


It’s the same for the rest of the cast, from Aunt May to Norman Osborne (now Mayor of New York), all brought to life on screen in an impressively tangible way.

He’s charming but human, and there are some actual laughs to be had at times when this really plays into the fact that, under the powers, he’s just a guy. Yuri Lowenthal’s Peter Parker is instantly likeable and a worthy addition to the Spider-Man canon (which this game officially now is).

Almost all the main parts are voiced and performed with a depth and charisma I wasn’t expecting. It’s rare to see something this big and detailed consistently look so good, with the very final story moments in particular, some of the most spectacular looking stuff I’ve seen in awhile.īacking up the looks is a genuinely likeable set of characters across the whole game. New York stretches off in impressively crisp detail as far as the eye can see (with the fat, orange afternoon sun shining off rain dappled streets particularly beautiful to swing through). It’s a lovely looking game too, especially on PS4 Pro. Those small random events like car crashes, assaults, store robberies and other ordinary crimes, only help to tie your efforts to the city and the people in it. For all the villains, references and serious mission stuff, nothing more perfectly hits the spider-fantasy bullseye harder than jumping off a roof, diving to ground level and swinging at the last minute as surprised faces, car horns and street level bustle whooshes past in a blur. Crimes pop up and things happen to keep you busy in a bustling, people-filled New York, with the city just as much a star here as any character. The core story - which I’ll stay away from in detail because it’s full of surprises and discoveries I don’t want to spoil - sees Peter Parker not just chasing bad guys but actually living up to that title of 'friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man'.
