Overview

If we were to single out a Marvel superhero who has undergone numerous evolutions in the realm of super-heroism, it would undeniably be your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Although the world of video game adventures featuring Spider-Man has experienced its fair share of highs and lows, recent years have witnessed a significant resurgence in Spider-Man's prominence. This resurgence can be attributed to various factors, including the introduction of Tom Holland's Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the success of the Spider-verse films, and most notably, the critically acclaimed Insomniac's Spider-Man video game.

Spider-Man stands out as a superhero with a rich history of reinventions, refinements, and adaptations, stemming from the fateful radioactive spider bite. The latest Spider-Man film released this year shed light on the enduring themes and tropes that define the essence of the Spider-Man narrative. In particular, the Spider-verse offered a refreshing perspective on the Spider-Man story. However, in the realm of video games, one particular Spider-Man game, while not completely overhauling these core concepts, managed to skillfully fine-tune and reassemble the key elements that characterize a Spider-Man game. While it draws inspiration from familiar ideas, it presents them in a novel and finely-crafted manner.

Beyond its narrative, Spider-Man 2018 delivers an exceptional experience in terms of web-slinging and thrilling combat, which remains captivating even after achieving 100% completion. As we approach the highly anticipated sequel, Spider-Man 2, it's worth delving into what makes Spider-Man 2018 such a standout and memorable entry in the Spider-Man franchise.

Story

To commence this video, let's delve into the essence of the Spider-Man 2018 experience, starting with its narrative. Interestingly, the story doesn't kick off with the usual origin tale but cleverly introduces us to an already seasoned Peter Parker, who has fully embraced his role as Spider-Man. Insomniac has spared no effort in laying out the narrative pieces, as the introduction provides a wealth of insights into Peter Parker's relationships, featuring pictures of Aunt May, Uncle Ben, MJ, and Harry. This introductory sequence immerses us in the Spider-Man journey and effectively conveys the world and backstory.

At GDC conference the creative director Bryan Inithar detailed the different approaches and considerations that when tackling Spider-Man and settled on one that everyone could love, a culmination all the different iterations of Spider-Man that were found across many of the different mediums Spidey has made an appearance in. From the comics, to cartoons, to the Sami-Rami films or even recent video games, Insomniac wanted to encapsulate the very essence of what that Spider-Man's DNA is. The team determined that the best Spider-Man stories are the ones Spider-Man and Peter's worlds collide and if you only focus on Spider-Man you aren't doing the character justice.

Marvel's Spider-Man takes place at an interesting point in the story where Peter Parker is already established as Spider-Man, he is at a point where he has been doing this for a while. The interesting thing that Insomniac have done with this universe is whilst they've decided to take a different approach to telling Peter's story, they've retained the element of the Spider-Man origin story for Miles Morales, which begins in the first game and begins to truly kick off in Mile's standalone game through to the second entry.

What truly excels in portraying the past are the present-day relationships that Peter and Spider-Man have. These relationships are compelling, both within the context of the story and for those familiar with these characters and their mythos in the broader Spider-Man universe. Notable examples include Peter's evolving relationship with MJ and his mentorship of Miles, which originates from a shared experience of grief over a role model and evolves into the transmission of their role models' principles.

Spider-Man 2018 delves deeply into the Spider-Man story's DNA, exploring themes like "With great power comes great responsibility," sacrifice, and making choices for the greater good. These themes permeate the 15-hour story, with one standout being Peter's relationship with Otto Octavius. The third act of the game is particularly impactful and emotionally charged, delivering a poignant twist. The beauty of Spider-Man 2018's narrative lies in its incorporation of beloved dynamics and ideas from previous Spider-Man iterations while handling them in a fresh manner. For instance, the dynamic between Parker and Octavius in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 is reimagined from the beginning, providing insights into both Peter Parker and Otto Octavius. The inevitable transformation of Otto into Dr. Octopus is not a surprise, but the emotional depth and empathy you feel for both characters make the story compelling.

The relationship between Otto and Peter, two individuals driven to do good but diverging in their use of power, is one of the narrative's core strengths. This dynamic, portrayed throughout the game, leaves a lasting impact. The game's ending is a true gut-punch, as it encapsulates the ongoing dilemma of Peter Parker's choice between himself and the greater good, ultimately resulting in saving the city but losing Aunt May. It's a profoundly impactful conclusion that resonates strongly.

As mentioned earlier, Spider-Man 2018's story doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it masterfully portrays the themes of sacrifice and responsibility, central to any compelling Spider-Man narrative. Beyond the tragedy, it highlights the importance of the relationships Peter builds and mends, emphasizing that Spider-Man can't go it alone. Insomniac has brilliantly captured the essence of what makes this Spider-Man story exceptional.

The Web-Swinging

So now on the gameplay front we'll be discussing what is the backbone of any good Spider-Man game and that of course is the web swinging, and Spider-Man 2018 absolutely nails this.

I'd like to point to a reference for a video I made in the past about Open Worlds, where I discussed how open worlds that rely to much on map markers lose the luster, due to the beauty of curiosity driven worlds. Well recently upon replaying Spider-Man I really have found a counter to this idea. Map marker open worlds, can still provide a world of fun, if your means of traversal between point to point is extremely fun and engaging. That brings me to Spider-Man 2018's Web Slinging. This aspect of the game is a whole new level of engaging, with slinging that is defined by a few different things, from its momentum, to the way that Manhattan is beautifully crafted to be a Spidey sandbox.

Personally I feel that Insomniac's approach to web swinging covers all the core foundations required to making the player feel like Spider-Man as famously quoted. How I feel Insomniac achieve this is through striking a fine sense of realism in the way the physics handle, providing the right amount of tension and momentum that you can accomplish, whilst still remembering that this is a video game, providing the player affordances when hitting a wall or balcony, allowing you to easily get back into the flow. There are so many different objects like fire-escapes on the side of a building or gazebos on a rooftop that you can gracefully jump through before, returning seamlessly into the flow of web-swinging.

There is a reasonable amount of freedom that is provided to the player in Spider-Man 2018 and I feel that the amount of freedom coupled with the amount of freedom provided to the player overall is what sells the web-swinging experience. Not to mention one fantastic little addition that can elevate the web-swinging is a perk that you can unlock which provides you the ability to perform different tricks and show off and finesse your web-swinging skills.

Overall this is one of the core aspects that I feel Insomniac absolutely have done, and it is one of the most engaging and satisfying forms of traversal in a Spider-Man game, and more broadly speaking, video games on a whole.

Gameplay

When you aren't web slinging from location to location, you'll be taking on various different activities through Manhattan. Most of these activities are familiar taking out criminal hideouts, research labs, and other fun collectables, like taking pictures of landmarks. These activities are familiar but I'm doing them as Spider-Man.

The combat is a ton of fun and is satisfying to continuously this is largely due to how impactful the combat feels, and how much movement you have to hop to different enemies, and execute a mean combo. This is doubly true, when you factor in the amount of gadgets that you have available to play around with, that make the Spider-Man experience that much more awesome being able to string enemies together, blast them to a wall or catch them off guard with a stealth takedown, never gets old and only ever tends to make the overall Spider-Man experience.

The amount of customisation is crazy with over 50 suits to unlock, and the different suit abilities and upgrades, it made completing the side activities always feel fun and worthwhile. This game is an easy game to get into the side content and want to platinum and get all the trophies. As I mentioned earlier, the side activities for the most part are tick box activities or collectables. There are some more interesting side quests the unfold, but for the most part they're fairly direct. I feel like this game really does suit this flow and again, the exploration of this open world is so fun and exciting due to how excellently executed the web slinging too.

The Missions for Spider-Man are absolutely outstanding providing a great balance of stealth and all action-combat. The boss fights for this game too don't pull any punches and they're a ton of fun to playthrough, even a second time around. I think that most of the missions in Spider-Man are quiet well made, with only two real things that held them back. The first being the missions where you play as Miles and MJ these generally felt like they'd slow the game to a crawl, and felt a little gimmicky. However, even these parts of the game do carry their own standout parts with one for Miles being its narrative impact and tone, which was on point, and one for MJ where you work with Spidey to take down guards. It was a minor grievance, but it was something that even the second time around, was something I couldn't really come around on. The other little gameplay diversion that I didn't click with was the lab puzzles which became repetitive and bland the more you engage with them. They feel like they're redundant to me.

Conclusion

In conclusion the Spider-Man 2018 is an incredible experience that hit as hard for me the second time around as it did the first. There is tons of fun to be had in its world and side activities that are comprehensive and whilst familiar never run out of steam because the core that Spider-Man is built on which is its web-swinging and combat are outstanding and full of charm, they encapsulate the essence of that fantasy of being your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man and in the words of the infamous IGN reviewer, this game truly does make you feel like Spider-Man. This game is one of the best renditions of Spider-Man with a story that tackles many of the core pillars of the Spider-Man ideology and encapsulates it with memorable villains, moments, and gameplay that truly do make this a definitive and overall unforgettable experience.