Since the reveal of its gameplay at E3 2017, Spider-Man has enjoyed unprecedented hype. By lifting the veil on its combat system, quite similar to that of Batman Arkham from Rocksteady studios, the game has since been expected as the Messiah, the one who will allow the famous web weaver to earn his letters of nobility. Indeed, at first glance, this Spider-Man went to draw his ideas from Gotham. The developers of Insomniac Games have never hidden it, revealing in passing that “Rocksteady has redefined the quality of superhero games and that they suddenly want to be at the same level. And it is true that when playing this Spider-Man, it is impossible not to think of the man-bat, especially with regard to his confrontations. The famous freeflow combat system, which allows you to face several enemies at the same time with incredible fluidity, therefore served as the basis for highlighting the entire acrobatic panoply of Spider-Man. The latter thus has a wide range of movements, paying homage of course to his skills and his super-human powers. Hitting, dodging, jumping, clinging, weaving webs or even propelling yourself towards your opponent in a fraction of a second, the possibilities of movement are numerous and varied, knowing that it is of course possible to move from one action to another without any downtime. All with the agility, fluidity and grace that characterizes the character of Spider-Man.
IT'S ALL IN THE FLOW
It is indeed quite possible to start molesting an enemy, to dodge right after a homing missile, to swing from the web to immobilize the shooter, to throw a gadget to have a little help (and company) , pass between the legs of an overprotected soldier to take him from behind, pull another enemy towards you in order to stick a big mandal on him, or chain aerial combos to avoid the explosion of a grenade. We then go from one enemy to another in a fraction of a second, but with this coherence that did not exist in the Batman Arkhams where the Man-Bat gave the impression of slipping on the ground in a surreal way. With Spider-Man, each of his movements in the middle of a fight is justified by the use of one of his powers, whether it is web weaving or acrobatics. It's extremely well thought out. The possibilities are therefore crazy and all these actions are the result of pure reflection by the player who will have to deal with the enemies he has in front of him, without forgetting the environment with which he can completely interact. Not only does the game invite us to vary the actions, in particular via objectives to be achieved (covering at least 5 enemies, achieving a 20+ hit combo, performing at least 3 stealth executions, knocking at least 5 opponents from a roof) to get more rewards, but in addition it pushes us to use the right actions to eliminate certain enemies.
Indeed, in the interest of variety, the developers have created several types of opponents to defeat, which react differently to the powers of Spider-Man. There are the basic ones that you can defeat in any way, but there are also those with weapons or equipment to better defend yourself or prevent Spider-Man from abusing his skills. We think in particular of those who are able to prevent Spidey from gaining altitude by swinging an electrified rope at him, then blocking him on the ground. The mastiffs, on the other hand, take the mandals without flinching and must absolutely be covered in fabric to be vulnerable. And then there are also the men of Silver Sable, even tougher, since they are equipped with armor and jetpacks. Suffice to say that when all of these enemies mix to attack all together, you will have to be inventive so as not to finish the four irons in the air.
A VERY VERTICAL OPEN WORLD
Speaking of which, there are several ways for Spider-Man to regain health. By pressing Down on the D-Pad first, which allows you to heal yourself. But very quickly, you will understand that it is by multiplying the combos and by maintaining the concentration of the superhero as well as possible that it is possible to reboost his health. Maximum concentration also makes it possible to trigger finish-moves, which eliminate an opponent in a single blow through a polished and dynamic staging. Executions that can be chained (x2 is the maximum) as long as you develop the skills of friend Spidey via his skill tree. Because Spider-Man also has a huge RPG component, allowing the character to progress over the course of the adventure. Physical skills, gadgets, costumes and combat techniques, everything is unlocked according to the points and tokens obtained at the end of each main mission or other side quests. They are also quite numerous, although somewhat redundant. But we'll come back to that in a moment...
If it is obvious that the series of Batman Arkham served as a model to shape this Spider-Man vintage 2018, the fact remains that the latter has sufficient novelties to release its own personality.
If it is obvious that the series of Batman Arkham served as a model to shape this Spider-Man vintage 2018, the fact remains that the latter has sufficient novelties to release its own personality. This is felt above all in the movements of the friend Spidey, able to wander freely among the countless skyscrapers that make up the charm of New York, and mainly of the island of Manhattan. It is indeed not possible to go further by crossing the various bridges that surround the city. A message appears to set the limits of the open world and forces you to turn around. So inevitably, compared to other open world games (GTA V, Horizon Zero Dawn), Spider-Man offers a smaller playing field. But the game is easily caught up in its verticality, since all the interest of this open world lies in the movements among the buildings. It is indeed possible for Peter Parker to reach the tallest towers in New York, whether it is the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Avengers Tower or even the Oscorp company building. . Going to perch at the very top of these skyscrapers also offers striking panoramas, but also a feeling of vertigo rarely experienced in a video game. The free falls – before catching up via a web – are exhilarating and at any time, Spider-Man can cling to any wall thanks to his physical faculties.
LIBERTY CITY
Unlike other open worlds that offer large expanses that are often empty, the world of Spider-Man is above all teeming with life! Passers-by, traffic, helicopters patrolling, planes that can be seen in the sky and birds that take flight as Spider-Man passes by, everything has been done to give the feeling of evolving in the real city of New York. It is also by returning to dry land that we realize the colossal work done by the developers to offer us a world that is both rich and full of life. Citizens do not hesitate to react to the presence of our superhero, either by questioning him, or by making remarks, or even by taking a photo of him. Some of them can go further in the interaction with attempting a hug, a simple check or outright a high-five. The kind of little details that make you happy, you have to admit. That said, if you have fun staying a little longer with the NPCs, you will very quickly discover their limits, the latter often remaining frozen, sometimes repeating the same lines over and over. It is the same with traffic, whose pathfinding is not very advanced either, sometimes generating incredible situations. So obviously, we understand that Insomniac Games has not deployed all of its efforts on population and traffic, the primary interest of the game residing elsewhere. This is why we will not hold it against it.
But hey, if there is one element of the game that deserves a standing ovation, it is indeed the system of movement in the city. It's simple, Insomniac Games promised us that we would feel like we were in the real shoes of Spider-Man and this is really the case. The studio has indeed created a ton of animations to move with a fluidity never taken to default. Between the canvas throws, the small jumps, the super-jumps, the momentums to gain speed, the wall-runs, the somersaults, the receptions gently, everything has been studied with the greatest care. Spider-Man has never behaved so well in a video game, especially since the sensation of aerobatics is also a total success, and we experience a form of pleasure in exploring every corner of New York. Because despite all the activity that we find in the city, the artists at Insomniac Games have not skimped on the details, with textures of great richness that we can appreciate as soon as we take the time to sit down and contemplate the environments around us. This is not necessarily obvious, Spider-Man being a game that goes very quickly and rarely leaves us time to ask.
DOWNGRADE OU PAS DOWNGRADE?
This is also an opportunity to discuss the graphics, and in particular this mini-controversy on the downgrade of the game. Comparative support, we could see that certain visual elements had disappeared from the final version. Puddles in particular, the reflections in the puddles in question and a change in the lighting making the game sunnier, less contrasted. It's true, there are less puddles compared to the E3 2017 demo. on the windows of buildings, they are quite cra-cra), but the final version of Spider-Man remains visually impressive nonetheless. In truth, apart from these few inconveniences which have not escaped the eye of the most vigilant Internet users, the rest of the game is in the image of what has been shown to us during the various shows. Without reaching the quality of a GOD OF WAR, the title of Insomniac Games is impressive in many aspects. On the viewing distance to begin with, making it possible to distinguish a certain density of the city, even when Spider-Man evolves in the heights of New York. The absence of clipping (or almost) also accentuates the feeling of mastery of technology, to which is added a framerate of great stability, despite the many elements displayed on the screen. We also understand why the developers preferred to opt for a constant 30fps rather than a shaky 60fps.
But where Spider-Man throws a punch is during indoor sequences where the console no longer needs to calculate sections of scenery to focus on just a few elements. If necessary, the game takes on a different look, displaying beautiful graphics, with many details in all directions. The visual slap is also present during cutscenes or close-ups, where the game becomes almost photo-realistic. We can indeed distinguish all the details of the skin on the different protagonists, their roughness, the wrinkles, the emerging beard, the sweat, the scratches. It is also during these close-ups that we can perfectly distinguish the different textures, whether it is clothing or decorative elements. Fabric, leather, latex, wood, metal, concrete, the result on the screen is really striking and you just have to take a look at our homemade screenshots to judge with your own eyes.
NO FEDEX, BUT REDUNDANCY
During our last preview, which dates back to the end of July, we were pleasantly surprised by the variety of gameplay in Spider-Man. If we buy the game above all to take ourselves for the Spider-Man, the thinking heads of Insomniac Games also had the good idea to offer us to embody other strong characters, namely Mary-Jane but also Miles Morales. Embodying them allows both to better tell the original story imagined by the developers (we'll talk about it in a short time), but also to offer us something other than combat and aerobatics. Indeed, the few sequences at the controls of Peter Parker's sidekicks allow us to have an infiltration approach, imposed moreover by the game. Unlike Spider-Man who can also play stealth in complete freedom, if you don't don't respect discretion with Mary-Jane and Mile Morales, so it's guaranteed game over. This is also one of the great weaknesses of the game, since these sequences do not bring much in the end. Worse, they have the opposite effect, that of highlighting a not very advanced AI, archaic limit, which it is possible to circumvent easily by dropping elements – very precise – of the decor, or by throwing decoys. The pattern of the enemies is so phoned that you really have to be a complete novice to mess up your sequences. Even if it means playing Sam Fischer, we much prefer to do it in the skin of Spidey when he covers his enemies from a lamppost or any point in height.
Since we're talking about grievances, we might as well tell you that the game is a bit disappointing in terms of side quests. If Insomniac Games escapes the trap of FedEx missions, the studio fails to make certain side-quests interesting over the length. We think in particular of the objectives proposed by Félicia (aka Black Cat or la Chatte Noire in good French) who asks us to locate and photograph the stuffed animals that she has scattered all over Manhattan. Speaking of snapshots, Spider-Man also has to take pictures of New York's greatest landmarks. Not that tourism is boring, but there are still more rewarding jobs. Especially since in the script, Peter Parker swapped his post as a journalist for that of a scientist. For the other side missions, there is also a certain redundancy, since it often boils down to fighting waves of enemies, sometimes endlessly. It's long, not always very interesting, especially after 35 hours of crime-busting gameplay in New York City.
A ORIGINAL STORY BY...
This is the big problem of Spider-Man, it is the lack of renewal in its bonus missions, while some of them are however scripted and do not fail to be hard-hitting (see Tombstone) with cinematics at the start. support. But it seems that Insomniac Games has kept the best for the future, that is to say the DLCs, which will also start on October 23 with the arrival of Felicia. Because yes, you won't see her once in the main adventure, just the sound of her voice which promises a confrontation at the top. Yet another frustration… Despite this, if you're a big fan of Spider-Man and if you want to unlock all 25 costumes offered at launch, you're going to have to stuff yourself with all these somewhat boring missions. But paradoxically, the game is worth the candle, the secondary outfits worth the detour. We find costumes from comic books of course, but also original creations designed by Adi Granov, which would also have their place in the MCU of Marvel Studios. Very good work that deserves to be commended.
Because instead of telling us the umpteenth time the same story, that of the comics, which we know inside out, the Californian developers had the ingenious idea of shaping their own story. While based on what already exists, the scenario of this Spider-Man PS4 takes the risk of redistributing the cards.
We will however end this test on the other striking aspect of this Spider-Man signed Insomniac Games, namely the original scenario proposed by Insomniac Games. Because instead of telling us the umpteenth time the same story, that of the comics, which we know inside out, the Californian developers had the ingenious idea of shaping their own story. While based on what already exists, the scenario of this Spider-Man PS4 takes the risk of redistributing the cards. I spoke to you above about the status of Peter Parker. In the game he is not a photographer working for the Daily Bugle, he is a young scientist who has been hired by Oscorp. Suddenly, it is to Mary-Jane that returns the role of the nosy reporter and who will suddenly unearth scoops to support Peter in his adventures. As for Norman Osborn, it is not the tortured man who will give birth to the Green Goblin, since he occupies the role of the mayor of New York. The idea for Insomniac Games is to surprise even the most hardcore fans who won't know what's going on. And for once, it's very successful, the game managing to offer its own universe, just by betting on the concept of musical chairs. Very good job, like all of this game which also seems to open a new era to the Spider-Man franchise. There are just a few hiccups that prevent the title from rising to the same rank as the greatest masterpieces of recent months.
