This isn’t new anymore, but it’s still a nice development: Sony is now also bringing most of its exclusive lineup of PlayStation consoles to PC. It always takes a while, but PC gamers with a healthy amount of patience can eventually get started with Uncharteds, Horizons, and God of Wars in this world. Recently, Marvel’s Spider-Man joined that list. The original PlayStation 4 version is already four years old, but with the PlayStation 5 release in 2020, a polished version of the old PS4 game came out at the same time as Spider-Man: Miles Morales. This version now forms the basis for the PC version and only Dutch studio Nixxes took care of this porting.

Of course we put this PC version on our test systems and ran the necessary tests, but for the sake of completeness let’s start with the basics. For us, the technical side of the game is the most interesting, because we I have already reviewed the game. The rest of the game content, so everything related to gameplay and story, has remained the same, but if you never played the original, it means nothing to you.

Relationship with MJ is on the rocks

Marvel’s Spider-Man does not tell the story of Peter Parker being bitten by a spider and turned into a superhero who lost his uncle and then single-handedly decided to make the city a better place. When this game begins, all of that has already happened. Spider-Man purged even the most notorious criminals and locked them in a maximum security prison. However, this does not mean that Peter is all right. His relationship with Mary Jane Watson is on the rocks, his side job in Dr. Octavius’ lab doesn’t pay well and the bills are piling up. So adult life is not easy, even for superheroes.

However, those fears fade into the background when Spider-Man Wilson takes on Fisk and is also removed. However, Spider-Man Fisk conjures up that he made a huge mistake and it turns out he’s right. Under the Kingpin’s rule as a crime boss, many other villains have kept quiet and with Fisk out of the picture, they see their chance to seize power. In the nearly ten hour-long main story, all types of enemies known to Spider-Man, such as Vulture, Electro, Scorpion, and Shocker, pass through.

Cute web swinging and fighting

Battles with these super-villains naturally highlight the gameplay, but that’s not why we liked Spider-Man four years ago. So we have to look more at the basis of the game, in other words: the actions you repeat the most. In Spider-Man, that amounts to a lot of online flinging across agreeable Manhattan and a lot of brawls with the interchangeable villains who are members of the criminal organizations you encounter. Both sides are very elaborate and operate smoothly. When you get the rhythm of swinging, it’s fun to swing through New York skyscrapers. The game offers an excellent sense of speed, especially when you’re climbing just a few meters up the streets.

Combat has the same degree of flexibility. The system is based on stringing combos together, dodging enemy attacks and using elements from the environment to defeat enemies with such ease. Anyone who has played Batman Arkham games will be able to use this system fairly easily, as there are sure to be some similarities to be found. Since you can constantly equip Spider-Man with new skills and perks, the way you fight also changes slightly, which makes fights against walkers interesting even after hours of gameplay. Pulling a weapon out of someone’s hands with your belt and dropping them with it, or pinning an enemy to a wall, just doesn’t get bored quickly and that’s where Marvel’s Spider-Man finds its greatest strength in gameplay.

Dlc is included

The last item to mention, before we delve deeper into the technical side of the game, is the play time. As mentioned above, the story will run for about ten hours, but you’ll likely get more than double or triple Marvel’s Spider-Man. The game constantly offers players new challenges and side missions that help unlock new suits, items, and skills and thus make the game more enjoyable. If that wasn’t enough, it’s good to know that The City That Never Sleeps DLC is already included in this PC version, adding three chapters and a variety of additional missions and challenges to Marvel’s Spider-Man.