Web-Slinging Success: Why Insomniac's Spider-Man Redefines Gaming.

In this current world full of hit or miss adaptations of iconic characters, very few expertly delivered like Marvel’s Spider-Man developed by Insomniac Games. A comic book character whose popularity transcends through generations and more, Insomniac bravely dived into what makes Spiderman who he is, in and out of the suit. So let’s quickly breakdown what makes it such a great video game, shall we.

The first thing is how well the game explores Peter Parker as a person, his struggles and relatable emotions, rather than just swinging around with his suit and delivering jabs and kicks to street criminals. This version is a 23 year old out of college with up to 8 years experience in his heroism and crime fighting. He balances his time as a research assistant to Dr. Otto Octavius as well as an avid volunteer at the F.E.A.S.T. shelter where his beloved Aunt May works.

Peter’s world eventually takes a wild but somewhat life-changing turn when he’s unable to stop the bombing attack on City Hall coordinated by Martin Li and his gang of Inner Demons. One of the unfortunate casualties was Officer Jefferson Davis, father of Miles Morales, a bright and enthusiastic 15 year old who eventually develops a brotherly relationship with Peter.

Amidst all of that chaos, Peter is kicked out of his apartment being unable to pay up his rent; his mentor Dr Octavius spearheads along with 5 other deadly adversaries, the downfall of New York as a whole with their primary targets being the elimination of Spiderman and Mayor Norman Osborn.

Spidey, his trusted ally Captain Yuri Watanabe, Miles and Mary Jane Watson rise to the occasion to fight and win back their dear city. Emotions are extremely high, loved ones are lost and “canon events” develop as the game’s story campaign progresses.

The gameplay is extremely rich, with a near-perfect swinging mechanism, combat and character movements very well managed. A user interface with appealing depth such as the map of New York, suit and gadget upgrades, a character menu and even a social media feed displaying citizens’ comments and responses to happenings around the city.

All of these features birth an action-packed experience that the average person will see and call a movie they could see in a cinema theatre.

A very key aspect the game’s narrative also aced is getting to see and feel the growth of Miles Morales, a comic character with only over a decade of existence. Other than the critically acclaimed Spiderverse movies, this is perhaps the only other project that lets the audience be very much a part of Miles’ story, from the death of his father to his eventual apprenticeship under the classic hero Spiderman.

The game’s climax is formed in ways that rarely any other video game has been able to showcase. Peter makes the ultimate sacrifice when he watches his Aunt May pass on to glory in her deathbed while the city starts to heal from the effects of the damage done by the numerous villains Spiderman puts down.

Peter and MJ stabilize their romantic relationship, Miles gets his own radioactive spider bite and comes to terms with that, and in a very intriguing post credit scene, Norman Osborn is seen laying his head on a tank that shockingly contains his son Harry and a gooey material (trying to avoid much of spoilers to those concerned😉).

The story not only sets up cliff-hanger's for what’s to come but it also leaves the audience reflecting on what is a very emotional and well-crafted masterpiece.

It would be extremely hard not to grade this video game with a perfect 10/10. Any individual who doesn’t have any initial knowledge of Spiderman as a character will play this and feel like they’ve been on his journey the whole time.

I’d say a massive well done to Insomniac Games, they really set out on their message to “BE GREATER”

Cheers ✌🏾.