Spider-Man is a franchise that I hold dear to my heart. When I was younger, I would always watch the Spider-man cartoons, watch the movies, and play the games on various video game systems I had. I was able to pick up the newest Spider-Man game for the PS4 for a suitable price, and long story short, this was the best superhero video game I have ever played.
The one thing that the Spider-Man video game nails perfectly is the feeling that you are in an experience and an atmosphere that is quintessentially Spider-Man. The quality of the story alone made you feel like you were experiencing a Spider-Man movie. You have all the recognizable characters and villains feeling like they are true to their personalities under the towering New York City backdrop, which enhances the authenticity of the game (For example, Spider-Man is always making quips and cracking jokes in the face of danger). The story has intense moments of joy, sorrow, and pain that will resonate with the player, which also contributes to the epic atmosphere of the game. Often, video games tell you that you can "feel like" your character, but the Spider-Man video game really makes you feel like Spider-Man. I felt like a little kid again when I was swinging around the buildings as Spider-Man for the first time. The game gives you the satisfying feeling of freedom and liberation when swinging around on Spider-Man's webs.
The combat has a bit of a steep learning curve. You had the usual attack and dodge, but the combat becomes more complex when you add the webs and the spider gadgets. In the beginning, I had trouble utilizing all the tools I had in my arsenal to beat the enemies, especially the brutes, who could somehow wind up and punch me from across the room. I persisted, however, and as I was learning new combat skills and obtaining new gadgets and powers, I discovered new and creative ways to subdue my enemies. The core beat-em-up combat is repetitive, but with all the different ways you can stop your enemies, the combat also tried to stay robust and fresh as well. As you progressed through the story, the game introduces new enemies that can neutralize certain strengths of a player's play-style, so the player needs to alter their strategy in order to defeat new enemies.
I was also impressed with the variety of side content that the developers inserted into the game, even though there was some lazy implementation of the side content objectives or were there simply to prolong the game length. I did not care for collecting the backpacks, taking pictures of landmarks, or trying to solve the lab puzzles, which broke up the game's pacing. All of the side content still made you rely on all of your available skills in order to complete the objectives.
Other things I liked about the game were the graphical quality of the cut-scenes (although I could not help but notice how unnatural the hair of the characters were animated), the cinematography (especially in the action cut-scenes when Spider-Man is fighting a villain), and the Easter eggs to the other Marvel franchises (such as the Avengers building and the Embassy of Wakanda).
The Spider-Man video game unfortunately had quick-time events, but the QTEs gave you the appropriate amount of time to execute the given commands, and I never felt like there was a large amount of risk in failing a QTE. In this case, I would say that there was the correct implementation of QTEs in this game.
Spider-Man is a must-play on the PS4. The way the game captured the atmospheric essence of the franchise completely blew me away. When you also add in a compelling story, the unique action cinematography, and a combat system that rewards you for persistence and creativity, you have a strong contender to be the 2018 Game of the Year. Spider-Man is a video game worth not only worth experiencing, but also worth living.
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