First revealed at E3 2016 during Sony’s press conference, developer Insomniac Games recently provided more details about the PS4 exclusive Spider-Man title. A release date of Sept. 7 was finally attached to the game, as well as additional story and gameplay details including light RPG progression, multiple unlockable costumes, and a photo-mode.
The new round of information also revealed that players will control Mary-Jane Watson during specific segments and that the game would be completely devoid of microtransactions. Insomniac revealed plenty about its stand-alone Spider-Man title, but wasn’t too forthcoming when it came to Spidey’s villains. Since the reveal, it’s been known that Spider-Man would face off against Mr. Negative and Kingpin, but Insomniac has since remained tight-lipped about other antagonists. What it did confirm, however, was that the game would feature no original focal characters, meaning any villains that will make it into the roster would be pulled directly from Spider-Man’s comic book universe.
Spider-Man will swing across a recreation of New York City that’s “several times” larger than Insomniac’s previous open-world title, Sunset Overdrive. The expansive metropolis leaves plenty of room for a considerable rogue’s gallery of villains that could include staples like Scorpion, Vulture, Kraven the Hunter, Shocker, and Rhino. Dating back to Spider-Man 2 (2004), the web-slinger's video game iterations often featured a host of side quests that pit him against recognizable foe, regardless of whether it fits into the central storyline.
Considering the 2018 game will feature side missions, it’s likely that Spidey will come face-to-face with Insomniac’s vision of classic villains. One villain that may appear in different form is Norman Osborn's Green Goblin. As seen in the Paris Games Week 2017 story trailer, the Osborn name is back, but this time it’s predominantly as the mayor of New York and not the head of Oscorp Industries, though the Oscorp Building does appear in a trailer. Considering Insomniac's Spider-Man is separate from any other version and most of Spidey's common villains have been used in prior games, it’s also possible that the development team thought to bring in lesser-known villains.
In Spider-Man, Peter Park is no longer a photographer and is instead interning at a laboratory. His connection to a lab could very well open up the Venom storyline, though introducing the symbiote, black-suit Spider-Man, and Eddie Brock would take up quite a bit of playtime. Some have mentioned the close proximity of the release of Spider-Man and the theatrical release of Sony’s Venom, but production on Spider-Man started long before Tom Hardy was even cast in the titular role and the two projects have yet to be tied together.
One thing that gamers may be able to count in is the inclusion of Stan Lee. Whether it’s as a cameo, in DLC (a la The Amazing Spider-Man), or in a “blink and you’ll miss it” Easter egg, Spider-Man’s co-creator will find his way into the game when it releases in September.
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