Review for Spider-Man. Game for PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 07/09/2018
About four months after the release of the original title, the DLC triptych of The City that Never Sleeps comes to an end. New York, once again, is put to sword and fire by the enemies of Spider-Man, who once again will have to face them head on to allow the citizens to sleep peacefully. Insomniac Games catapults us back into the house of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, radically changing the atmosphere we breathed during the Contended Territories, this time preferring a much more agitated and fast-paced adventure. This time the beautiful Silver Sablinova, better known as Silver Sable, will be flanking the Ragnetto
Throwing the Hammer to the Olympus project
Contesi Territori had left us with a Hammerhead once again on the loose, despite the hard line applied by captain Watanabe. As expected, he will still be the villain with whom we will have to face and it will be precisely because of his actions that Silver Sable will return again to the Big Apple. Hammerhead's thefts of Sable technology at a pivotal time in Symkaria's history do not please the beautiful silver-haired warrior, as does the fact that Spider-Man was unable to stop them. What enters the picture in Silver Lining is a Sable driven by fury and anger, much less aloof and cold than that seen previously, during the machinations of Octopus and much more similar in attitudes to Captain Watanabe of Contesi Territori.
Each episode of The City That Never Sleeps has been designed to highlight Spider-Man's three side characters, excluding of course MJ, giving more depth and space to Black Cat, Yuri Watanabe and Silver Sable. The downside instead lies in the plot which, especially in Silver Lining, seems to have been quite botched especially in terms of narration: the emphasis falls much more on the spectacularity of the clashes than on the scenes and crucial events of the game. Much of what happens is not explored in the way it deserves, leaving us with a bitter taste even after the finale, which in turn seems to be the emblem of this type of bad habit.
However, the atmosphere will still be unique: New York will be put on fire again and, between daring air chases and spectacular fights, Insomniac still manages to entertain us. But there remains that feeling of incompleteness, of immature, which should not be there. This is precisely the kind of depth that the DLC triptych lacks to make a definitive leap in quality, something in which the original game stands out.
Another thing that makes your nose turn up a bit is putting aside all the other supporting actors of the Spider present in the previous episodes. Both Captain Watanabe and many other characters will make only brief appearances, sometimes only by "telephone", without explaining enough important details. Other questions are instead left on purpose to be completely resolved, almost certainly, in an increasingly less hypothetical Marvel's Spider-Man 2.
Silver hammer
The novelties in Silver Lining are few but the most influential, in terms of gameplay, is linked to the fighting. There will be no new types of opponents, or at least we won't have to find new ways to deal with them. The novelty lies precisely in the fact that, having come into possession of Sable's technology, all the Hammerhead henchmen that we will face will be armored and well placed, making the fights more technical and longer than in the past. This aspect is highlighted even more in the secondary missions dedicated to the dismantling of the bases of Hammerhead: with the classic system of waves of enemies already inaugurated by the original title, chaos and confusion will reign supreme. It has happened more than once to be a little confused and displaced by the course of the battle, finding ourselves literally surrounded by enemies. Surviving will certainly not be a walk in the park: only a wise use of punches, kicks and gadgets will make us achieve victory. Screwball will also return (thanks to which we will get to know a new type of challenge linked to bombs, not so dissimilar to those of Taskmaster), the classic crimes and collectibles (which this time will be limited to the recordings).
Silver Lining is the episode that should put all the kinks to a head and so it does, but not in the way we all expected. The narrative is hasty and simplistic. To keep up the bar we think the characterization and the ringworm of Silver Sable together with the choral spectacularity of the DLC. If you were expecting something that would have made you roll your eyes or particularly impressed you will be disappointed: Silver Lining does not stray too far from the line drawn by the other two chapters of The City that Never Sleeps: a pack of DLC that manages to entertain and amuse, without shadow of a doubt, and which opens the door to new scenarios, but which does not scream at the masterpiece.
► Spider-Man is an Adventure-Action game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony for the PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 07/09/2018
