Spider-Man gives players rewarding and engaging gameplay

By Ben Tenyes, The Glitch editor

Release Date: Sept. 7

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment 

Developer: Insomniac Games 

System: Playstation 4 

Rating: T 

Price: $60 (at time of release) 

The moment I picked up my controller and began web slinging through downtown Manhattan, it was apparent the game lives up to the moniker of “Amazing Spider-Man.” With fluid controls that make traversing New York City exhilarating and dynamic combat that hearkens back to the Batman Arkham series, Spider-Man is spectacular on a gameplay level. The game is no slouch in the narrative department either, with a story that feels right at home in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The story puts you in the red and blue tights of a more experienced Peter Parker, with eight years of web slinging under his belt. That’s right true believers this is not an origin story. That alone is breath of fresh air because I for one am getting tired of seeing poor uncle Ben murdered in front of his nephew. Instead we see Peter juggling his personal life, his job as a lab assistant, and his great responsibilities as Spider-Man.

The story is long and rewarding with a progression system and many abilities you can unlock to customize your experience. The voice cast is exceptional, with industry veterans such a Yuri Lowenthal (Naruto, Persona series, Prince of Persia) as Peter Parker, and Laura Bailey (Uncharted, Batman the Telltale Series, and the upcoming Last of Us Part 2) as Mary Jane Watson bringing the characters to life. Yuri Lowenthal even outshines movie Spider-Men Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.

 Outside of the main story, the game gives the player a lot to do. Some of the side activities did get a little repetitive but I didn’t really care because I was having too much fun swinging and flipping through Manhattan. Even though the game is guilty of many of the same tiresome tropes as other open world games, it completely makes up for that with a fun and engaging traversal system. In my opinion this is the definitive Spider-Man experience. 

Story: So good it even has a Stan Lee cameo. 

Graphics: Triple-A quality design. Plenty of perfectly portioned puddles ?. 

Soundtrack/Score: Swinging through New York new sounded so good. 

Replayability: I’ve played it three times already! 

Overall Rating: 9/10