Some ill-conceived stealth sequences hold the game back a bit, but overall, Marvel's Spider-Man raises the bar for what a licensed open-world game can be in the same way that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has reshaped superhero movies.

Naturally, in equal contrast to bringing (upgradeable) Web Shooters to an electrified baton, negative energy-charged spiked weapon, handgun, riot shield, automatic weapon, rocket launcher fight, Spidey can go dark and take on certain scenarios with stealth.

I wanted Marvel's on PS4 to make me feel like Spider-Man: To sail between the highrises of New York City, to nimbly web up hordes of enemies, and tussle with familiar, animal-themed villains. Insomniac Games' first foray into the world of Marvel handily delivers on all of that.

The simply titled Marvel's Spider-Man allows Peter Parker to freely swing around an open-world New York as his alter ego-to intervene in street crimes, seek out collectibles, and gradually progress through a larger plot that features multiple villains.

I'll make this blunt. Marvel's Spider-Man is the best video game you will play this year. That sentence is said with no added qualifiers. I don't care if this is normally not your kind of game, if you think the premise of a man swinging through Manhattan on spider webs is dumb, or that comics are...

King of swing

Gorgeous visuals; Excellent gameplay; Well-written story and characters; Lots of nods to Marvel and Spider-Man's history; Surprises galore; Side quests and activities are lots of fun

Some bugs that temporarily hindered progress

If you were to sit people down and ask them what their favourite Spider-Man game is, chances are you'd get the answer of either Neversoft's game on the original PlayStation or Treyarch's Spider-Man 2 from 2004.

Spider-Man games have a long history of being disappointing on some level, but Insomniac has crafted a game worthy of the name. They've managed to capture the essence of what controlling Spider-Man should feel like and surrounded this core idea with an incredible presentation and level of depth that...

Every so often, a piece of media becomes the gold standard for a genre; the benchmark which all subsequent efforts attempt to surpass. Super Mario Bros. was one of those games, Grand Theft Auto 3 another.

Absolutely gorgeous; Tight and effective storytelling; Feels so f***ing good

Limited variety of crimes to stop; Some stupid AI

Did you know Spider-Man sells way more toys than any other superhero More than gritty Batman, more than wholesome Superman and even more than super squad-goals, The Avengers.