As a massive Spider-Man fan I loved this. I do think the first game’s story was much tighter and the main villain was better. However I think everything else is better in this game. Even the MJ missions everyone hated are better here.
I definitely think there are some problems like the many moving parts in story that don’t entirely chug along and the way parts of the narrative are constructed and framed. I also think the boss fights are uninspired. Hit enemy, parry attack and dodge their big move, rinse repeat.
Everything in this game is cinematic which is both a pro and con. Lots of on rails scripted segments a la Uncharted. They’re cool but extremely linear. Linear on rails sections are fine with me as long as they’re done well and while that’s mostly the case here, I think it’s used just a tad too much.
The story, aside from my structure and framing nitpicks, is pretty cool and emotion packed. Lots of twists for those who’re familiar with Spider-Man canon and it expands upon elements from the previous two installments. I think Miles’ story really shines here. Peter was slightly underwhelming and during act two his angst was slightly cringey. Maybe that’s the point.
Kraven as a villain was alright, it’s basically a streamlined version of Kraven’s Last Hunt and combining it with Peter’s black suit arc from the comics and the 90s animated show rendition. Venom was a much better villain imo. Lizard was barely in the game despite the heavy emphasis on him in the marketing.
Edit: This game like most open world games still has an exhaustive amount of side quests but I think they’re a lot more enjoyable than the first game’s. The webswinging and combat are great as always but with the webwings it kinda makes swinging play second fiddle (it’s like Minecraft with the elytra, horses pretty much became irrelevant). You can potentially fly infinitely by boosting, gliding, doing tricks to restore your boosts and continuing the cycle. I do, however, like the near instant fast travel because the map is a lot bigger and with some objectives being on opposite ends of the map it can take a bit (I’ve only used it once though). Like it’s predecessors, I think traversal is pretty much just the game playing itself because it requires very minimal player input. YMMV if you enjoy that kind of gameplay, for me it wasn’t a big deal as it can still be quite satisfying.
Overall I really enjoyed this game. Miles and Peter’s relationship was cute and I liked the drama in each of their stories. The reveal of who Rio’s dating at the end got me hyped for the next game as one of my favorite Spidey characters is probably gonna be a prominent part of the story. I really like this universe that Insomniac is crafting. I’m excited for Spider-Man 3 and the Wolverine game.
I definitely think there are some problems like the many moving parts in story that don’t entirely chug along and the way parts of the narrative are constructed and framed. I also think the boss fights are uninspired. Hit enemy, parry attack and dodge their big move, rinse repeat.
Everything in this game is cinematic which is both a pro and con. Lots of on rails scripted segments a la Uncharted. They’re cool but extremely linear. Linear on rails sections are fine with me as long as they’re done well and while that’s mostly the case here, I think it’s used just a tad too much.
The story, aside from my structure and framing nitpicks, is pretty cool and emotion packed. Lots of twists for those who’re familiar with Spider-Man canon and it expands upon elements from the previous two installments. I think Miles’ story really shines here. Peter was slightly underwhelming and during act two his angst was slightly cringey. Maybe that’s the point.
Kraven as a villain was alright, it’s basically a streamlined version of Kraven’s Last Hunt and combining it with Peter’s black suit arc from the comics and the 90s animated show rendition. Venom was a much better villain imo. Lizard was barely in the game despite the heavy emphasis on him in the marketing.
Edit: This game like most open world games still has an exhaustive amount of side quests but I think they’re a lot more enjoyable than the first game’s. The webswinging and combat are great as always but with the webwings it kinda makes swinging play second fiddle (it’s like Minecraft with the elytra, horses pretty much became irrelevant). You can potentially fly infinitely by boosting, gliding, doing tricks to restore your boosts and continuing the cycle. I do, however, like the near instant fast travel because the map is a lot bigger and with some objectives being on opposite ends of the map it can take a bit (I’ve only used it once though). Like it’s predecessors, I think traversal is pretty much just the game playing itself because it requires very minimal player input. YMMV if you enjoy that kind of gameplay, for me it wasn’t a big deal as it can still be quite satisfying.
Overall I really enjoyed this game. Miles and Peter’s relationship was cute and I liked the drama in each of their stories. The reveal of who Rio’s dating at the end got me hyped for the next game as one of my favorite Spidey characters is probably gonna be a prominent part of the story. I really like this universe that Insomniac is crafting. I’m excited for Spider-Man 3 and the Wolverine game.