This review contains spoilers
Sure is a Spider-Man game, again! And with Venom in it.
I was excited for this but I didn't think it would be good. It was more just that the feeling of distracting yourself with something new for a whole weekend is such a nice feeling. And I was lucky enough to be able to experience that feeling again.
The game itself pretty much lived up to my expectations. It initially exceeded them as Miles' story was actually interesting and I bought Harry's relationship with Pete & MJ. But once Venom comes in, it really fumbles. You play as him purely cos the subreddit would've gone mad if you didn't and the gameplay is no different to the gameplay of the Spider-Men that it doesn't get across how bad Venom actually is. The two Spider-Men's combat in this Spider-Man series are so incredibly brutal and violent. And apart from boss fights, you're always fighting the same faceless goons. And when you play as Venom, you're that same level of violence fighting those same faceless goons. The game puts no effort into aligning the story and gameplay so the final stretch of the story feels conflicted and even more boring than if it was just another "uh oh whole city sick again like first game".
When Pete has the symbiote it's actually intriguing and scary but once it comes off him, I lost interest as it became just another superhero story.
One with the most hilarious glitches that the whole final mission had absolutely no emotional impact cos I was laughing the whole time (even if there weren't glitches, I still don't think it would've resonated with me). I must've taken at least 15 videos on my PS5 of the two Spider-Men just being cubes. MJ being a floating head or not appearing at all like Venom in one cutscene too. I hadn't laughed so hard in so long. It was amazing so I'm very thankful the game gave me that. Cos after all, it's a piece of entertainment, this silly little piece of fiction was obviously never gonna be anything more than fun times for the kiddies. But if that's the case, maybe don't make the heroes we're supposed to root for stupidly violent.
Anyway, Miles: I did not give a fuck about him in his spin-off and I was anticipating this being more of a Pete game anyway so I wasn't expecting much but damn, they do so well with his character until they just give up halfway through. His arc about letting go of the hate for Li is fine [and I really liked his addition to the story too] but it's like they forgot that wasn't the only part of his character they were working towards for him in this game. The whole game, he's putting off his responsibilities (college essay) by taking care of other people's responsibilities which I LOVED. It's such an interesting angle for a superhero story because it can lead to a question if they actually a hero if they're only helping people for their own selfish reasons (distracting themself from their own life). I also liked it cos I just found it relatable as someone who piles up my own responsibilities so I can take on others'. But they just forgot that part of his arc?? So they threw in a line in the post-credits scene where he offhandedly says he finished the college essay. Then homie comes in with an ugly-ass suit for absolutely no reason that doesn't serve the story but instead serves an Adidas sponsorship, I guess :/
But hey, post-credit scene made me go "I know that thing" so it's automatically good. I'm joking obviously but I fucking love Cindy Moon, so I am excited to see her in mainstream media FINALLY!
So, yeah, it's fun. I beat it in three days, and platinumed in 28 hours over four days. I clearly didn't dislike it. Despite it fumbling at the end, it still perfectly met my expectations cos I wasn't expecting much of anything from the story to begin with. The new additions to traversal are fantastic. Web wings have really brought a whole new life to the game and progression actually takes effort too which is nice cos the first game was too easy.
I was excited for this but I didn't think it would be good. It was more just that the feeling of distracting yourself with something new for a whole weekend is such a nice feeling. And I was lucky enough to be able to experience that feeling again.
The game itself pretty much lived up to my expectations. It initially exceeded them as Miles' story was actually interesting and I bought Harry's relationship with Pete & MJ. But once Venom comes in, it really fumbles. You play as him purely cos the subreddit would've gone mad if you didn't and the gameplay is no different to the gameplay of the Spider-Men that it doesn't get across how bad Venom actually is. The two Spider-Men's combat in this Spider-Man series are so incredibly brutal and violent. And apart from boss fights, you're always fighting the same faceless goons. And when you play as Venom, you're that same level of violence fighting those same faceless goons. The game puts no effort into aligning the story and gameplay so the final stretch of the story feels conflicted and even more boring than if it was just another "uh oh whole city sick again like first game".
When Pete has the symbiote it's actually intriguing and scary but once it comes off him, I lost interest as it became just another superhero story.
One with the most hilarious glitches that the whole final mission had absolutely no emotional impact cos I was laughing the whole time (even if there weren't glitches, I still don't think it would've resonated with me). I must've taken at least 15 videos on my PS5 of the two Spider-Men just being cubes. MJ being a floating head or not appearing at all like Venom in one cutscene too. I hadn't laughed so hard in so long. It was amazing so I'm very thankful the game gave me that. Cos after all, it's a piece of entertainment, this silly little piece of fiction was obviously never gonna be anything more than fun times for the kiddies. But if that's the case, maybe don't make the heroes we're supposed to root for stupidly violent.
Anyway, Miles: I did not give a fuck about him in his spin-off and I was anticipating this being more of a Pete game anyway so I wasn't expecting much but damn, they do so well with his character until they just give up halfway through. His arc about letting go of the hate for Li is fine [and I really liked his addition to the story too] but it's like they forgot that wasn't the only part of his character they were working towards for him in this game. The whole game, he's putting off his responsibilities (college essay) by taking care of other people's responsibilities which I LOVED. It's such an interesting angle for a superhero story because it can lead to a question if they actually a hero if they're only helping people for their own selfish reasons (distracting themself from their own life). I also liked it cos I just found it relatable as someone who piles up my own responsibilities so I can take on others'. But they just forgot that part of his arc?? So they threw in a line in the post-credits scene where he offhandedly says he finished the college essay. Then homie comes in with an ugly-ass suit for absolutely no reason that doesn't serve the story but instead serves an Adidas sponsorship, I guess :/
But hey, post-credit scene made me go "I know that thing" so it's automatically good. I'm joking obviously but I fucking love Cindy Moon, so I am excited to see her in mainstream media FINALLY!
So, yeah, it's fun. I beat it in three days, and platinumed in 28 hours over four days. I clearly didn't dislike it. Despite it fumbling at the end, it still perfectly met my expectations cos I wasn't expecting much of anything from the story to begin with. The new additions to traversal are fantastic. Web wings have really brought a whole new life to the game and progression actually takes effort too which is nice cos the first game was too easy.