The arrival of Marvel’s Spider-Man on PC, in Remastered form, marks the latest in a string of high-profile former Sony first-party PlayStation-only games making their way over to the mini-tower world of GPUs and CPUs. Earlier this year we got the excellent ultrawide and DLSS-powered version of God of War, which followed on from the impressive debut of Horizon Zero Dawn. Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered presents developer Insomniac’s 2018 hit with a shiny (and reflective) coat of paint.

And with Sony studio Nixxes in charge of bringing the title over to PC, it’s a version that builds on the impressive PlayStation 5 remaster that launched alongside the console. Visually speaking that is – the underlying game remains untouched. From improved ray-tracing that sees the effect applied to more surfaces and presents reflections with far greater detail than the PS5 release, there’s also NVIDIA DLSS support, NVIDIA DLAA, and ultrawide resolutions that go all the way up to the panoramic 32:9 aspect ratio.


Elsewhere textures, draw-distance, shadow detail, and other elements are given the boost - with just about everything adjustable to suit whatever rig happens to be connected to your keyboard and mouse. Or, Xbox controller.

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... improved ray-tracing that sees the effect applied to more surfaces and presents reflections with far greater detail than the PS5 release, there’s also NVIDIA DLSS support, NVIDIA DLAA, and ultrawide resolutions that go all the way up to the panoramic 32:9 aspect ratio.

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Of course, cranking the detail settings all the way up kind of limits a smooth 60-fps presentation to high-end GeForce RTX 30 series and AMD Radeon GPUs, especially when it comes to 4K. For AMD gamers, the Radeon-based FSR 2.0 upscaling is present. The results become truly impressive, and if you have a high-end GPU Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered is something of a showpiece game. The good news is that the ability to set everything to a sort of baseline PS4 level of detail means that 60-fps and higher Spider-Man is doable across a broad range of hardware.

Playing on an ultrawide though, which is how I played for this review, definitely elevated the immersion factor to new heights. Everything you see is given a cinematic look and feel befitting of the property, as dramatic sequences and swinging around a bustling New York City take on special qualities.


Even though we’re more than a couple of years on from when the game first made its debut on the PS4, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered hasn’t lost any of its AAA blockbuster feel. Underpinning the incredible swinging and combat tech, the brilliant character detail and animation, the exceptional and fully realised voice acting and writing, and the expertly choreographed real-time cinematics is Insomniac’s world-class world-building.

From the opening sequence that sees you don the Spidey suit to deal with an out-of-control Fisk, through to the action-packed third act that has multiple villains team up to bring Spidey and the city at large to its knees, this is one of the best comic book adaptations to date. And that’s not limiting the conversation to videogames either, this is primo Spider-Man regardless of form, or platform. As per our original review.

Marvel’s Spider-Man almost has no right to exist in the shape that it does. The world-building on display here is next-level. The tech driving the game is simply breathtaking, and the basic sensation of being Spider-Man is so confidently portrayed here, it almost feels like this experience has been with us forever. It’s familiar in that this is open-world action gaming and Insomniac has embraced what all of that means. Combat is visceral and rewarding, and as you upgrade your Spidey through his Innovator, Defender and Webslinger skills (more on these in a minute), how you decide to be Spider-Man becomes as much a gameplay mechanic as anything else.

Classic and memorable stuff, and a great story that doesn’t outstay its welcome. Good thing it plays great too. The combat does borrow heavily from Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham series, though it’s hard to argue against that classic serving as the blueprint for this style of cinematic action. There are notable differences of course, and the sheer mobility of Spider-Man (and the introduction of several very cool gadgets) leads to kinetic combos, take-downs, and plenty of web-flinging. It’s something that works across several main missions and even a string of side quests that sees Spidey take down gangs and fort-like encampments.

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Even though we’re more than a couple of years on from when the game first made its debut on the PS4, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered hasn’t lost any of its AAA blockbuster feel.

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But it’s not quite as robust as it could have been, as pretty much all of the difficulty comes from dodging incoming projectiles and having enemies multiply versus the game offering up tactical hand-to-hand-in-costume confrontations. Boss battles too become dodge and Quick Time Event encounters that impress more from a story and cinematic spectacle sense than anything else.


Also, the stealth side is fairly simple and binary, with little in the way of enemy AI reacting or being spatially aware of what’s happening. This makes the little stealth vignettes where you’re in direct control of soon-to-be Spidey Miles Morales and feisty reporter Mary Jane Watson feel like extended walking cinematics. Sections that should have been cut for time. These aren’t major problems though, the good so far outweighs the bad in Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered and it’s hard not to feel exhilarated for most of the runtime.

The best part of the experience is just how much you feel connected to the story and becoming Spider-Man. Even when you factor in open-world design which is a mostly by-the-numbers checklist of things to collect and discover, the world-building and presentation are next-level. The ever-present storytelling even when swinging around never bores, and the city itself, with x number of exact crimes being committed, always feels alive. You might know that the friendly and compassionate Otto Octavius is going to become Doc Ock, but that doesn’t stop that journey from resonating and feeling earned.


In the end, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered presents the most visually impressive version of a brilliant comic book adaptation to date. And a game that feels every bit as big now as it did back in 2018. Insomniac nails the swinging mechanics to the point where it kind of feels like a magic trick, and the cinematic spectacle is just about always next-level.

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The best part of the experience is just how much you feel connected to the story and becoming Spider-Man. Even when you factor in open-world design which is a mostly by-the-numbers checklist of things to collect and discover, the world-building and presentation are next-level.

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The PC port is mostly seamless too, with only minor performance issues and visual glitches encountered when playing the pre-release version. Cranking the ray-tracing and other settings all the way up in 4K does require a high-end GPU, but it scales well. So if you’ve got a GeForce RTX 3060 or RTX 3080, you’ll still be able to play at a silky smooth 60fps. Another great Sony first-party game getting its due on PC, and a treat for those who haven’t had the chance to check it out. Or, feel that enough time has passed that you wouldn’t mind another swing.