4. The New Lore Is Worth Exploring, And Possesses Boundless Potential
Sony
Main story aside, one of the most compelling things about Marvel's Spider-Man is its unspoken history. Fans will make it their mission to collect every backpack the game has to offer, and with landmarks and Easter eggs aplenty, it’s clear this is a mythos built to last, and one worth exploring - and already has been explored - in various media going forward.
Like Rocksteady, Insomniac have opted to tell a story about a version of their hero at the peak of his abilities, leaving the door open for prequels but more importantly ensuring that there's a rich history to tease and hint at. It enables the player to piece together their own mythos, and with dozens of Marvel characters having been hinted at in the game itself - whether through landmarks, or through those aforementioned backpacks - it's possible that the House of Ideas could be about to build a gaming universe to rival their cinematic one.
It's important not to get ahead of ourselves just yet, but still, it's been wonderful exploring Marvel's New York. Could more have been done? Perhaps, but just knowing that you're there in this world alongside the likes of Doctor Strange, Black Panther and the Avengers is great - even if the Fantastic Four's Baxter Building is absent from the New York skyline.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
