The consistent popularity that Spider-Man has been able to maintain over the decades has allowed the character to grow side-by-side with the video game industry. There have beenSpider-Manvideo games since the early 1980s, giving the crimson-clad wall-crawler an almost 40-year history spread across various platforms. This fruitful relationship has seen many dedicated games and cameos, and with them a never-ending evolution of the graphics used for designingSpider-Mangames.
For the early Spider-Man games, fans likely already know what to expect. Less powerful hardware meant graphics and gameplay needed to be simpler than they are now. WhileMarvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Moraleshas some of the most stunning visuals of anySpider-Mangame, the first title released on the Atari 2600 used a simple red character that was able to swing on a 2D screen. Since then, games have been able to take advantage of every new generation of hardware with increasingly complex worlds for players to explore as Spider-Man.
RELATED:Marvel’s Spider-Man Fans Share Desire for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Suit
Graphics in Spider-Man Games
The 1990s saw manySpider-Mangames focus on bit-size 2D graphics and platforming. This era brought games likeSpider-Man vs. The Kingpin, where players can make out clear character models, but they’re still limited to side-scrolling gameplay. This game helps to bring inKingpin from the comics, and acts as a stepping stone for the style of games that Spider-Man would feature in as the years went on.
Around the mid-90s,Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnagewould help to pushSpider-Mangames towards a style that was more beat ‘em up, and used stylized graphics based on the comic book story, adding to its appeal. This step forward in graphics lead to future titles using similar 2.5D approaches, as well as more in-depth 2D graphics. On top of this, the game is one of the firstvideo game appearances of Venom, and the first to make the anti-hero playable.
As time moved on, the 2D and 2.5D styles ofSpider-Mangames would begin to give way to the first 3DSpider-Mangames. Quite possibly the most notable and beloved of these was theSpider-Mangame that was released in 2000. Here, players could play their way through 3D levels that allowed for web-slinging and crawling on ceilings, alongside the use of other Spider-Man abilities. While gameplay and graphics were a leap ahead from previousSpider-Mantitles, the inclusion of other major Marvel characters helped to makeSpider-Manall the more memorable.
AfterSpider-Manin 2000, many of the games that followed also took a 3D approach. It’s from here that players begin to see the transition from the focus of bit graphics to each new game having better 3D graphics, larger levels, and eventually open worlds for Spider-Man fans to explore. In particular, the open world ofSpider-Man 2in 2004 allowed players to navigate through a scaled New York City for the first time. Based on the Sam Raimi film, it also featured Doc Ock,one of Spider-Man’s best villains, who has appeared as both mentor and enemy in recentSpider-Mantitles as well.
AfterSpider-Man 2in 2004, games based around the character all tend to build on one another’s graphics. Over the next decade and a half, change can be noticed, but no major jumps in improvement came with each game. While there are several notableSpider-Mangames to release during this time, as well as a newSpider-Manmovie franchise that starred Andrew Garfield and had tie-in games, what players saw was more gradual than the significant jumps seen from 2D to 3D games.
This suddenly changes with the release ofMarvel’s Spider-Manon PS4. As an independent title from previous games, it was the launch of a newSpider-Manvideo game franchise being developed by Insomniac. The graphics, open world, and story won the praise of many players as fans got to discover every corner of Spider-Man’s New York that they could imagine.
Since then, the visual quality of games has only gotten better, with the newest generation of consoles allowing for richer textures and beautifully built scenes inSpider-Man: Miles Moralesto shine in between its predecessor and the sequel. WhileMarvel’s Spider-Man 2won’t release until 2023, using the most recent titles as a benchmark suggests that the world players will be introduced to will be nothing like fans have seen in the 40-year history ofSpider-Manin video games.
