Marvel’s Spider-Man was said to be the first part of Marvel’s shared gaming universe, Iron Man jumpstarted the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe back in 2008 and has elevated the genre since; and Insomniac Games aims to replicate the same success through this format. It didn’t take long for other studios to take these iconic characters and give them their own video game.
There was a recent surge of superhero titles in the gaming industry, and while most are decent, there were noticeable disasters like Marvel’s Avengers. This setback may have been a factor in the cancellation of Spider-Man: The Great Web.
In a recent interview, Ms. Marvel herself, Iman Vellani, shared her criticisms about the game, saying it should have been a success if it weren’t repetitive, and some suggest it shouldn’t have taken the live-service route.
Marvel’s Avengers Was Quite Lacklustre
The Marvel brand is growing, and more obscure characters have been allowed to be more dominant in other projects. Ms. Marvel was a fairly new character but had appeared in multiple animated projects and even became a lead character in the video game, which was the only positive thing that Crystal Dynamics had done by giving her a moment to shine and fleshing out her powers which Vellani greatly enjoyed.
Video games with a high profile of characters like the Avengers shouldn’t have dealt with the problem of a declining play count, unfortunately, due to the incompetent handling, lackluster content, repetitive combat, and system performance issues, it is easy to stop and play another game that can satisfy fans; even Iman got tired of it despite being a loyal fan and the fun button mashing.
In a recent interview with ComicBook, she stated that she played a bit of the game before eventually getting bored.
I played it. Then I got really bored of the moves, but I played myself. That was pretty cool
It seems that the game wasn’t enough for the devoted fan herself.
Spider-Man: The Great Web May Have Died Because Of Marvel’s Avengers
Change is inevitable, and companies are looking for new ways to make a buck by experimenting with different strategies in the gaming industry. Live-service multiplayer games can be a hit-and-miss situation. While there are good and well-executed titles with a foreseeable future, like Fortnite and Call of Duty, there is a side where they are dead on arrival, like Anthem and Marvel’s Avengers.
The foundation was already there, not to mention the whole multiverse aspect that was explored in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which could bridge all the branches and allow players to operate as their uniquely modified Spider-Man with friends. Marvel’s Avengers had great gameplay, but players are unsatisfied by the limited content and activities.
Developing video games and producing movies based on comic book heroes share the same level of difficulty, studios struggle with all the pressure from fans and keeping their businesses afloat. Marvel’s Avengers was a cautionary tale that superhero games should stay clear of the live-service structure. DC’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League suffered the same fate, perhaps PlayStation has fate in Insomniac’s talents and plans but doubts the project’s longevity.
What are your thoughts on superhero games taking on a live-service format? Let us know in the comments below!
