Spider-Man (2018 video game)

"*Be greater.*"
―Tagline.

International boxart depicting Spider-Man

**PlayStation 5**
NA: November 12, 2020
EU: November 19, 2020

**PC**: August 12, 2022

***Marvel's Spider-Man*** (also referred to as ***Spider-Man*** or ***Spider-Man PS4***) is a 2018 American action-adventure video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, based on the comic-book character of the same name, from Marvel Comics. A remaster titled ***Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered*** was released in 2020 for the PlayStation 5, and in 2022 for personal computers. It is the first installment of Insomniac's *Spider-Man* series.

Inspired by the character's mythology and multiple adaptations, *Marvel's Spider-Man* follows an experienced Peter Parker who has amounted a crime-fighting career of eight years, and features an extensive cast of characters, allies and supervillains from the comic's history; during the game's story, Spider-Man has to battle the rising threat of new villains who attempt to seize control of New York City's underworld and release a deadly virus. *Spider-Man* is presented from a third-person perspective, with focus on an open-world gameplay in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Gameplay primarily focuses on utilizing Spider-Man's abilities for combat, stealth and traversal, using a variety of gadgets and special abilities which can be unlocked and upgraded through completion of missions, side quests and challenges. Players can roam New York freely, during which they can also stop crimes and find collectibles.

Insomniac Games began working on *Spider-Man* in 2014, with development lasting four years. Insomniac was allowed to choose any character from Marvel's catalog to work on; Spider-Man was selected due to both the character's appeal to the majority of the studio's employees, and due to similarities to the traversal mechanics of the company's 2014 game *Sunset Overdrive*. The game's design and writing were influenced by Spider-Man's history and bibliography, but Insomniac chose to create an original story with its own unique history (classified as Earth-1048 within the Marvel Multiverse), a decision supported by Marvel Games. *Spider-Man* was officially announced at E3 2016, and released in September 2018 following a delay from 2017. Post-release, Insomniac supported the game with further content, titled *The City that Never Sleeps*, which follows Peter's battles with the villainous Hammerhead in the months after the base game's conclusion.

*Spider-Man* received positive reviews, with particular praise to its story, characterization, web-slinging mechanics, combat, visuals and quality as a licensed game, though it was also criticized for its formulaic open-world design. It was nominated for and received several end-year accolades, and multiple outlets hailed *Spider-Man* as one of the best superhero video games ever made, with favorable comparisons to the *Batman: Arkham* trilogy. It was a commercial success, selling over 3.3 million copies in its debut weekend, and over 20 million copies by November 2020. The game's critical and commercial success paved the way for several successors, including spin-off *Spider-Man: Miles Morales* (2020), sequel *Spider-Man 2* (2023), and related title *Wolverine* (TBA).

## Release

Rumors about a PlayStation 4-exclusive *Spider-Man* game began in early 2016, with some attaching Sucker Punch Productions to the project. In June 2016, at Sony's E3 conference, Sony and Insomniac Games officially announced a *Spider-Man* game, at the time untitled. In December 2016, Marvel Digital Media Group vice president and executive editor Ryan Penagos said that *Spider-Man* would release in 2017, though by April of that Insomniac Games dismissed those reports. At Sony's E3 conference in 2017, Sony and Insomniac confirmef that *Spider-Man* would release in 2018. On April 4, 2018, Sony announced that *Spider-Man* would launch in September 7.

### *Spider-Man: Remastered*

Sony released the version of *Spider-Man: Remastered* as a standalone digital-only release on May 4, 2023.

## Reception

### Reviews

#### PS4 release

* MetaCritic: 87/100
* Destructoid: 9/10
* EasyAllies: 9.5/10
* Edge: 8/10
* EGM: 9/10
* Game Informer: 9.5/10
* GameSpot: 9/10
* GamesRadar: 9/10
* Guardian: 6/10
* IGN: 8.7/10 (PS4); 9/10 (PS5)
* VideoGamer: 8/10

*Marvel's Spider-Man* was acclaimed upon release. Based on 116 scored reviews, the game hold 87/100 on MetaCritic. It received praise for its portrayal of Spider-Man, writing, visuals, map design, traversal mechanics and combat system; in contrast, it received criticism for relying on existing open world tropes and failing to innovate the format. Several reviewers considered *Marvel's Spider-Man* to be the best game based on the character, and one of the best superhero-based video games of all time, including Easy Allies, Game Informer and Push Square.

#### *Remastered* and PC release

* MetaCritic: 87/100 (PC)
* Game Revolution: 9/10
* GameSpot: 9/10
* IGN: 9/10
* PC Gamer:7.5/10
* PlayStation Universe: 8.5/10
* Push Square: 9/10
* VGC: 4/5

Like the original release, *Spider-Man Remastered* received highly positive reviews. IGN's Jonathon Brush noted that while the gameplay remained "largely unchanged", the remaster was a "visual treat to kick off the [PlayStation 5] era". Push Square's Brett Posner-Ferdman called it the "definitive" version of the game due to its improved loading times and graphical enhancements. While praising the overall remaster, PlayStation Universe's John-Paul Jones noted that it wasn't essential for people who previously experienced the game, and lamented the limited DualSense features.

The PC version of the game was also well-received, with praise directed towards its graphical features and potential on higher-end computers, though it was also criticized for some optimization and performance issues present at launch, while aspects of its story and design were reflected upon.

### Sales

Within three days of its release, *Spider-Man* sold over 3.3 million copies on the PlayStation 4; in doing so, it beat the 3.1 million units record of the previous record holder *God of War* (2018) to become Sony's biggest game launch and the biggest launch of a PlayStation 4 console exclusive. Its records were broken by Naughty Dog's *The Last of Us Part II* (4 million copies in 3 days) and Square Enix's *Final Fantasy Remake VII Remake* (3.5 million copies in 3 days), respectively.

By November 2018, sales increased to 9 million. By August 2019, the number increased to over 13.2 million copies. In November 2020, it was spotted that then-PlayStation global marketing lead David Bull disclosed on his Linkedin page that *Spider-Man* sold over 20 million copies by that point.

The PC version of *Spider-Man: Remastered* sold over 1.5 million copies by March 2023, generating revenue of $52 million.

## Sequels and continuations

During PlayStation's Future of Gaming event on June 11th, 2020, Sony and Insomniac Games announced *Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales*, a standalone title set in the universe established by *Marvel's Spider-Man*. The game is slated for release alongside the PlayStation 5 as a launch title, and was described by Insomniac Games as a complete story arc focused on the character of Miles Morales and takes place a year after the events of the first game.

In June 2020, Insomniac Games mentioned that "much of Peter's story left to tell", in regards to a continuation of the first game's narrative. *Miles Morales* creative director Brain Horton mentioned that Bryan Intihar, director of *Marvel's Spider-Man* "continues to imagine big things for the *Marvel’s Spider-Man* universe".

In September 2021, Sony unveiled the sequel *Spider-Man 2*, with a release window of 2023. At the same event, Sony also announced a spin-off, *Wolverine*.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2016/04/spider-senses\_are\_tingling\_over\_a\_ps4\_exclusive\_spider-man\_game
2. ↑ https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2016/05/theres\_a\_fake\_infamous\_leak\_that\_says\_sucker\_punch\_is\_making\_a\_spider-man\_game
3. ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/06/14/e3-2016-insomniac-announces-spider-man-game-for-ps4
4. ↑ https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2017/04/03/insomniac-spider-man-ps4s-reported-2017-release-window-nothings-announced/
5. ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/06/13/spider-man-ps4-coming-in-2018-features-miles-morales-and-peter-parker
6. ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/04/04/marvels-spider-man-has-a-release-date
7. ↑ https://www.gematsu.com/2023/05/marvels-spider-man-remastered-ps5-standalone-release-to-launch-in-may
8. ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/marvels-spider-man-remastered-review
9. ↑ https://www.pushsquare.com/reviews/ps5/marvels\_spider-man\_remastered
10. ↑ https://www.psu.com/reviews/marvels-spider-man-remastered-review-ps5/
11. ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/marvels-spider-man-remastered/critic-reviews
12. ↑ https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2018/09/20/marvels-spider-man-ps-4-sells-record-3-3-million-copies-opening/1346187002/
13. ↑ https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-continues-to-enjoy-great-success-spider-man-up/1100-6464233/
14. ↑ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/sony-acquires-insomniac-games
15. ↑ https://www.vg247.com/spider-man-ps4-20-million-sales
16. ↑ https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/05/key-playstation-studios-titles-on-pc-expected-to-sustain-growth-beyond-fy22
17. ↑ https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2020/06/marvels\_spider-man\_miles\_morales\_announced\_for\_ps5\_holiday\_2020
18. ↑ https://www.polygon.com/2020/6/12/21289184/spider-man-ps5-miles-morales-game-expansion
19. ↑ https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2020/08/15/spider-man-miles-morales-full-arc/
20. ↑ https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2020/06/18/spider-man-miles-morales-story-info/
21. ↑ https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2020/06/insomniac\_has\_much\_of\_peterrs\_story\_left\_to\_tell\_for\_marvels\_spider-man\_2\_on\_ps5
22. ↑ https://blog.playstation.com/2020/06/18/marvels-spider-man-miles-morales-an-update-from-insomniac-games/