We have seen many superhero games come out lately but it looks like none of them have been as good as the new Marvel’s Spider Man from Insomniac Games. The game blends the open-world genre and the linear storyline so well that it is sometimes even hard to imagine that this is an open world game with a stellar story that not only cover Peter Parker’s everyday life but also his life as a super hero.

The game looks amazing in every aspect whether it is visual, sound, gameplay, combat and the best aspect, swinging around. Previously, many superhero games have given us freedom to move around open world environments but no game has been able to execute this specific mechanic as perfectly as the new Marvel’s Spider Man.

We have broken down each aspect of the game below in our Marvel’s Spider Man review.

Game World

Marvel’s Spider Man is set in New York, which is bustling in life. Everywhere you go, the world feels alive with some sort of activity going on. With such a big island to navigate, you might think that it might get boring at times and you will be forced to stick to the main areas to see some activity but this is where Marvel’s Spider Man excels. It has succeeded in delivering such a lively world that very few games in the past have been able to deliver.

The world boasts stellar resemblance to the real world Manhattan Island with some fantasy landmarks also in place. This gives us even more motivation to go and explore the beautiful world of the game and visit all the fascinating landmarks placed around the island. The access to every nook and cranny of this open-world is even better because of the excellent web swinging mechanics, which encourage you to keep swinging all day long.

Apart from the main story, the world of Marvel’s Spider Man is littered with extra stuff to do. You can solve puzzles, help people, solve crime scenes, collect many collectibles and unlock many new cool items and costumes. Each activity or task gives you tokens that are later used for different purchases. Tons of side missions await your attention and many other activities are also just littered around the map making the world even more full of activity.

It may sometimes feel repetitive doing the same thing repeatedly but the excellent combat mechanics of the game keep them alive and fresh. You have the option of completing as many side missions and activities whenever you like. The game does not force you to complete them if they pop up on the way to a story mission. Therefore, if you are not in the mood for some extra activities and side missions, you can simply focus on the main story of the game.

Combat

One of the best things about Marvel’s Spider Man is no doubt its combat system. The combat is very smooth and fluid and with tons of combos to beat the bad guys, it will surely keep your spirit alive even if you feel the extra missions and activities a little repetitive. Spider Man hits hard once a few upgrades and mods are purchased. The web shooting plays a vital part in combat and just like Batman, Spider Man is a non-lethal superhero so he does not kill the enemies. His main focus is to simply knock them out until law enforcement agencies can take them away and in such situations, web comes in handy.

Apart from these combat combos, there are many gadgets and mods at Spider Man’s disposal as well. Gadgets like Spider Drone, Web Shooters and Web Bomb keep the combat alive and fresh. All the gadgets in the game are very helpful during combat sequences and you can adapt well suing them to any scenario. The game features a wide variety of gadgets for you to use. Mods on the other hand are equally important as they can alter Spider Man’s base attributes.

Mods like Blast Plates, Full Charge Capacitors, Bio Scanner and Threat Sensors all increase specific attributers such as increased resistance to bullet damage, increased health from Focus attacks and increased damage under special circumstances. These mods can be equipped to your suits and hence they enhance the base Spider Man’s combat efficiency.

The introduction of mods, gadgets and suit powers give you the ultimate freedom to create specific builds focusing on certain attributes. Each suit allows you to place three mods along with the suit power of your choice. You can create specific builds such as stealth, tank or mix them up for a hybrid build. This is a very good feature and it certainly allows players to play around with the customization of their favorite suit.

Story

The story is yet another great aspect of the new Marvel’s Spider Man. Spider Man is not a young college boy in the game and now is a grown up man who has a job and in relationship with Mary Jane for quite some time. The story has its ups and downs during which Peter Parker must act accordingly to the situation. You will see his both side, his personal side as Peter Parker and superhero side as Spider Man in the game, which is great way to deliver the story.

The main story is very gripping and sometimes keeps you wanting you for more with Spidey’s occasional humor to keep it going. The story is delivered via main missions and perfectly placed cut scenes during them. There is much emotional weight here and you should be prepared for some surprises every now and then. The finale of the game is mind blowing however; we are not going to spoil the story here for you. You should play this worthy game and find out yourself.

Apart from the main story the game features a lot of side missions as well during which you will meet some people from the comics and the Spider Man universe, which add further to the story of the game. You will get to see many of your favorite characters and villains in the game from the Spider Man universe.

Graphics

Coming to visuals of the game, New York never looked this good. The game features crisp graphics down to the last leaf on every tree, the whole map of New York looks wonderful. The night time, lightning effects, explosions and water splashes, everything is pretty to look at and manages to capture your attention. As you move around the world and different buildings, your reflection on buildings and rooftops creates a very good effect on you as you see yourself reflected in most of the mirrors while swinging around.

Interior design is also amazing as the buildings look beautiful from the inside as they are from the outside. The water looks good and the sky reflected in it looks just amazing. The amazing visual fidelity of the game is instantly obvious right from the first chapter and the boss battle. It shows you nearly everything that the game wants you to see, explosions, lights and falling debris.

Sound

From the starting score, to changing soundtracks to cater to every arising situation in the game, it had us wanting for more. Marvel’s Spider Man features one of the best sound designs to ever feature on a video game. As soon as you reach the menu for the first time, the soundtrack overwhelms you and compels you to wait a bit before pressing that X button to start your Spidey adventure for the first time.

In game, the sound quality does not cease to amaze. As you swing around New York city, the soundtrack will change to developing situations around you. As the situation changes from casual web swinging to a crime scene, the music will change to get in the mood for the new situation. During boss battles, the soundtrack keeps you in the zone and specific sound effects help you throughout the game in certain situations.

Once the combat situation is over, the soundtrack again turns to something more pleasing and suiting to open world exploration. Every sound in the game is crisp and detailed. Listening to random pedestrians having conversations, bad guys communicating with each other, cursing Spider Man and other authorities, nearly every sound has been given proper detail and attention.

Costumes

What is a Spider Man game without costumes? Marvel’s Spider Man does not disappoint when it comes to costumes. The game is filled with some of the best costumes and features costumes from nearly every decade of the franchise. Costumes like Noir, Iron Spider Man, Dark Suit and Homemade Suit are all here and players have the option of switching between them at any time in the game.

These suits are not just for visual eye candy. Most of these suits come with special powers, which are unique to them. Once a suit is unlocked, you can keep the powers and use them with any suit that you like. This gives you a great sense of freedom to opt for any suit with powers and mods of your choice.

Verdict

Is Marvel’s Spider Man the perfect superhero game we all wanted? If not perfect, this is so far the best superhero game that we have ever received from any publisher. No other superhero game has covered the personal and superhero life of any superhero as well as the new Marvel’s Spider Man game has done. Apart from the stellar story, rewarding combat mechanics, brilliant world, spectacular soundtrack and sound effects, the awesome web swinging mechanics just add to the brilliance of the game and leaves us with no choice but to say that yes, this is indeed the perfect superhero game that we all wanted.

Final Score: 5/5