Almost a decade ago, small-time game developer Rocksteady came out of nowhere with the surprise hit Batman: Arkham Asylum. No one had expected it to be as good as it was. In early demo footage, gameplay looked clunky, the voice acting seemed stiff, and it excited almost no one because licensed properties were almost always doomed to fail.

But expectations were completely subverted when it turned out Arkham Asylum was not only one of the best games of 2009, but arguably the greatest superhero game ever made. Rocksteady completely nailed the essence of Batman with a captivating story about being locked in an insane asylum while all of the Dark Knight’s greatest villains ran loose. On top of that Asylum was a blast to play with edge-of-your-seat stealth gameplay and it’s game-changing combat system. Rocksteady followed Arkham Asylum with two sequels that were equally well received. Arkham City and Arkham Knight both expanded the gameplay, story scope, and dark tone to complete one of the greatest video game trilogies ever made.

The Arkham games made fans ecstatic for the next great superhero game. Ever since that series took off, people have been anxiously hoping for great games about Superman, The Avengers, Green Lantern, and of course, Spider-Man.

Spider-Man has had a complicated history with video games. The concept on paper is perfect: set the game in New York City, have great web-slinging, fun combat, and a solid story and you’re left with a pretty great video game. However, there’s been dozens of Spider-Man games in the past several decades and they repeatedly fail to be anything more than average. This is partially due to the fact that Activision has owned the publishing rights, and regardless of how you feel about Call of Duty or Destiny, the massive publisher typically doesn’t put too much thought into licensed property games. Sure, the Spider-Man 2 movie tie-in was a surprisingly good game, but games like Web of Shadows and Shattered Dimensions feel like second-tier low budget efforts. It’s a little too obvious that they were cash grabs that didn’t have the care and attention a beloved character like Spider-Man deserves. After the success of the Arkham games, it was clear that Spider-Man needed a new studio to take over.

When the new Spider-Man game was announced at E3 2016, a major video game press conference, I was intrigued. The game was to be developed by Insomniac, a respectable developer known for games like Resistance, Sunset Overdrive, and Ratchet and Clank, so it seemed to be in good hands. However, as more gameplay was released I began to lose interest, as it looked repetitive, derivative and appeared to be full of quick-time events instead of a more open gameplay style. Additionally, there was next to no information on the storyline, so I assumed that any plot that might exist was probably going to play second fiddle to the gameplay. Still, there was an exponential amount of hype for the game so I figured that I would give it a try regardless of my early judgments.

When September 7th (Spider-Man’s release date) came around, I decided to buy the game right away because of some positive reviews that had increased my interest. With higher expectations, I dove into the game and for the next week and found that I could not put it down.

The first thing I noticed was simply how fun it was to play. Spider-Man wastes no time letting you swing around the city and fight enemies, and it feels fantastic. The web-swinging is easy, fast and it looks as effortless and slick as it does in any of the live action movies. The combat reminds me of the Arkham games, but Spider-Man’s attacks are far quicker and lighter, so it feels like it’s own thing. Nothing is more satisfying than swinging down a block, doing a flip in the air and diving into a group of thugs attempting to break into a jewelry store.

The design of New York city is also spot on. Any noticeable landmark you can think of is in there, from the Empire State Building, to lesser known structures like Bloomberg tower, to fictional locations such as Avengers tower. The amount of detail in the city is more striking than possibly any open world game set in a real-world location this side of Grand Theft Auto V.

The story is also far better than it had any right to be. It explores an older Peter Parker as he grapples with enemies from his past, tries to mend his relationship with ex-girlfriend Marry-Jane and struggles to make the right decisions both in and out of the suit. The game also shows a remarkable amount of restraint with classic Spider-Man villains and is not constantly shoving them down your throat during every other mission. I want to avoid spoilers here, but they go to some crazy places with certain characters arcs, and they definitely blew the doors wide open for a sequel while still giving you a satisfying ending.

Spider-Man is one of the best games I’ve played in a long time. I would still put the Arkham Trilogy above it, but Insomniac’s rendition of the beloved character proves that the Batman games weren’t the end, and that makes me excited for the future of superhero games. I’m almost positive we’ll see a sequel in the next two or three years, and maybe there will be more games in a “Marvel Game Universe” (there is a rumor that developer Crystal Dynamics is making an Avengers game). But until that next game drops, I’ll keep myself busy going for Spider-Man’s platinum trophy.

© Hank Michels, 2018