A PC remaster of a game always has a lot going for it. And when the game is critically acclaimed, critically acclaimed by fans and industry members, it is a multiple Game of The Year (2018) recipient Marvel’s Spider-Man you know you have some big webby shoes to fill. At the very least, PC gamblers long for the exact great experience that PlayStation loyalists got all those years ago. But it’s also been four years; so does Insomniac Games have anything new in store for gamers?

This review may be a little different from most of our traditional reviews. You can read our original review of the 2018 release here, but we’ll do our best to discuss the improvements and tweaks in terms of overall performance and the overall quality of the transition to PC. That said, four years later we’ll also be looking at the overall experience and how the title fares in today’s ever-expanding landscape of superhero games.

New platform, same Spidey

For those of you who haven’t gotten around to playing the 2018 original release on PlayStation 4 yetMarvel’s Spider-Man is a third-person action-adventure game set in the iconic world of the world’s most famous and beloved web-slinging superhero sensation. While the storyline is an original piece, many elements are of course heavily inspired by the comic book source material and subsequent Spidey media, such as the last few movies. Without venturing into spoiler territory, the game follows Spider-Man as he overcomes a medley of villains (some very familiar faces) and tries to save New York from a deadly bioweapon.

Players take on the role of a seasoned Spidey, with eight years behind the mask and all the bells and whistles usually associated with the superhero. This means that you skip the fairly tired origin story and have cool skills right from the start. It is also possible to boost our boy through the game’s upgrade system that improves combat skills and web swinging.

Aside from the main storyline, there are also side missions and things to collect in the city that will all keep you entertained and immersed in the open world. As someone who didn’t get around to the 2018 original release, I was really blown away by the cinematic nature of both the story and the overall gameplay. It felt like an interactive movie as cutscenes blended beautifully into the gameplay without loading screens that would interfere with the immersion.

Thanks to the power of newer RTX graphics cards, Marvel’s Spider-Man looks better than ever, and arguably better than the PlayStation 5 remaster. A number of sliders let you fine-tune the balance between performance and graphics fidelity, and ultra-wide resolutions ranging from 16:9 all the way up to 48:9 allow you to meander through the city with a wider field of view than ever before. Ray-traced reflections and enhanced shadows also help bring the city to life, rivaling the PS5’s admittedly beautiful wedding mode. That said, support for the DualSense has also been added, allowing both PlayStation and PC gamers to jump on board with the same solid experience they may have found on the console; trust us, it’s still the best way to play this.

Does what a spider can

Web swinging was probably one of my favorite aspects of the game. It brought me back to my very first Spider Man game, the 2000 release for the original PlayStation, but of course much improved. I managed fine on a fairly standard computer screen, but I wonder if playing on a wider screen would improve the experience or cause motion sickness. There’s quite a bit of movement going on, so keep that in mind during this part of the game.

Combat was tricky for me, even though I had the game set to Friendly (the second easiest option on the menu). The game asks you, at least in the earlier missions, about the most effective way to disarm and take out the enemies in your path. This can range from basic combat to temporarily paralyzing them through web binding, air strikes or taking advantage of environmental elements and throwing garbage cans at villains. Using several key clicks, you can theoretically formulate some exciting combos, some of which have the Spider-Man web slip between the legs to take them out from behind. However, I struggled to remember what to do and as I figured it out, I would get confused instead. There’s some automatic targeting, but again unless you know what you’re doing you’ll end up tying up someone you didn’t want or hitting everyone half way and not actually knocking anyone out. I choose to play on a keyboard rather than my usual controller setup, so I’d write this one by skill, or lack thereof.

Final Thoughts

In addition to all the original content and later DLC chapters released, it’s hard to argue with more Spidey. Specifically for PC, the graphics are now optimized, meaning gamers can enjoy a variety of graphics quality options that can be customized to suit your build. For controller players, haptic feedback and dynamic trigger effects keep your mind on the game when you play via a PlayStation Dual Sense controller on a wired USB connection. The ultra-wide monitor support here is amazing and a real spectacle for those looking to invest in the tech right now. And for those of us who use mouse and keyboard, there’s a variety of customizable options too. Marvel’s Spider-Man is now also available on Steam Deck, so you can take the titular wall crawler with you wherever you go. If you’re a fan of the original 2018 release, there’s really just more to love with this remaster, so jump on board.

FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)

Highlights: Immersive landscapes; Same, solid gameplay; Extra points for Spider-Man’s snarky comments; Graphics display, support ultra-wide monitor
lowlights: Combat is still tricky, but that’s probably my fault
Developer: Insomnia games
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Platforms: Microsoft Windows
Available: Utilities

Review conducted on PC with a pre-release code from the publisher.

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