Marvel’s Spider-Man was released in 2018 by Insomniac Games and Sony Studios. The game captured the essence of the comics, and ultimately improved upon the mechanics found in other Spider-Man games. Let’s start with what you’re spending most of your time doing: web swinging.

The Golden Run

The web swinging in the game is very good, and there are multiple mechanics that you can use to chain between your standard swings. You can web-zip and point launch to either sustain, or gain momentum. You can also wall climb/run (which is very smooth) and engage in many unique interactions with various objects on the sides of buildings such as launching through fire escape stairs.

The combat in this game is so good that it actually competes with the combat in Batman Arkham Knight. The combat is in the same free flow style, with an emphasis on using gadgets effectively. The web gadgets in Spider-Man mainly focus on displacing and subduing enemies; however, there is one exception: the Spider-Drone. This high-paced combat relies on you using your gadgets effectively and transitioning between mid-air and ground combat.

There is also stealth combat, which relies on using your gadgets intelligently and incorporating takedowns (again, similar to the Arkham Series). Unlike the Arkham Series, though, you won’t be able re-enter stealth if you’re seen defeating an enemy.

One of the best parts of this game is the suits that you can use to outfit our protagonist. There are many suits in the game which will give you access to different powers such as robot arms or infinite gadgets. Overall, these suit adjustments allow you to elevate both the aesthetics and quality of the gaming.

The Less Than Golden Run

Admittedly, there are some parts of this game that are less than savory. There is a variety of collectibles in game (including old backpacks, land marks, secret photos, and black cat collectibles) – very tedious and obnoxious…but not a deal breaker considering the larger scope of the game.

This one is more of a personal problem, but in the story there are sections where you control MJ (or Miles) – these sections are significantly slower than the rest of the game. If you’re like me, you don’t enjoy the jarring experience of the pace changing suddenly.

The game, despite it’s flaws is very good, and uses it’s open world in an effective manner, and has one of the best designed combat systems I’ve seen. The story, which wasn’t covered in this for spoiler reasons is also a very good look at a more experienced Spider-Man. I’m gonna give it a solid Web-Trimpmine out of Web-Zip.