'Marvel's Spider-Man' Review Roundup

With Spider-Man set to arrive for PlayStation 4 this Friday, buzz for Insomniac Games’ superhero [...]

By ComicBook.com Staff

Spiderman

With Spider-Man set to arrive for PlayStation 4 this Friday, buzz for Insomniac Games' superhero adventure is reaching an all-time high. First reviews for the game dropped today, and the marks seem high across the board, even though there are a couple of reviews that dip a little lower than the average score, which currently sits at 88 on Metacritic.

We also reviewed the game and gave it a perfect 5 out of 5, noting, "I want to assure you that the stealth missions will make your mouth go dry. I want to warn you about certain challenges. I want to admonish you to cherish your time with certain characters. There's much more that I could say, but you don't need any more persuasion. This is a genre-defining and generation-defining effort from Insomniac, Sony, and Marvel, and it's one of the best Spider-Man stories ever told. Go play it. Go be great."
Curious what other outlets on the Internet thought of the game? Here's a gathering of some of the best reviews we could find:

DualShockers

Spiderman 2

First up, our friends over at DualShockers gave the game a glowing review, giving it a perfect score and citing it as a "Masterpiece" based on its rating scale. "Ultimately, Marvel's Spider-Man is most definitely Insomniac Games' masterpiece. The game combines the studio's heritage and strengths with one of the most beloved franchises of all time in a way that never feels forced or out of place. You could easily say that Insomniac was the perfect choice for a Spider-Man game from the get-go.

Whether you're just swinging around the city searching for the many landmarks and collectibles, or fighting crime by flexing Spidey's amazing super-powers and gadgets, Marvel's Spider-Man is a really a pleasure to play at all times. I can say with absolute confidence that this is by far the best superhero game I ever played."

IGN

Spiderman 3

IGN graced Insomniac Games' adventure with a score of 8.7 out of 10. Not nearly as elite as God of War, but still praising it in many ways. "I wanted Marvel's Spider-Man on PS4 to make me feel like Spider-Man: To sail between the highrises of New York City, to nimbly web up hordes of enemies, and tussle with familiar, animal-themed villains. Insomniac Games' first foray into the world of Marvel handily delivers on all of that. But what I didn't expect from Spider-Man was to come away feeling just as fulfilled to have inhabited the life of Peter Parker. Aside from a few odd pacing issues, which momentarily took me out of the experience of being a superhero, and a world of optional missions that don't always quite live up to the heft of the main story, Insomniac has delivered a Spider-Man story that both surprised and delighted me, coupled with gameplay that made me feel like Spider-Man nearly every step of the way. The Wall Crawler's open world doesn't consistently deliver the thrilling moments of its main campaign, but the foundation laid here is undoubtedly a spectacular one."

Metro

Spiderman 4

Sitting on the lower end of the spectrum was Metro's review of the game, which sits at 7 out of 10. "But as entertaining as Spider-Man is there's not a single element of gameplay with any real depth and the game is clearly terrified of its audience not knowing what to do for more than a few seconds. In other words, it's just like most older tie-in games that on the surface use their licence well but purposefully constrain its potential in order not to put off a wider audience.

"We're really not sure that approach is necessary though, not when something as relatively complex as Fortnite is the most popular video game in the world. But it's typical publisher logic and unfortunately it stops Spider-Man from evolving into anything more notable than just a big budget crowd-pleaser."

The Guardian

Spiderman 5

This publication gave Spider-Man the lowest score out there, ranking it just 3 out of 5. "Insomniac's writers are on fine form, delivering a whip-smart MJ who's far more than a damsel, and peppering combat with Spidey's beautifully bad jokes. Its adjustment of J Jonah Jameson into a frothing shock jock is a little stroke of genius. But, in its efforts to produce compelling human drama, the narrative holds back the good stuff for far too long, resulting in a second act that feels stilted and a third that feels rushed.

"This game shows tremendous love for all things Spider-Man, and the ending packs a punch he would be proud of. But Insomniac relies too much on its hero to elevate the world built around him, with the result that the game wears thin some time before its powerful conclusion."

Destructoid

Spiderman 6

Finally, this site gave Spider-Man a glowing review, with a score of 9 out of 10. "Spider-Man isn't just a great superhero game, it's a proof of concept for Insomniac as a company. This project shows that they can basically handle pretty much any universe, because if you can accurately recreate Peter Parker's nimbleness and gentle heart you can do anything: and with multiple teasers at the end, I think they'll get that chance."

For the most part, reviews have been strongly positive about the game, with some even noting it's more of a Game of the Year contender than even God of War. But we'll see what players think when Spider-Man swings its way to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro on September 7!

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