Summary
- Spider-Man has had plenty of video game adaptations over the years, but Insomniac Games' 2018 release took the hero to new heights.
- While Insomniac's Spider-Man series is still going strong, it may be time for another studio to tackle the web-slinger and bring fresh ideas to the table.
- Spider-Man can thrive in different genres and gameplay settings, providing opportunities for unique and varied gaming experiences that stray from Insomniac's open-world formula.
Spider-Man is a superhero that naturally lends himself to a video game adaptation, and over the years there have been plenty. Since 1982, Spider-Man has appeared in a vast array of video games, ranging from cameos in fighting games and team-ups, to more than his fair share of starring roles in both original and movie tie-in games. But while Spider-Man has had some enjoyable video games over the years, the hero was lifted to new heights with 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man.
A studio best known for creating Spyro the Dragon and Ratchet and Clank, Insomniac Games had the difficult task of making a AAA Spider-Man game, and by all accounts, it pretty much knocked it out of the park. But while Insomniac's Spider-Man series is still going strong, it might be time for another studio to have a proper crack at the Web-Head.
The Case for a Spider-Man Game Under a New Developer
As mentioned up top, Insomniac Games has been knocking it out of the park with its Spider-Man series. Though they're not perfect, Marvel's Spider-Man and Miles Morales were both considered to be pretty great superhero titles that really captured the feel of the source material, while also giving some familiar characters and plot beats a fresh new spin. And from what fans have seen so far, it seems as though Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is going to do exactly the same yet again.
Right now, it seems as though Insomniac could keep on making Spider-Man games forever, though that might not be the best idea. Though it's had some stellar previews, many fans are a little disappointed with how similar Spider-Man 2 looks to its predecessors. And while Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will still probably be a great game, it keeping a bit too close to the original 2018 game could lead to a stronger feeling of repetition this time around, a feeling that would presumably only grow stronger with each new Insomniac Spider-Man entry.
It might be time for a different studio to have a go at the Spider-Man license. While Spider-Man naturally lends himself to a big, bombastic open-world action-adventure game, that isn't the only genre that the character can appear in. Recently, Firaxis proved with Midnight Suns that Spider-Man actually works quite well in a turn-based strategy setting, and though his gameplay in Marvel's Avengers was far from perfect, Crystal Dynamics did prove that the hero works well in a larger multiplayer setting where he can interweave his own special abilities with other superheroes' powers.
Insomniac Games has proven that it can create great open-world Spidey adventures, but for the sake of variety, it would be great to see the Wall-Crawler in a few alternate gameplay settings between Insomniac's entries. With over 60 years of comic book source material to pick and choose from, there are plenty of opportunities for a unique Spider-Man game. For instance, Firaxis could borrow the character for his very own turn-based strategy game, or Crystal Dynamics could try and redeem itself with a multiplayer Spider-Man game centered around the Spider-Verse. And that's just the start of Spider-Man's possibilities in the gaming landscape.
A studio like IO Interactive could create a Spider-Man Noir stealth game, or an Indie developer like Blasphemous' The Game Kitchen could make a throwback 2D Spider-Man side-scroller. Another studio could even try its hand at making an open-world Spidey action-adventure like Insomniac's, albeit one set in a different continuity and centering around different characters, such as Spider-Man 2099.