Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered PS5 Review
Summary: Already a stunning achievement on the PS4, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered is obviously even better on the PS5 with all of the extra bells and whistles included, and now that that nasty bug has been seemingly stamped out, you can now play confidently without the fear of bricking your console hanging over your head.
4.6
The Puddles! They're Back!
With Spider-Man: Miles Morales hogging the spotlight when it comes to next-gen web-slinging fantasy fulfilment (Read our review here), Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered was poised to fly under the radar a tad, serving as an additional incentive to pick it up bundled with the aforementioned Miles Morales – Which is currently the only way to purchase it, although I’m almost positive that that won’t be the case in the all too near future – and little more, clearly positioned to play second fiddle to Insomniac’s latest efforts.
At least, that was how everyone assumed it would pan out, even when there were some murmurs from the community regarding the somewhat controversial change to Peter’s appearance; however, a gargantuan Woolly Mammoth came along and just straight up crushed that rather small elephant in the room… I’m of course referring to the dreaded rest mode bug.
As reported by multiple media outlets, upon initial release Spider-Man: Remastered, when not completely shut down could lead to a nasty bug where users would have to rebuild their PS5 database, or even, in some extreme cases, entirely brick the console.
People were understandably reticent to dive into the game and check out the changes due to this risk factor, but Insomniac were diligently at work behind the scenes and a stability patch has, as of the time of writing, been released and appears to mitigate that nasty little issue.
So, with all that out of the way, how does Spider-Man: Remastered actually perform on the PS5?
Firstly, from a narrative standpoint, this is the exact same game that wowed critics and fans alike when it released in 2018; sure, the ‘City Never Sleeps’ DLC has been bundled in this time around, but for all intents and purposes the storyline and missions play out exactly as before, for better or worse.
As solid a game as Spider-Man was, there was a glut of repetitive missions and those godawful stealth sequences featuring other characters, with the former in particular really making those last few trophies a bit of a grind to obtain; the option to carry across your PS4 save is set to come in the next few weeks, which means redoing everything all over again won’t be necessary, but for the moment those few weaker points still serve to dampen the impact a little bit.
Our review here gives a bit more insight into those elements if you’re unfamiliar, as the main focus here is, of course, the visual upgrades and the framerate boost; much like Miles Morales, the game loads lightning fast and players are presented with the choice between fidelity or performance mode, which each presenting their own unique pros and cons.
With most action oriented titles I tend to lean more towards settling for a solid 60fps with a slight visual downgrade, but with the crystal clear 4K resolution and boosts to the lighting and raytracing, Spider-Man is one game where I feel that I can contend with the framerate hit in order to appreciate the spectacular (See what I did there?) graphics.
Make no mistake, Spider-Man: Remastered looks just as stunning on the PS5 as its more modern pseudo-sequel, and this remains true even when you flick over to performance mode, albeit not quite as impressive. In a smaller scale game this might be a bigger issue, but here, when you’re zipping past buildings at a rate of knots, you’re not exactly focusing on how accurate the reflection on the window is.
With that in mind, it’s definitely worth checking out the two different modes on offer and picking the one that suits you best; after the pomp and spectacle of the visuals wear off a bit, you might find that swinging and fighting in buttery smooth 60fps is your preferred playstyle.
There’s an updated photo mode to tinker around with if that’s your thing, and Insomniac have implemented haptic feedback, albeit relatively subtly for the most part. To be fair, nothing has showcased the haptics as brilliantly as Astro’s Playroom and I think having that as many of our first experience with the Dualsense maybe adds unrealistic expectations, but it feels like Insomniac could have done a little more with the Haptic feedback here.
Despite grabbing the platinum on the PS4 version, I had never dived into the DLC; to do so would have set me back 30AUD and that seemed a bit pricey for what they seemed to offer. I still hold that opinion but, as is the case here, when for effectively the same price as the DLC you can get an entirely remastered version of an incredible game AND get the DLC and new outfits chucked in on top as well, then it’s really a no brainer.
As for the change of character model for Peter? Personally, I prefer the original. Others prefer this new visage. Ultimately, where you fall on this topic depends on personal preference, I’m not sure that there’s a right or wrong answer here, although it is a bit unprecedented to entirely replace an actor in title after it’s been released… Maybe Activision will replace Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer when the inevitable Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare remake rolls around?
Final Thought
Intended to complement Spider-Man: Miles Morales, this return to the game that started it all is well worth taking a gander at, even if ironically being bundled with Miles may have cast an even larger light on Spider-Man: Remastered’s flaws, as the tighter story and streamlined objectives of the former really draw attention to the more grindier portions present in the later stages of the game.
If you somehow skipped this upon its initial release and are now looking for something to show off the power of your shiny new gaming console, then grabbing this along with Miles Morales should be a no-brainer; for returning players the prospect may not be as enticing due to the gang hideout grind and the like, although the ability to transfer saves should sort that issue once its patched in.
Already a stunning achievement on the PS4, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered is obviously even better on the PS5 with all of the extra bells and whistles included, and now that that nasty bug has been seemingly stamped out, you can now play confidently without the fear of bricking your console hanging over your head.
Game Details
Primary Format – PlayStation 5
Game Genre – Action/Adventure
Rating – M
Game Developer – Insomniac Games
Game Publisher – Sony Interactive Entertainment
Reviewer – Sean Warhurst
About the Author
Sean Warhurst Avid gamer. Cinephile. Considerate lover. Neither the word Protractor or Contractor accurately conveys my position on how I feel about Tractors.
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