This is my first game for the PS4 and damn, this was a great game to introduce me to the system. I won't lie, it actually had a solid chance at becoming one of my favorite video games of all time but there were a few things here and there that stopped it from getting into that club. But i'll get to that.
Spider-Man PS4 is the only open-world game where i never used fast-travel at any point in the game (outside of the one time you're forced to use it). Now of course, the world isn't that big because while NYC is a big place, it's not like, an epic open world fantasy. But regardless of the size, it didn't matter because swinging around feels so good. Why would you ever fast-travel in a game where you play as Spider-Man? Now matter how much i played, this never got old. The world itself feels very much alive and not just because it's NYC. It does a very good job at establishing that Peter Parker has been Spider-Man for a while now, as well as confirming the presence of other Marvel superheroes, even if it goes a little bit out of it's way to explain why none of them show up at all. Avengers Tower is here but Peter comments on how literally all of the Avengers are on the West Coast and they never use the Tower as a result. And speaking of the world feeling alive, those J. Jonah Jameson podcasts were always a treat. I was always waiting for the next one to appear because J. Jonah Jameson is always comedy gold.
The combat itself is similarly very good. At it's core, there isn't any faults with it. Landing hits, perfect dodging, throwing projectiles back at the enemy, it all feels nice. Combining this with Spider-Man's speed and his rather glass cannon attributes in this game honestly makes for a perfect action game. Admittedly, the combat does become a little stale but only because of the situations that occur with it. There are enemy bases scattered around the city as well as crimes that pop up every now and then. These get stale and while i did do most of them, doing them for too long would just get too tiring. You can go the whole game without doing them as the campaign is short but you'll end up underpowered as you wouldn't have any tokens to upgrade with. But even still, maybe they should've it toned it down a bit here.
The story is decent. I only have Spider-Man movies and Spectacular Spider-Man to compare it to but yeah, it works. It's a good Spider-Man story, although i do think some parts of it happen a little bit too quickly. I also think the story should've spent some more time with Mr. Negative and Doctor Octopus. Their motivations are there but i feel the story is a bit too quick in getting Spider-Man to punch them. I would've taken out the Sinister Six and instead have more time devoted to Mr. Negative and Doc Ock.
The worst part of the game though is absolutely the stealth missions. Specifically, stealth where you play as MJ or Miles. While they do get a little bit better when both of them get some tools so they aren't completely defenseless, i could've 100% gone without these missions and it's the only part of the game i'd actually call bad. They add nothing to the game, you could've just made it a cutscene and it would not change anything. Stealth is only good when you're playing as Spider-Man.
The second worst part of the game is the soundtrack. It's not bad and i do like the main theme but for the most part, it didn't really do it for me.
Overall, the game is fantastic and i definitely recommend it to anyone who has a PS4 (or 5, it's remastered on there). A few minor issues ironed out and i would've called it a personal masterpiece because of just how good it felt to play.
Spider-Man PS4 is the only open-world game where i never used fast-travel at any point in the game (outside of the one time you're forced to use it). Now of course, the world isn't that big because while NYC is a big place, it's not like, an epic open world fantasy. But regardless of the size, it didn't matter because swinging around feels so good. Why would you ever fast-travel in a game where you play as Spider-Man? Now matter how much i played, this never got old. The world itself feels very much alive and not just because it's NYC. It does a very good job at establishing that Peter Parker has been Spider-Man for a while now, as well as confirming the presence of other Marvel superheroes, even if it goes a little bit out of it's way to explain why none of them show up at all. Avengers Tower is here but Peter comments on how literally all of the Avengers are on the West Coast and they never use the Tower as a result. And speaking of the world feeling alive, those J. Jonah Jameson podcasts were always a treat. I was always waiting for the next one to appear because J. Jonah Jameson is always comedy gold.
The combat itself is similarly very good. At it's core, there isn't any faults with it. Landing hits, perfect dodging, throwing projectiles back at the enemy, it all feels nice. Combining this with Spider-Man's speed and his rather glass cannon attributes in this game honestly makes for a perfect action game. Admittedly, the combat does become a little stale but only because of the situations that occur with it. There are enemy bases scattered around the city as well as crimes that pop up every now and then. These get stale and while i did do most of them, doing them for too long would just get too tiring. You can go the whole game without doing them as the campaign is short but you'll end up underpowered as you wouldn't have any tokens to upgrade with. But even still, maybe they should've it toned it down a bit here.
The story is decent. I only have Spider-Man movies and Spectacular Spider-Man to compare it to but yeah, it works. It's a good Spider-Man story, although i do think some parts of it happen a little bit too quickly. I also think the story should've spent some more time with Mr. Negative and Doctor Octopus. Their motivations are there but i feel the story is a bit too quick in getting Spider-Man to punch them. I would've taken out the Sinister Six and instead have more time devoted to Mr. Negative and Doc Ock.
The worst part of the game though is absolutely the stealth missions. Specifically, stealth where you play as MJ or Miles. While they do get a little bit better when both of them get some tools so they aren't completely defenseless, i could've 100% gone without these missions and it's the only part of the game i'd actually call bad. They add nothing to the game, you could've just made it a cutscene and it would not change anything. Stealth is only good when you're playing as Spider-Man.
The second worst part of the game is the soundtrack. It's not bad and i do like the main theme but for the most part, it didn't really do it for me.
Overall, the game is fantastic and i definitely recommend it to anyone who has a PS4 (or 5, it's remastered on there). A few minor issues ironed out and i would've called it a personal masterpiece because of just how good it felt to play.