Originally released in 2018, Marvel’s Spider-Man finally found its way to PC this month, and, as far as I am concerned, it is a pretty amazing game. You can read more about it in my review here and what a splendid job Nixxes Software did with the port. A lot has happened since I wrote that review – I completed the game twice and even got all my achievements in it. With that said, I might know a thing or two on how to make your adventure in the city of New Year just a tad easier. So let’s get it started.
Skills
Skills are divided into three groups; innovator, defender, and web-slinger. The first group is more focused on aggressive play, the second on (as you might guess) defensive techniques, and the third group can help you a lot when it comes to web-swinging and zipping around New York. So what to pick?
Well, here is where it gets tricky. The game has 5 difficulty levels from easiest to hardest. Friendly neighborhood, friendly, amazing, spectacular, and ultimate. Everything below amazing is a walk in the park. I would also advise you against playing the first time on spectacular and ultimate difficulty (at least leave that for your New Game + run). By the time you get to the final act of the game, you will probably have all the skills unlocked but as far as the early game goes, you need to be smart about what to unlock.
- Quick zip
An early unlock in the web-slinger tree that will help you swing around New York without losing any altitude or speed. You start by default with one quick zip but the skill gives you a bonus second one and it is great for navigating between buildings and catching up during vehicle chases.
- Point launch boost
Need that extra kick while jumping from one building to another? Point launch boost skill will give some wind to your sails, you just need to press A on contact with any surface you’re zipping to, and off you go. It’s that easy.
Gadgets
You start with your web shooters but as the story goes on, you get more and more unique gadgets that can be upgraded. Here are the few that got me out of tight spots more than once. Just know that you should upgrade them to max level as soon as you can since that increases their damage, capacity, and range.
- Trip mine
Or as I like to call it – one hit kill gadget. Seriously, these are the best. Stick one onto an enemy and wait until they connect to a surface. Any surface. They are instantly glued and webbed to it. Why waste time on finishers when you can take the enemy out of a fight way faster with trip mines? And if you’re lucky to get their sensor to connect to another enemy (I guess another body also counts as surface) you can glue both of them with one mine. I guess that counts as two birds with one stone? Or I suppose two birds with one trip mine.
- Impact web
Fast, efficient and it does its job. Their only flaw (that they share with trip mines as well) is that you can’t use them on brutes for instant incapacitation but any regular enemy has no chance against them. When upgraded to the max, they have an insanely large knockback, and if the enemy is between you and a wall, one precise shot will glue them right onto it.
- Spider Drone
You might occasionally get tired of pummeling one enemy after another, especially after doing so many crime events in free roam (hey, gotta earn those crime tokens somehow). Why not make the game do half of your job? That’s where the Spider Drone gadget comes in. When fully upgraded, it gives you four drone companions that will just fly around and shoot at nearby enemies for you until they’re out. All you need to do is run around and stay alive. Sounds easy enough.
Suit Powers
Those suits that you can craft and unlock later in the game are not just for show. Each of them comes with a unique suit power and the powers are not locked to that particular suit. So once you unlock the suit and its power, you can enable it on a different suit with no restrictions. Out of 4 suit powers in the game, I found the next two to be the most valuable when it comes to taking down enemies.
- Web Blossom
Even though it is one of the first suit powers you get, it is also one of the most efficient ones. Perfect for close quarters. Lure a bunch of enemies next to walls, fire up web blossom and splatter them all over the room.
- Electric Punch
Don’t we all hate when enemies fight back? What if I told you that there is a way to make that nasty gameplay feature go away? That’s exactly what electric punch suit power does for you. Electrify your fists, punch away and watch enemies stay in place as they are stunned. The best part is that the electricity from your fists can be chained, so hit one enemy and everyone else nearby will suffer the consequences. Lovely.
