So, here we are, friends. As difficult as it is to believe, we’ve arrived at the tail end of 2018. Whether you achieved your new years' resolution of dragging your cheeks to the gym three times a week or not, it doesn’t matter now. 2019’s just around the corner, you’🌱ll get another shot then.

In the interim, let’s pause and take stock of everything this year has brought. It’s been an interesting one for gaming, that’s for darn sure. The Switch has seen hits like retro-tinged RPG Octopath Traveler, as well as a run of Wii U ports (Captain Toad’s Treasure Tracker, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze) that has left certain fans cold. It’s all about placeholders until the much-hyped Super Smash Bros. Ultimate arrives.

Over at PlayStation, meanwhile, 2018 has seen the arrival of a range of huge multi-platform titles and exclusives. Key among them were Monster Hunter World, God of War, and of course, Marvel’s Spider-Man.

Now, I’m a huge fan of Spider-Man a🌃s a character, and I’ve been having all kinds of fun with the game. It’s important to keep in mind that this is Insomniac’s first shot at a game of this caliber, and I really do think that they deserve massive kudos for that. At the same time, though, nothing and nobody is beyond reproach.

Impressive superhero game as it may be, Marvel’s Spider-Man has its flaws. Join us for a look at DLC shenanigans, lacking boss battles and an entirely lovable Doc Ock. Watch out for spoilers throughout, though, if you havꦚeꩲn't finished the story.

25 Who’s The King Of The Swingers?

Let’s kick this party off the right way, with something that’s sure to be a little controversial. When the internet first got its hands on Marvel’s Spider-Man, one of the biggest topics of discussion was the web swinging mechanic. Some thought it was the best so far, liberating and natural, while ෴others felt differently.

The game that kept being brought up by way of comparison was the much-loved Spider-Man 2. For me personally, Marvel’s Spider-Man feels just a little shonky compared to that system. In the PS4 title, your movement seems to be geared toꦺwards covering distance fast, while precise on-the-fly movements can be a real pain.

24 To Arkham Or Not To Arkham?

Another controversial point, for sure, and one that I feel compelled to tackle head-on right off the bat. As we know, the Arkham titles are another example of superhero games done very well, and there are certainly similarities to be drawn between them and Marvel’s Spider-Man.

In terms of the combat, players are divided. Some will tell you that Spider-Man fights in just the same fashion as DC-dweller Batman (not in terms of animation, but in terms of mechanics), with a dodge replacing the counter. Others would vehemently disagree with that, but for the purposes of this piece🌠, I’m definitely in the former camp.

23 Dang Those Drones! Dang Them To Heckola!

On the surface of it, I definitely liked the inclu𓄧sion of the Taskmaster challenges. No𒀰t only did they give another Marvel character his little cameo moment, but it was something else to strive for. A little beat-your-high score element that the game didn’t otherwise have.

The interesting thing about them is how certain players had issues with some types of challenge, but breezed through others. It’s like the Dark Souls effect. Some bree꧃zed through a particular boss and found another a complete roadblock, while the 𝕴opposite held true for someone else.

Most of the ire, in my opiniജon, was directed at the drone challenges. They called for precise web-swinging on the fly at times, and the system in place struggles with that.

22 Suit-able… Suits

Now, this was inevitably going to be an issue. After all, Spider-Man is one of the most beloved characters in comic book history. People are en♏thusiastic; t💎hey’re invested in him and protective of him. Just as important, they have their own favorite incarnations of him, and they want to see them represented.

As much as Insomniac did a good job of varying the available suits, there were omissions and important ones.

There were a🦂lways going to be, as the Webhead’s had a bigger wardrobe over the years than the entire Kardashian family c✃ombined.

21 The Sad Symbiote Suit Situation

Ah, yes. This is🐟 the big one, friends. Say what you will about the game’s take on the🐈 Iron Spider suit (it’s the recent movie one, as opposed to the comic book original), but no change or omission caused as much griping as this: the classic Symbiote suit is nowhere to be seen.

As creative director Bryan Intihar explained in an interview with there was a reason for this decision: “I think something like [the symbiote suit] deserves its day in the spotlight. I think just making it an unlockable suit wouldn't be doing it justice. It's one of the best stories for Spider-Man. I think it's a complex story.”

Still, it rankles.

20 That Shoehorned Stealth

Ah, yes. Here comes another much-snarked aspect of Marvel’s Spider-Man: those stealth sections.

I can see where they were coming from with this. After all, we’re here to play through an actual story, not just engage in endless battles with waves of mobs. To that end, there are moments when we step out of the Spidওer-suit and into the shoes of Mary Jane and Myles Morale🌳s. There aren’t too many of them, and they’re blessedly brief, but these missions soon proved themselves to be a point of contention for a lot of players. I enjoyed them, but I can certainly understand why others wouldn’t.

19 The Mary Jane Mystery

So, yes. The stealthy, sleuthy segments were definitely one part of the game that divide✱d opinion. Players and critics alike reacted to them in different ways, seeing them both as a welcome change of💧 pace and a needless distraction in equal measure. Different strokes for different folks, as they say.

All of which is completely valid, of course. The same holds true with the presentation of the characters themselves. This take on Mary Jane is both similar and separate to the MJ we’ve seen before, and opinions are divided there too. Is she whiny? Too opinionated? Is she fair with Peter? Is she not? Some have had strongly negative reactions to the MJ we meet in Marvel’s Spider-Man.

18 Blossom-ing Into A Real Pain

Here’s another thing thatღ players toꦗok issue with early on.

As y🐽ou’ll know, most of the suits in the game come with their own associated power. The neat thing about this system is that, once said suit is unlocked, so is the power, and it can be equipped to any of the other suits you own. I appreciated this, as it allows you to combine your favorite l🌞ook and power together.

While this is great, one of the very first suit powers was considered all kinds of OP: Web Blossom.

In a lot of situations, especially early on, you can defeat a group in a single button push. It may be a single-player game, but this doesn’t sit right with🥃 a lot of us regardless.

17 Got To Hawk That DLC

Now, we live in an age of DLC, season passes, microtransactions and other unscrupulous shenanigans. That’s the way the industry is heading now, as sad as it is. Countries all around the world are calling for changes to this attitude, and we’re winning small battles (back in July, as we reported, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War was forced to remove its microtransactions after a bඣ✨acklash), but these practices go on.

A big deal like Marvel’s Spider-Man was bound to have some manner of DLC, but still. The way that The City That Never Sleeps got the ruthless trailer tre♛atment even before the game’s release was just tasteless.

16 Super Samey Side Missions

As with any open world game, Marvel’s Spider-Man wasn’t short of side missions. Generally, these took the form of 🍰hꦅelping out civilians with their various problems, or dealing with criminal activity that they’d gotten themselves tangled up in.

All of which I have zero issue with. This our old buddy Peter Parker, after all, and helping random citizens in distress is his entire raison d’etre. The problem I had with a lot of this side content was tha🌼t it all seemed quite by-the-numbers and uninspired.