Marvel’s Spider-Man was released exclusively for the PlayStation 4 on September 7, and continues the webslinger’s recent tear of spectacular performances. Coming in hot off the heels of the blockbuster films, “Captain America: Civil War,” “Spider-Man Homecoming,” and “Avengers: Infinity War,” Marvel’s Spider-Man is another example of the great care Disney and Sony are putting into the franchise.
While the movies feature a teenage version of Peter Parker just discovering his powers, the video game starts out with a more experienced Spider-Man in his mid-20s. This allows the action to start right away throwing you immediately into a mission to shut down crime boss Wilson Fisk, aka The Kingpin. Early missions will have you investigating Fisk Construction’s real estate ventures, where you will find a variety of mobs to duke it out with, in addition to story pieces with insight into Kingpin’s latest criminal motivations.
In addition to writing an intriguing, original Spider-Man story, developer Insomniac Games crafted a fantastic open world to be explored. Known for their work with “Spyro the Dragon,” “Ratchet and Clank,” and “Sunset Overdrive,” Insomniac Games brings Spider-Man to life in realistic representation of modern-day New York City. The setting includes the portion of the city from Lower Manhattan all the way up to Harlem with real life landmarks such as Central Park, Grand Central Station, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building, and Freedom Tower. There are also a few fictional surprises from the Marvel universe that leave you wondering what’s coming next for the series and other Marvel games.
Insomniac has also set a new standard for what a Spider-Man game should play like. Traversing through the city swinging from building to building looks and plays exactly like you would hope. Gone are the days from the original PlayStation Spider-Man games where webs would grab onto invisible sky hooks, pulling you away from the immersion of the game. Instead, you can only swing where the environment allows you to attach your webs.
And wow, is there a lot to find, see, and explore in this game! There are numerous hidden items throughout the open world providing plenty of reasons to explore every inch of the city. There is also a leveling system providing power-ups and special abilities as well as 28 different suits from the movies and comic books.
There is so much to see and do in Spider-Man, this previewer can’t wait to see what the next 20 hours of the game holds. If the first five hours are any indication, there shouldn’t be any disappointment for what comes next. Marvel’s Spider-Man is available now exclusively for the PlayStation 4.