake of others that need that guidance or even just a shoulder to lean on. It’s about sharing your strengths with others. It’s about resisting the temptation to lash your pain out on the world. It’s the time old “With great power, comes great responsibility” personified. Most importantly though, it’s about how instilling this lesson into the next generation is important. Superheroes, at their core, were about entertaining young, impressionable audiences. It also doesn’t hurt to have some words of wisdom for them. Be greater.

[aion-rsa]

Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered Recasts Peter Parker’s Actor

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Insomniac has revealed new details about Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, and the biggest news may just be that the extent of the remaster’s visual upgrades required the studio to recast Peter Parker’s actor.

“In order to bring the best performances to players with our next-generation Marvel’s Spider-Man games, we have recast the face of Peter Parker,” reads a blog post from Insomniac Games community director, James Stevenson. “We loved working with John Bubniak on the original game; however, to get a better match to Peter Parker/Spider-Man actor Yuri Lowenthal’s facial capture, we have cast Ben Jordan to be the face model for Peter Parker on the PS5 console. He looks incredible in-game, and Yuri’s moving performances take on a new life.”

For reference, here’s a photo comparison of the old Peter Parker model on the left and the Remastered one on the right (comparison captured via an IGN video):

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That’s a pretty shocking difference. While some are pointing out that the new Peter Parker kind of looks like Tom Holland while the old face model was closer to Andrew Garfield (which…well, we can kind of see it), my biggest takeaway from this update has to be that Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered is such an upgrade from the previous version that it might actually be closer to a remake in a lot of ways.

“Additionally, thanks to the power of the PS5 console, we’re now able to offer a high frame rate through Performance Mode, which targets a 60fps frame rate,” explains Insomniac. “That’s not all! We take full advantage of other next-generation PlayStation features like near-instant loading (don’t worry, you can turn back on those humorous fast-travel animations if you miss them), Spatial 3D Audio on compatible headphones, and the revolutionary DualSense controller’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. We’ve also brought new photo mode features to the game that we developed for Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales: you can now place lights in the environment and change your Spider-Suit after you’ve lined up your shot!”

In order to fully appreciate how much better this remaster looks than its predecessor, though, you’ve really got to see the game in action. Thankfully, this recently uploaded 60 FPS Performance Mode video of the remaster in action lets you do just that:

Opinions will certainly vary regarding Peter Parker’s new model, but the extent of this remaster is impressive for what’s essentially an add-on to Spider-Man: Miles Morales‘ upcoming PS5 Deluxe Edition.

Speaking of which, Insomniac Games tried to clarify the upgrade path that will allow you to access Spider-Man Remastered, but as we spoke about in our breakdown of the somewhat confusing subject, the long and short of it is that there’s no clear way to play the remaster which doesn’t involve you paying for at least the PS4 version of the game and an upgrade fee.

The post Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered Recasts Peter Parker’s Actor appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3jh5KD7

[aurelliocheek]

Web Developer: New York’s Most Famous Spider Returns

Fans around the world have waited a long time for a high-quality AAA Marvel game – Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man not only meets but clearly exceeds what Spidey’s fans were hoping for.

Whether if it‘s »Avengers III: Infinity War«, »Black Panther« or the extremely charming »Guardians of the Galaxy«, almost every movie of the Marvel Cinemativ Universe is a sure box-office hit. The Disney-owned company rules cinemas worldwide. Considering this fact, it is even more astonishing that Marvel‘s game division still seems to have such a rough time in bringing high quality games to the market. So far, Marvel Games has mainly focused on F2P titles and casual games. To be fair, games like »LEGO Marvel Super Heroes« have a large fan base, but it‘s a young target group that is strongly driven by the child-friendly LEGO approach. There has been almost no AAA title that could compete with big superhero games such as »Injustice« or the beloved »Batman Arkham« series – unfortunately!

But now it appears that Marvel has finally resurrected. The on 07 September released PS4-exclusive »Spider-Man« is already one of the biggest hits of the year 2018. We used the chance to talk with Insomniac‘s Jacinda Chew and Cameron Christian.

Thanks for taking the time – first of all, it would be great if you could introduce yourself to our readers. JC: Hi, my name is Jacinda Chew and I’m the Studio Art Director at Insomniac Games and the Art Director of Spider-Man. I’m in charge of all the animators, obviously I have a huge crew with me, who makes all this happen (laughs).

CC: Hey, my name is Cameron Christian and I’m the Design Director at Insomniac Games and… I‘m in charge of all the designers.

Although the suit looks very classic at first sight, there are many cool and interesting details.

Thank you! My first question is about the extensive history of the Spider-Man universe. This now contains more than 50 years of stories, different design approaches and character developments. How difficult was it for you to take that and create your own vision of it? What is the core idea of Insomniac‘s Spider-Man? JC: Apart from previous Spider-Man games or comics, or even movies, we are telling a story about a more experienced Peter Parker. Spider-Man is protecting the city for eight years now and I think that’s the big difference. It’s not a origin story, in fact in this story he graduated from College and you can see he has a job and he’s struggling to pay his rent and struggling with his Ex-girlfriend Mary Jane Watson. That’s the thing that makes the whole package so different from movies and comics. Most of the Spidey stories concentrate on a younger Peter Parker. In terms of how do you modernize it or make it interesting, I always look at suit designs and the art. ›What made the classic comics so awesome?‹, ›What made the visuals so cool?‹ but also ›What made the story so great?‹ Secondly, I think how can you modernize those things? Because like you said, Spider-Man has been around now for a really long time! How do you make it revelant for today and then thirdly, how do we incorporate that design into our narrative, into our story. Our story is a completely standalone story, so it‘s not associated to any comic or movie.

What I find quite interesting is that you have a lot of different suits in your head when it comes to Batman. Spider-Man also has a lot of different designs, but almost always people associate the character with the Classic Spider-Man suit. After you released the first trailer, people immediately saw that the suit was different. Even non-hardcore fans realized »Oh, this suit is different!« How did you start to design the suit for the game? JC: I’m going to repeat myself a little bit, but every time I need to reimagine a character that already exists, the first thing I do is looking at what makes the Spider-Man design classic. I mean, looking back at the Steve Ditko original Spider-Man suit and seeing – to me – what is still relevant today! What I really like are the classic webs on the mask! You can see how it radiates the centre of his face which is pretty cool! And then, the line work is very simple so its very spacy. Its not very crowded. So we kept that and also we kept the iconic red and blue, I think unless you’re not hardcore, people don’t know that Spidey‘s suit isn’t always red and blue, but we wanted to keep that. It‘s what makes the design classic and recognizable. If I’d be Spider-Man or a different superhero living in New York City, what would I be inspired by? The classic red boots didn’t come to my mind because it didn’t feel very modern. This time, I would be more inspired by an atheltic variation, which is why his new boots look like sneakers. In terms of how the suit fits into our story, you may noticed the spider on his chest is absoutely not black anymore! It’s now white and there is a story reason for it depending on how far you get in the game. You’ll find out about that later (laughs). Everything is significant with the suit.

The white spider is very conspicuous. Interesting to know that there is a narrative reason behind it. What I really love about the suit is the perfect combination of being faithful to the original and still making it unique and plausible. The white armored parts for example make so much sense. JC: Yeah, when it feels like there is a reason behind it it makes all more believable.

In a Spidey game, nothing is as important as the web swinging and the team at Insomniac brought that perfectly to the screen.

There were many Spider-Man games in the past. For example, »Spider-Man 2« was one of the first big open-world games and for many it’s one of the pioneers of the genre. So how do you tackled to combine good ideas from all these games while still putting your own stamp on it? CC: We knew at the beginning that we wanted to create a believable and physical-based superhero game. We really wanted to make sure Spidey’s lines touch buildings. That was one of the first things we pushed to. That has led to other decisions that seperates the game from any other Spider-Man game before. If our webs always need to touch buildings, what do we do if there are no buildings? We had to solve that. We added a lot of other moves to make Spider-Man feel connected to the world.

My next question is about one specific character of the game: M.J. You not only brought her into the game, she is even a playable character. How did you came up with that? Was it a decision specifically because of her character? JC: Well, we always say that Spider-Man is nothing without Peter Parker and Peter Parker at the same time is nothing without his friends and family. It’s impossible to tell a Spider-Man story, unless you talk about the people around Peter Parker. MJ is very close to him, also Aunt May. The thing is, we can always tell or show you what is going on with Mary Jane, but it’s better if you play it by yourself so you can see it from her point of view. I think there is power in having Mary Jane as a playable character.

Insomniac has implemented many well-known Marvel characters, but adapted them to perfectly fit into their own self-created universe.

I’m really excited about the MJ parts in the game. How much was the involvement of Marvel through the development process. Dan Slott, the big name behind the Spider-Man comics of the last decade was involved in the writing process of the game. Were you able to draft your own vision or was it more of a two-way relationship with two visions? JC: This Spider-Man story is a original story from Insomniac and Marvel Games was actually very encouraging to us to take a look at the old concepts and reinvent them. They were actually very, very supportive. As long as the DNA of the characters is still there, it’s fine. So look at Mary Jane, she’s still in the game and still in this world, but this time she’s no actress, or waitress or club owner. In our case she’s an emerging investigative journalist for the Daily Bugle.

And I love that! JC: Yeah, and also she’s not his girlfriend. They broke up, it happens. She still has the red hair and she is still around him, but different. And even characters like Mr. Negative, who is Martin Li during the day, he is slightly changed as well. In this case Mr. Negative runs a homeless shelter and in our story, Aunt May is a volunteer in Li’s shelter so it creates an interesting conflict for Peter, because this bad guy is running a shelter where Aunt May is working and she doesn’t know anything about it! So it’s one of those times where Peter’s and Spider-Man’s worlds will collide. That‘s what makes it so interesting.

I always loved that about the world of Spider-Man. I think you did an awesome job in bringing the classic comic feeling to a video game. In every moment you can feel both characters. CC: Actually, that’s what makes Spider-Man Spider-Man!

There’s no way of denying it: Insomniac’s New York City is not only the showplace of the game, it’s a love letter to nearly 60 years of comic history.

Exactly! Tell us how did you approach the creation of New York? Was there much inspiration from comics and current Marvel movies or was it more of a realistic approach you chose? JC: When we were designing New York City, we had to find a way to set it apart from other New Yorks. It’s Spider-Man’s New York. It has to be a city that we are saving and a city that interacts with Peter. I don’t know if you had a chance to see it, but if Spider-Man lands on the ground the citizens will react to it. They say ›Hello‹ or ›High-Five‹ him or you can even take a Selfie with them. What is cool about this is the people know him and throughout the story this will also evolve. As you know, things don’t always go right for Spider-Man, so the reaction of the citizens will also change from time to time. And the other part that makes it Spider-Man’s New York City is you can find a lot of things of the Marvel Comics in it. For example the Avengers Tower or the Sanctum Sanctorum, just to name a few. So I think people will see the New York we created is actually a love letter to Spider-Man.

I really can‘t wait to see and play it. Finally, what feature is your favorite in Spider-Man? CC: Swinging! You know, I could swing around the city all day. Swing around, check things out… that‘s the best!

JC: For me, it’s the story. I know the entire story and I played the game a couple of times but every time I get through the game it hits me right in my heart. I think we’re telling a great and human story and I can’t wait for the world to play it.

Jacinda Chew is Studio Art Director at Insomniac Games

Jacinda started her career working on the textures for the PS2, when you could still learn modeling on the job and VHS portfolios were still a thing. Since then, she has grown to the Studio Art Director at Insomniac Games. Jacinda enjoys working in both stylized and realistic formats and is particularly proud of »Sunset Overdrive« and »Marvel’s Spider-Man«.

Cameron Christian is Design Director at Insomniac Games

Cameron is an experienced AAA Design Leader with a passion for Game Design and Project Planning for games. He worked on games including »Call of Duty 3«, »Lord of the Rings Conquest«, »Resistance 3«, »Sunset Overdrive« and currently as Design Director on Marvel’s »Spider-Man«.

The post Web Developer: New York’s Most Famous Spider Returns appeared first on Making Games.

Web Developer: New York’s Most Famous Spider Returns published first on https://leolarsonblog.tumblr.com/

[techdomes]

  At its core, Insomniac Games’ new adventure strives to make you feel like Spider-Man. And, thankfully, Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4 succeeds at nearly every swing across Manhattan’s rooftops. I was left delighted at nearly every step of its 15-hour adventure thanks to a surprisingly deep tale that mines the plights of both Spider-Man and Peter Parker to great emotional success. Underpinning that engrossing narrative is an excellent set of webswinging mechanics, which — combined with fun gadgets and plenty of puns — makes for thrilling action in both the massive setpieces and in the quiet, confined corridors of tense sequences. Insomniac’s first foray into the realm of Marvel superheroes is a continually exciting adventure whose open world and combat are only occasionally caught up in a web of overly familiar trappings. Swinging around feels, quite simply, spectacular. There’s a small learning curve, but after getting comfortable with the basics, it’s nearly effortless to make Spider-Man look graceful in every swing, leap, and lunge. And man does it feel good to find the right mix of jumping, crawling, web zipping, and wall running.

I’ve spent hours just soaring around the skyscrapers of New York City, testing the momentum of my swings to find just the right point to gain an extra boost of speed, or leaping off the Avengers Tower to test how close to the ground I could fall, just to swing out in the nick of time. Similar to how God of War’s Leviathan Axe felt so good to throw around, Insomniac has found web-spun gold with Spider-Man’s swinging mechanic, enhancing it with additional moves like a focal point webzip that allowed me to turn any ledge, beam, or satellite tower into a jumping off point to continue my non-stop movement. Open-world traversal hasn’t been this smooth since Sunset Overdrive (which, not coincidentally, Insomniac also developed).

Doing What a Spider Can

And, happily, no aspect of New York’s architecture can really stop Spider-Man. Discovering how a powerful, but nimble, Spider-Man tackles fire escapes, both vertically and horizontally, or watching him slip through the metal grating of a water tower is endlessly entertaining. His animations are so detailed that no matter the obstacle, I got the sense that I could truly do whatever a Spider-Man could.

That was surprisingly true of indoor locations, too. The main story missions often took me into large-scale interiors, sometimes for light puzzle solving, and occasionally for stealthy takedown scenarios. For anyone who’s played the Batman: Arkham franchise, the framework is largely the same: enter a room, avoid being detected, and use a mix of gadgets and (relatively) quiet web takedowns to take down the crowd.

Insomniac has found web-spun gold with Spider-Man’s wonderful webswinging.

These stealth scenarios perfectly highlight Spider-Man’s talents — especially his love for designing gadgets. There’s a methodical thrill to plotting out the order I wanted to web up enemies, whether luring an enemy out toward me for a stealth takedown or by firing off a web trap that would stick them to a wall. There’s enough enemy variety (some react differently to your webbing than others, like big brutes that can’t be taken down as easily) that I always enjoyed the light bit of strategy these sections demanded, and would happily work my way through a dozen more.

Of course, Spidey gets up close and personal with foes a lot of the time, too, making for combat that’s equally fun, if a little slow to show its true depth. At first, I found myself pretty much just punching and dodging, occasionally webbing up a foe so I could focus on a more powerful baddie. But as I unlocked more skills from Spider-Man’s skill trees and gadgets, combat became an improvisational delight. After some leveling, I could pull an enemy’s gun away and smack him in the head with it, while a previously planted web trip mine strung two other enemies together. I’d then web-zip my way to a floor above me to smack an enemy off a railing while simultaneously sending a spider drone after two more foes. That balancing act consistently delivered on the powerful and fun fantasy of being Spider-Man. To be fair, Spider-Man’s combat owes a lot to the aforementioned Arkham franchise, right down to the slow-motion crunch when you take out the last baddie in a bunch, but that template is sped up dramatically in order to take advantage of Spidey’s nimble nature.

That feeling of fluid movement only falters during boss battles. Insomniac throws in some big and exciting boss fights full of tense action. They’re sparingly involved, as many of the more fascinating setpieces of the story don’t involve one-on-one fights. But because the adventure is both front and back-loaded with boss fights, there’s an odd lull devoid of huge bouts right in the middle of the story. That’s not inherently bad, especially as a lot of great character work is done in the second act alongside those blockbuster action sequences. But because the first couple of bosses boil down to round-based pattern recognition, they felt a bit simple and rote. Unfortunately, that becomes pretty noticeable with the huge gap in major villain encounters. Still, there are some smart and fun twists in boss battles toward the end of the campaign to look forward to.

The combat and gadgets fulfill the fun and powerful fantasy of being Spider-Man.

The variation in Spider-Man’s fighting style and inventive gadget arsenal — which is hardly a surprise given Insomniac’s knack for wacky weapon wheels in series like Ratchet & Clank — is also extended to Spider-Man’s wardrobe. His portable closet of unlockable Spidey suits all come with their own powers. Each power can be used independently of the outfit once unlocked, which is a godsend. It’s a joy to swap among some of the unexpected late-game duds, though I’ve become quite fond of this Spider-Man’s new main suit. That said, I largely relied on the first couple of powers for almost the entire campaign. The singular power to fill out your focus meter for special finishers or to restore health from Peter’s white-spider costume was so consistently useful that I didn’t want to give it up, and I never felt like the world encouraged me to use the others. Swapping between mods to adapt to specific side challenges — like one that could prevent my combo counter from immediately resetting with each hit — was always more useful than swapping between different abilities.

  Concrete Jungle

Spider-Man’s New York is an absolute blast to swing around, in part thanks to how gorgeous the shiny skyscrapers of the city look. Spider-Man does have its graphical hiccups — for example, the faces of Peter and other key characters are spectacularly animated while less notable characters are flat and often out of sync with dialogue. But its New York City is undeniably gorgeous, particularly on a PS4 Pro. Swinging around at dusk as the calm oranges of the setting sun hit the reflective glass of New York’s skyscrapers at just the right angle evoked some of the most calming, zen-like gameplay sessions I’ve experienced in awhile.

Marvel’s Spider-Man doesn’t offer a a 1:1 recreation of New York City, but most of the key landmarks — including my old apartment — are recreated faithfully. Neighborhoods have distinct enough character to be discernible as I swung from one to the next. Yes, certain aspects of the city, like water towers or certain building fronts, can start to feel repetitive. But Insomniac has done a pretty great job of capturing the city’s look with the sheen I’d expect for a world full of superheroes and super science.

That feeling is only magnified by the score. Spider-Man’s main theme recalls the triumphant horns of the MCU Avengers score, rising at just the right moments as I raced to stop a crime or to save some locale from a villain’s evil plot. Outside of the main campaign, there are dozens of other side objectives scattered throughout the city, which add another 15-20 hours of exploring, though my enjoyment of them varied greatly. I was never outright bored by any task, but some were reused so often that I found myself running through the motions of scenarios I once found exciting. The fourth or fifth time you figure out how to take on a horde of enemies committing a crime or fend off waves of enemies at an outpost is still entertaining — the fortieth is much less so. It dilutes what starts as a fun, heroic act into a repetitive, going-through-the-motions activity that often had a knack for popping up just as I was making my way to a major story mission. Outside of stopping those optional crimes, Taskmaster’s tough combat, race, and stealth challenges kept me coming back for better scores. And though finding landmarks and backpacks encouraged me to hit every corner of the city, the activity itself was pretty easy. Peter outside of his suit can also engage in a couple science minigames, one of which is essentially the pipe challenge from the original BioShock. I have a soft spot for that type of puzzle activity, but their inclusion contributes to some of the campaign’s odd pacing issues. They’re introduced just after your first real taste of being Spider-Man, and then interrupt the action anytime Spider-Man needs to do something science-related within the story.

The brilliance of what the world could have been can be seen in a handful of brilliant side missions. One tied nicely into the main story, culminating in an optional boss fight. Another suite of tasks forced me to actually have a good sense of New York’s neighborhoods. These sidequests helped bring the world of Spider-Man and its open New York City to life — I just wish a few more of them cleverly gave the world and my actions more significance.

Update: A day-one patch for Spider-Man has introduced a wonderful photo mode to the experience. It feels like the next evolution of photo modes before it, being so bespoke to Spidey himself. Being able to create comic book covers or panels is a delightful twist, and effectively allows you to create your own Spider-Man comic books should you want to.

Slow-Spinning Redemption

Thankfully, the story consistently delivers that sense of weight and impact, albeit after a somewhat slow start. Insomniac’s Spider-Man is one who has a history in this world, and it feels earned thanks to smart integration of familiar villains rather than throwing them at the screen for the sake of fan service. The script allows time for the central villains (and Peter’s relationship to them) to believably develop, making for some emotionally powerful scenes toward the end that definitely had me misty eyed on a couple of occasions.

I appreciated Insomniac’s surprising amount of restraint when it came to villains, but I loved the focus it put on Peter Parker and his relationships even more. I played Spider-Man to be Spider-Man, but I’m so happy I got to be Peter, too.

I played Spider-Man to be Spider-Man, but I’m so happy I got to be Peter, too.

Peter’s story is one of mentorship, smartly showing how he can simultaneously look up to one mentor, while becoming one, too. That dichotomy offers Spider-Man voice actor Yuri Lowenthal a chance to convey Peter’s various facets, and he does so with an emotional honesty that made this version of the Spider-Man one of my favorites on screen. Peter is someone who can succeed while he makes mistakes, and that juxtaposition offers a wealth of relatable material that carried me through much of Spider-Man’s story.

I won’t spoil Miles’ part in the adventure, but I enjoyed his inclusion and, thanks to a charming performance, I was as endeared to him as I was to Peter.

Spider-Man’s story is as captivating as anything the MCU has offered

Perhaps most of all, though, I loved Peter and Mary-Jane’s relationship. It’s well-trod territory, but Insomniac injects new life into it, in part thanks to Spidey and MJ actors Lowenthal and Laura Bailey’s performances. These are two people who have a history together, and watching them try to figure out what future they have, if any — as friends, coworkers, or more — is an absolute joy to watch.

A number of Peter and MJ’s scenes feel instantly relatable, from the two having their first dinner in months together, navigating whether they’re comfortable with one another, to Peter trying not to lose his cool over a misinterpreted text. It’s one of my favorite romances in a game ever, and contributes to a story with personal stakes as captivating — and often much more — as anything the MCU (and most superhero movies) has delivered.

The Verdict

I wanted Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4 to make me feel like Spider-Man: To sail between the highrises of New York City, to nimbly web up hordes of enemies, and tussle with familiar, animal-themed villains. Insomniac Games’ first foray into the world of Marvel handily delivers on all of that. But what I didn’t expect from Spider-Man was to come away feeling just as fulfilled to have inhabited the life of Peter Parker. Aside from a few odd pacing issues, which momentarily took me out of the experience of being a superhero, and a world of optional missions that don’t always quite live up to the heft of the main story, Insomniac has delivered a Spider-Man story that both surprised and delighted me, coupled with gameplay that made me feel like Spider-Man nearly every step of the way. The Wall Crawler’s open world doesn’t consistently deliver the thrilling moments of its main campaign, but the foundation laid here is undoubtedly a spectacular one.

                         TechDomes Score: 10

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Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4 Review