Game Review: Marvel's Spider-man on PS4

Hello Enthusiasts, 

It sure has been a while since my last review, eh? Well, it took a highly anticipated game involving a well-known comic book character to bring me back in, but here I am, and I have written up a longer one here. Today, I will be reviewing Marvel's Spider-man on PS4. Now I won't be giving away the ending of the story here, but you can expect Some Spoilers Below. 

Let's start with the story, because it's not what you may be familiar with. Peter Parker is not a kid anymore, he's already gone to college and is working as a lab assistant. At this point he's been Spider-man for 8-10 years, so he knows a thing or two about being a hero. The lore is a bit different than the comics though. He hasn't been a member of the Avengers or anything, he doesn't even seem to know much about the other Marvel heroes (for example, if you take a photo of the Sanctum Sanctorum, Peter just comments that the building always seemed a little strange to him, but he doesn't seem aware that it's Doctor Strange's place). You also find out early on that Peter's job has him working for Otto Octavius prior to him becoming Doctor Octopus, and it seems that the Green Goblin has not made any sort of debut since Norman Osborn is mayor and Spider-man doesn't bring anything up about that. 

The playable starts out with Wilson Fisk's arrest, which Spider-man is, of course, a big part of. The Kingpin doesn't go down easy, but our favorite web head takes care of it in what is one of my favorite tutorial missions to-date. However, as Fisk is being put into the back of a police van, he tells us that he's what's been keeping crime organized, and the city will fall into chaos without him. Everyone seems to brush t off as something he would say to get out of jail, but, of course, we all know foreshadowing when we see it. 

And so begins the story of NYC without the Kingpin, and what a wild ride it is. I don't want to give anything else away for those that haven't been keeping up with this title, but know that this story hit all of the beats that you want it to, as well as some that you may not have expected. The fact that so much of the story is different than we know from years of Spider-man history only means that so many of these turns feel incredibly fresh. Peter's relationship with Mary Jane and aunt May feels so different, and it's done so well, that I ended up being in it for the story as much as the gameplay. 

Speaking of which, let's talk gameplay. How's the swinging? The fighting mechanics? The webbing? The pigeon hunting?

It's all fantastic, even the pigeon hunting. 

For anyone who read my list of top 5 Spider-man Games (which can be found here), you know that I had a small difference of opinion about the best Spider-man game thus far, with Web of Shadows being my favorite of them all (Spider-man 2 was a close second, I promise). I felt that almost everything from Spider-man 2 had been improved upon, especially the combat. However, this game makes all of Web of Shadows improvements seem minimal at best. The combat in this is beyond amazing; it's all very acrobatic while maintaining an exciting amount of difficulty. There have been several comparisons to the combat from the Arkham series, and there is an element of that, but this is really something else. Having a dodging mechanic doesn't make it a copy, and the fact that dodging in this game doesn't automatically cause damage to the enemy like Arkham does separates it plenty by itself. Add onto that how much the game emphasizes using in-air combat and web throws, and it makes it something entirely unique. Some of the larger fights include some quick-time events, but they always feel well-managed and necessary for the cinematic moments in a fight. 

The game does return to having a limited amount of webbing in a way, though it recharges quickly on its own. Plus, there are plenty of other gadgets and webbing types that can be used, so you'll never really find that you're out of options. Things like web-swinging and web-zipping don't impact your webbing at all either, so while it may seem like a step-back initially, it really is a non-issue. 

Speaking of web-swinging and traveling around the island, Spider-man has never felt more fluid than he does in this game. His webs do need to attach to something in order to use them, which adds a level of realism, but swinging is just one part of it. Web-zipping, both in general and to a specific spot (called a Point-Launch) while traveling, is really the best part. Spider-man's years of experience show through as you traverse through the city as he will launch through the support beams of a water tower or use his webs as he runs up the side of a fire escape. Additionally, the controls are pretty intuitive, though they do take a few attempts to really get the hang of. Once you have them down though, it all feels like second nature. I have spent hours just roaming through the city and stopping for the occasional crime. 

So we've discussed the story and the mechanics, but what about side missions? Well, there are plenty to go through, though none of them will take more than a few minutes. There are labs around the city that have been set up by Harry Osborn that need attention, there are pigeons to catch, there are towers that unlock more of the map, and there are even old backpacks to find, all of which include an old piece of Spider-man or Parker memorabilia. There are warehouses and strongholds to storm, locations to photograph, and characters that you encounter throughout the game will open up even more of these side missions. There are also small mini-games which either have you connecting circuits or breaking down chemicals. These mini-games themselves are fine, though they can get a little tedious later on. 

Now, I mentioned the backpack collectables a moment ago, and that brings me to the unlockables in the game. There are different gadgets and skills that you can unlock, with the skills in a skill-tree that you can complete by the end of the game if you're staying on top of your side missions. However, the highlight are the suits. There are several different suits to unlock, all of which have their own power (which can be transferred from one to the other once unlocked). Plus, there are suit mods that can be used as well, such as reduced bullet or melee damage. The variety is outstanding, and you unlock more by completing the side missions in the game to earn different tokens that can be spent on whatever suit or ability you want.  

I think cartoon Spider-man wandered through the wrong door here

So, is it all gold then? The perfect Spider-man game? Well, no, there are a couple of things that do take away from the experience. There are a few stealth missions where you play as characters other than Spider-man, and they feel very forced. It feels even worse because there are stealth missions where you do play as Spider-man, and those are great. Playing as non-powered individuals seems like a way to break the rhythm in a game where I did not want a change of pace. Also, which I am a huge fan of a good skill tree, some of the skills in the tree ended up being things that I rarely used, such as the ground strike. However, any complaints are small and don't take away much from the game overall.

So, to wrap up, Marvel's Spider-man on the PS4 is spectacular. It has just about everything a Spiderman-fan or gamer could want. It's challenging and equally rewarding, with fluid motions and excellent fighting mechanics. It's a definite recommend, and could really be a system-selling title for Sony. There are a few parts of the game that may be annoying, but it is an enjoyable and amazing experience.

I have to give Marvel's Spider-man on PS4 a 9.5 out of 10. If my system allowed, I would give it a 9.9, but it's all in increments of .5, and it doesn't hit that perfect 10 for me.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast