Spider-Man is a hard character to get right. Sam Rami came close with his original trilogy of films which kicked off the comic book movie craze, but he failed to showcase Spider-Man’s intelligence. Marvel’s Spider-Man by Insomniac encapsulates everything about the character that makes him so great, including his villains. In fact, the main villain from the first half of the game is one I hadn’t even heard of! Previously I thought that the Spider-Man animated series from the 90s was the definitive version of the character, but, the latest Spider-Man game from Insomniac has proven me wrong. They understood both the lore and the character and crafted one of the great games not only of the year, but of all-time.
One of the best parts of Marvel’s Spider-Man is that you aren’t just playing as the masked vigilante, but you play as Peter Parker as well. The game is as much about the Spider as about Peter and it strikes an incredible balance between the two. You even play as MJ and Miles Morales at times, which is a nice touch. It’s also interesting to note that Peter looks just like Andrew Garfield, who was the best version of Peter/Spider-Man, although his films weren’t up to par. The gameplay is incredible, and while some may cry “it’s an Arkham rip off!”, it’s really not. This is, realistically, what a Spider-Man game should be like and how Spider-Man would fight. The combat is exquisite. Yes, there are similarities to the Arkham games, but Marvel’s Spider-Man set’s itself apart. Web-slinging is one of the most fun aspects of the game.
Marvel’s Spider-Man is GOTY and Sony had an incredible year with two of the best games to ever grace a console. It’s incredible that insomniac could create a Spider-Man game that includes so many aspects from so many different sources and create the ultimate version of Spider-Man. Not only did they do an incredible job with the lore, but they also managed to capture the gameplay perfectly. there are few superhero games that are actually good, nonetheless encapsulate the main character so beautifully, but Insomniac did just that in Marvel’s Spider-Man. It is by far the best Spider-Man game and is even better than every single Spider-Man film that’s come out (all six of them since 2002).
If you are a Spider-Man fan and haven’t played Marvel’s Spider-Man, do it. It’s by far the definitive version of Peter Parker, struggles, weaknesses, and strengths included. And there’s simply so much to do in the game that you’ll get lost in it!