Spider-Man PS4 Review: 6 Ups & 1 Down

5. One Hell Of A Story For Fans AND Newcomers

Insomniac's approach pays off tremendously in the story itself. Written by Spidey writer Christos Gage, it focuses on a Peter Parker eight years into his career as the wall-crawler; he’s juggling his responsibilities as Spider-Man with that awkward transition into becoming an adult; he has a job (that absolutely MUST NOT be spoiled), him and MJ aren’t together anymore, and Harry Osborn is away in Europe. The gang’s no longer there, and there’s an underlying maturity to the game’s story about growing up, all elevated by a spectacular voice cast headlined by Yuri Lowenthal, whose performance as Peter Parker will no doubt rank among the all-time great Spider-Man portrayals once the dust begins to settle.

The story actually starts with Spidey heading to Fisk tower to take down the Kingpin once and for all. There’s years worth of unspoken history between the pair, and while Spidey believes Fisk's incarceration will spark a golden age for the city as a whole, Wilson's prophesy of everything coming undone is soon proven right by the arrival of Martin Li, the villainous Mister Negative who has dominated much of the title’s marketing.

Factor in the arrival of villains Shocker, Vulture, Scorpion and Rhino, and it soon becomes apparent that Spidey has his work cut out for him. Peter also finds himself in the position of mentoring Miles Morales, and it makes for one of the story’s most exciting sub-plots.

Without spoiling anything either, I will say that the story takes some really interesting and unexpected directions. It’s genuinely affecting, has a great mystery, and for those who’ve come to know Spider-Man inside and out over the years, the journey it takes you on is sure to leave an impact (with a view to multiple sequels further down the line, of course).