When it comes to Marvel games, there’s not really an impressive track record…I mean, heroes like Thor, Iron Man and Captain America have never truly gotten the games they deserved. Spider-Man, however, has been different, with more than 20 video games behind his back. So Spider-man is no stranger to a video games console. Nevertheless, the caliber of those games has been somewhat mixed. Furthermore, most consider the PS2 Spider-Man game the best one, and that game was released sixteen years ago.

Since then there have been multiple releases all missing the mark, from experiments to movie cash-ins, the level of success has been mild at best. However, thanks to “Sony” and “Insomniac Games” this has finally changed and my gosh, it’s been a long time coming.

Well, the long wait for a great “Spider-Man” video game is finally over. You see, “Spider- Man 2018” is exclusively releasing on the PlayStation 4, and Insomniac Games have delivered the “Spider-Man” we have all been waiting for. Of course, when it comes to a Spider-Man game there needs to be two things done right.

And that would be the villains and most of all the web slinging action aspects, and my god, Insomniac Games sure have nailed this one! And why is that? Because you get to swing around New York City all while having an absolute blast, jumping from the highest building then swinging out just before you hit the ground feels phenomenal. As a matter of fact, you actually feel like the REAL Spider-Man while playing the game.

Now can I always go by the saying “a game, movie or novel is only as good as its villain”. Well, Spidey has many of them! And many of Spider-Man’s villains make an appearance throughout the campaign, and that includes everyone from Fisk to Dr Octopus. Furthermore, the fights with them are pretty darn cool, and that makes for some outstanding set pieces.

The odds feel like they’re really stacked against you and as your progress further into the game’s story things get ever more intense with more enemies, and more danger as you uncover a very sinister plot. This is all complimented by outstanding voice talent, which brings the characters to life, both Yuri Lowenthal (Spider-Man) and William Salyers (Dr Octavius) deliver outstanding performances and along with the supporting cast.

Simply put, Insomniac Games has managed to create a story that grips you from start to finish. I would also like to point out that “Spider-Man 2018” offers one of the toughest challenges that Spider-Man has ever faced!

And you don’t just step into the shoes of Spidey. You also get a taste of Spider-Man’s double life as Peter Parker, Mary Jane and even Miles Morales. These sections usually involve stealth sections, but they don’t over stay, so those moments are welcome in my book. There are some moments that really help push the story forward, and it helps further build character relationships and how Peter deals with certain situations.

I personally found the version of Mary Jane to the best to date. All the characters are brought to life with some exceptional visuals too. The “puddlegate” nonsense was exactly just that “nonsense” because this game is stunning, the motion capture of the characters, the streets as you’re swinging around, reflections in the buildings, you can even see pedestrians and cars in the distance, as you observe New York up high.

The lighting effects is also beautiful, and I found myself hitting the share button quite a few times! I honestly rolled my eyes to the back of my skull when certain people started whining about the placement of bloody puddles, the game looks great but more importantly it plays great too!

When it comes to the combat, it is so fluid and dynamic. As there is a huge plethora of skills and abilities available to take down your foes. So if you’ve played the Arkham games, then you’ll be familiar to the combat already. However, for those who don’t know what I’m talking about. Dodging, countering and punching is very simple to pick up, but it’s the abilities from your gadgets to suit abilities that make things even more interesting.

As it feels like something taken straight out of an action movie and is just a blast to play, you can pull off some insane combos without taking a hit, then finish the fight with some dazzling takedowns and web blasting foes to walls to then take a quick selfie while you admire your work. It’s just so fun to play. Even so, one of my favorite tasks was taking down strongholds, stealthily webbing up enemies then heading to a massive brawl!

The world in “Spider-Man” is filled with plenty of activities to do. As there are crimes to stop, puzzles to complete, side quests, challenges, collectables and more, with these side activities you’ll earn tokens that can be used to upgrade your gadgets and unlock more suits each with their own special ability. You can also add perks to your suits to help you in battle, and that includes everythingfrom health boosts to damage amplifiers, which comes in handy for the more grueling fights.

There’s even a podcast that plays throughout the game that features J Jonah Jameson delivering is thoughts on the Web Sling menace. You can also walk the streets and greet your adoring public, use the photo mode to capture your stunts or your crime stopping prowess. There’s plenty of variety to be had here, similar to what you might have seen in other open world games, but if it’s not broke, then don’t try and fix it.

There’s also a season pass to give the game some extra content, and that’s something which I’m actually happy with because the feeling I got after finishing “God of War” was that I wanted more. Unfortunately enough though, there’s going to be quite a wait for the sequel. However, “Spider-Man 2018” gives you a reason to hang on to the game or re-purchase in the future to tackle some new villains and challenges.

As for down sides and cones in “Spider-Man 2018”. Well, there wasn’t much that annoyed me during my twenty-hour playthrough, because I never witnessed any crazy bugs or glitches while playing the game. However, there was one thing that caused my PlayStation Pro to crash completely or caused the game to error out until I ejected the disc and re-inserted it…

This happened whenever I went to the dashboard and suspended the application when starting up YouTube. For example, upon returning to the game where it should simply carry on where I left off. The game just froze on me…This hasn’t happened with any other game to date. So I truly hope that this problem can be fixed, and that it will be fixed as soon as possible.

That aside, I experienced no in-game issues, and when it comes to controls and difficulty. Well, “Spider-Man 2018” is made very accessible to all gamers young and old which is ideal for a game like this. The stealth sections probably could have been a bit more fun. So it would have been nice to do something a bit more with Miles or MJ, but in the grand scheme of things. “Spider-Man 2018” is still done better than any “Spider-Man” game before it.

So to be completely honest. In my opinion, “Spider-Man 2018” is a must buy game. Plain and simple, it’s the best web-slinging game to date and easily the best Marvel game too. Hell, I even got a tad emotional during some parts of this game, and that makes me wonder what will we see next? Well, if the after credits scene is anything to go by, then it looks like we might see a “Spider-Man 2018” sequel

However, right now there’s a long que of Marvel characters all deserving this kind of attention, and it’s about damn time the games got as much attention as the movies. So truth be told, Insomniac Games and Sony have proven that time and effort is way more effective than just hashing out a game to meet a box office release.

So the release of “Spider-Man 2018” could easily be the start of something even grander, and I can’t wait to see what comes next! (“Spider-Man 2018” is out now only for the PS4).

Pros:
+ Incredible Web Slinging
+ Very accessible
+ Brilliantly written
+ There are a lot of things that you could do
+ Awesome graphics on the PS4 pro

Cons:
– Some forced stealth sections
– The crashing issue was annoying
– I’ll never be Spider-Man for real

Gameplay: 5/5
Graphics: 5/5
Sound/music: 5/5
Controls: 5/5
Replay value: 5/5

Verdict: 5/5
You know, a quality Marvel title like Insomniac Games “Spider-Man 2018” should not end here. So I really hope to see more “Spider-Man” games in the future because Insomniac Games sure hit a home run with this one. So once again, this is another outstanding exclusive to add to Sony’s catalogue.

Title: Spider-Man
Developer: Insomniac Games
Format: PS4 (version Tested PS4 Pro)
Genre:  Action
Resolution: 1080p with a 4K upsacle
Release date: 2018-09-07
Difficulty: Easy to hard
Spent time: +20 hours
Average grade internationally: 89.75% Gamerankings.com
PEGI age rating: +16
Price: £50

Credit:
Robin Ek – Editor

Sharn Daniels
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @SharnOfTheDEAD

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Tags: Action games, Insomniac Games, Marvel comics, PS4, PS4 Pro, PS4 review, Spider-Man