light spoilers
I love this game, but I hesitate to celebrate that too much because these games could be so much more. It's a slight taste of a fantastic Spider-Man experience, yet falls short or around the same level as MCU Spider-Man rather than its Spider-Verse counterpart. Thankfully this isn't the same game as before, there are improvements towards its mechanics and animations that make this title seem like an improvement on the surface, but a lot of it begins to crumble after however many hours they ask of you to see this story play out. The story is decent; I loved many little moments, with Peter's symbiote transformation being the main highlight (emotionally speaking), and some cool segments including Venom, but it lacks character depth... they slightly reference the unconscious mind at one point and how the symbiote is a manifestation of this idea. Unfortunately, it is touched upon once and later only referred to as a hivemind to make the general idea stick (which is fine, but a little deep dive might have been more interesting). One doesn't need to look deep into comics to find a lot of references towards different philosophical ideas, which has always caught me pleasantly off guard, and while I understand why junk food movies like Spider-Man MCU might be afraid to go into that conversation, why doesn't a video game that can be however long with many side stories use this opportunity to truly dive into profound topics? Fortunately, there are moments where we see a glimpse of interesting ideas, but still leaves me with a general desire for the game to commit. Miles' side mission about black artists is a wonderful addition, and a great representation to a culture that many playing a Spider-Man video game have probably never been exposed to (I know I hadn't been). The old man story is also self-reflective and beautiful in its own way. The main story itself, thematically speaking, slightly ties into these side stories ('heal the world'), but it drags its feet due to a lack of characterization. And that's within a game that has a whole therapy level for Miles' character. Hm. I think my main issue is that whenever the symbiote suit is controlling the character, they let out emotions that while harsh, come off as genuine. They are rational thoughts that makes sense for the characters to feel. These moments aren't addressed in a satisfying manner once they are back to their original selves. There is not a sense of growth because they do not fully acknowledge what they have said. The only one that felt most genuine was MJ and Peter's conflict, but even then, once they are back to normal, it lacks genuine words of gratitude and reverts back to stereotypical word salad.
Also, I'm getting tired of superheroes never having to provide much of an argument for what they are fighting for, but instead it coming off as 'that's a bad idea' with no depth to their own idea of what is better. Harry's idea of healing the world is overall problematic, but the fact that he provides a psychological answer that makes sense to them while none of our main characters can attempt to address the flaw in his argument (the fact that you'd be 'healing' people in exchange of their individualism) is the main problem that many superhero films have. Although I'll give credit to the fact that they are attempting to change the world, and the conflict results in the minor issues along the way such as how one saves the world. It is a good foundation, and I appreciate it for that.
I love this game, but I hesitate to celebrate that too much because these games could be so much more. It's a slight taste of a fantastic Spider-Man experience, yet falls short or around the same level as MCU Spider-Man rather than its Spider-Verse counterpart. Thankfully this isn't the same game as before, there are improvements towards its mechanics and animations that make this title seem like an improvement on the surface, but a lot of it begins to crumble after however many hours they ask of you to see this story play out. The story is decent; I loved many little moments, with Peter's symbiote transformation being the main highlight (emotionally speaking), and some cool segments including Venom, but it lacks character depth... they slightly reference the unconscious mind at one point and how the symbiote is a manifestation of this idea. Unfortunately, it is touched upon once and later only referred to as a hivemind to make the general idea stick (which is fine, but a little deep dive might have been more interesting). One doesn't need to look deep into comics to find a lot of references towards different philosophical ideas, which has always caught me pleasantly off guard, and while I understand why junk food movies like Spider-Man MCU might be afraid to go into that conversation, why doesn't a video game that can be however long with many side stories use this opportunity to truly dive into profound topics? Fortunately, there are moments where we see a glimpse of interesting ideas, but still leaves me with a general desire for the game to commit. Miles' side mission about black artists is a wonderful addition, and a great representation to a culture that many playing a Spider-Man video game have probably never been exposed to (I know I hadn't been). The old man story is also self-reflective and beautiful in its own way. The main story itself, thematically speaking, slightly ties into these side stories ('heal the world'), but it drags its feet due to a lack of characterization. And that's within a game that has a whole therapy level for Miles' character. Hm. I think my main issue is that whenever the symbiote suit is controlling the character, they let out emotions that while harsh, come off as genuine. They are rational thoughts that makes sense for the characters to feel. These moments aren't addressed in a satisfying manner once they are back to their original selves. There is not a sense of growth because they do not fully acknowledge what they have said. The only one that felt most genuine was MJ and Peter's conflict, but even then, once they are back to normal, it lacks genuine words of gratitude and reverts back to stereotypical word salad.
Also, I'm getting tired of superheroes never having to provide much of an argument for what they are fighting for, but instead it coming off as 'that's a bad idea' with no depth to their own idea of what is better. Harry's idea of healing the world is overall problematic, but the fact that he provides a psychological answer that makes sense to them while none of our main characters can attempt to address the flaw in his argument (the fact that you'd be 'healing' people in exchange of their individualism) is the main problem that many superhero films have. Although I'll give credit to the fact that they are attempting to change the world, and the conflict results in the minor issues along the way such as how one saves the world. It is a good foundation, and I appreciate it for that.
celeschere
6 months ago