There are definitely some good, maybe even great, moments in this game even after all these years later but, I still feel like there's a ton holding back from this from being the "undisputed masterpiece" it's fanbase likes to hype it up as.
Gameplay wise, the traversal is fun but has already been outclassed by Miles Morales and the sequel, the same can be said for the combat, which just makes this experience feel much lesser than it ever has before and a lot more easier to pick apart for it's flaws. The open world itself is incredibly repetitive and it's always a more tedious than it is fun grind to get the platinum trophy. The remaster is also buggy as all hell for some reason, tons of instances where enemies clipped into objects or buildings, the latter making it almost impossible to complete a street crime meaning I would have to abandon it all together and try again which is double frustrating when you're grinding to 100% the game. At a certain point, the combat just unclicked for me because I had been doing this for so long it felt repetitive and lost it's substance. There were also bugs relating to button prompts in the same situation requiring the same tedious solution.
Now, when it comes to the narrative, what can I say really... I mean, there's good moments like I mentioned before but I noticed this playthrough a lot of it felt strangely generic, not predictable, but just kinda generic at times. The twists are still pretty good and make the narrative, without the ambitious twists, I think the whole thing could easily fall flat on it's ass. Act 3 was probably the best part of the narrative, mainly the climax because the bits before the Octavious fight felt a bit less themselves too. At the time of first playing, shit hitting the fan, everything happening at once, that was a great experience but, now, it just feels rushed and it probably is. Not enough time to really process everything that's happening or just not enough development at all. I cared less this time than I ever have before, and I've found myself on repeated playthroughs caring less and less, so, maybe it's just that the narrative is more of a first time experience thing.
Overall, it was really solid when it came out, but it's starting to age, it's showing cracks and that is unfortunate. Thankfully, it's successors are proving to scratch that itch this one can no longer achieve.
Gameplay wise, the traversal is fun but has already been outclassed by Miles Morales and the sequel, the same can be said for the combat, which just makes this experience feel much lesser than it ever has before and a lot more easier to pick apart for it's flaws. The open world itself is incredibly repetitive and it's always a more tedious than it is fun grind to get the platinum trophy. The remaster is also buggy as all hell for some reason, tons of instances where enemies clipped into objects or buildings, the latter making it almost impossible to complete a street crime meaning I would have to abandon it all together and try again which is double frustrating when you're grinding to 100% the game. At a certain point, the combat just unclicked for me because I had been doing this for so long it felt repetitive and lost it's substance. There were also bugs relating to button prompts in the same situation requiring the same tedious solution.
Now, when it comes to the narrative, what can I say really... I mean, there's good moments like I mentioned before but I noticed this playthrough a lot of it felt strangely generic, not predictable, but just kinda generic at times. The twists are still pretty good and make the narrative, without the ambitious twists, I think the whole thing could easily fall flat on it's ass. Act 3 was probably the best part of the narrative, mainly the climax because the bits before the Octavious fight felt a bit less themselves too. At the time of first playing, shit hitting the fan, everything happening at once, that was a great experience but, now, it just feels rushed and it probably is. Not enough time to really process everything that's happening or just not enough development at all. I cared less this time than I ever have before, and I've found myself on repeated playthroughs caring less and less, so, maybe it's just that the narrative is more of a first time experience thing.
Overall, it was really solid when it came out, but it's starting to age, it's showing cracks and that is unfortunate. Thankfully, it's successors are proving to scratch that itch this one can no longer achieve.