Completion time: 13:20:00

I played through Marvel’s Spider-Man back when it was first released on the PS4. It was a visually beautiful game world with a storyline befitting of a movie adaptation. Sure, it was more New Faux City than New York City (why is the second avenue 96th street Q station on 5th ave?), but there wasn’t anything outright immersion breaking, and in the end, it turned out to be one of the best video games ever based on a comic book property. I decided to don the red and blue tights once more and get a refresher on what it’s like to websling around the city and fight crime, right before the hotly anticipated release of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. I’m so very happy I did, as I may have enjoyed the story even more the second time around.

Since I 100% this on the PS4, I decided to forego the vast majority of the side activities, outside having enough stuff to unlock the 2099 suit near the end of the second act. In doing all this (or not), I saw just how insanely short the main storyline was for Spider-Man. The thing is though, it never feels like it was too short of a journey, and it never came close to feeling like it overstayed its welcome. It feels like a testament to how Insomniac crafted one of the finest comic book related storylines ever, with so many high suspense moments all one after another.

In fact this go around, there was only one thing that I really could have done without – the “stealth” portions involving Miles Morales and MJ. Okay, some of it was entertaining, but it added too much of a deviance to the core gameplay. While Spidey does have stealth moments, it was a drag back down to earth having to sneak around getting medical supplies with Miles, or trying not to get shot up by guards with MJ. With how I decided to autocomplete the lab tests this go via accessibility menu, these stealth missions were the only sticks in the mud that really slowed the flow of the game.

Everything else was magnificent. The combat, although nothing super fancy, flowed well with the rest of the game. The characters all felt genuine and real, with performances a cut above most other games with voice overs. The storyline is what swings high into the heavens. Insomniac did such a meticulous job with piecing together the characters, interwoven stories and so on, that they, like the first time, managed to move me twice in an emotional sense. Between Otto Octavious’ descending into his plight, and the final moment that were still an emotional punch in the gut, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered delivers an experience and journey that would make for its own billion dollar blockbuster in theaters.

I don’t feel bad that I passed over the vast majority of side content this go. I experienced it before and enjoyed it, and I really just wanted to get through the main storyline once more to get a better refresher for the 20th. If this second playthrough of Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered proved anything, it’s that my memories of the first playthrough were correct – it was a wonderful swing through memory lane of a licensed product worth its weight in platinum. Hell, I may complete the platinum again off stream.

Regardless, now gimme Spider-Man 2!

Rating: 9