It took three whole years for Insomniac to get Marvel's Spider-Man's web-swinging just right
In Marvel's Spider-Man there's a lot more going on behind the scenes that we'd ever realise
If you've played that Marvel's Spider-Man PS4 game, you'll already know how darn good it feels to swing you way between skyscrapers, catapulting yourself into the sky and plummeting towards the pavement before thwipping your way back into a graceful arc. Well, recently Playstation Lifestyle spotted that game director Ryan Smith has revealed just how much work went into making sure you truly felt like Spider-Man himself when you were swinging across New York. Spoiler: it took a very, very long time.
Speaking at Gamelab Barcelona, Smith told how "carrying momentum through transitions - that was something where, when we unlocked some of that momentum transfer between big swings and different places you can leap off in a swing, that was a huge game changer for us. Adding an expressive camera that makes you feel like you are Spider-Man - how would you feel during those swings, during the dive, and how can we emphasise that with the camera? All of that was developed over the space of two or three years, finding those opportunities based on the prototype we had."
Three years. That's how long Insomniac were working on swinging in Spider-Man, but it looks like it paid off. Getting that exhilarating sweep through the air just right is one of the most important things to making gamers feel exactly like Spider-Man, and damn did swinging through New York feel good.
If you've not played the game yet, you really should just to sample the high speeds Spidey can reach when he's sailing through the air… or if you have played it already, why not revisit it and give it another go, and silently thank Insomniac for taking such care over the swinging? I know I will.
If you're looking for another game to play, keep an eye out for the best Amazon Prime Day game deals right here, or look below to see what we thought of Marvel's Spider-man when it came out!
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While here at GamesRadar, Zoe was a features writer and video presenter for us. She's since flown the coop and gone on to work at Eurogamer where she's a video producer, and also runs her own Twitch and YouTube channels. She specialises in huge open-world games, true crime, and lore deep-dives.