2017 has been a spectacular year for PlayStation exclusives thanks largely in part to the release of several fantastic titles throughout the months including Gravity Rush 2, Horizon Zero Dawn, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and more. Judging by Sony’s Paris Games Week Media Showcase back in October, the company’s future looks even brighter knowing that God of War, Detroit: Become Human, Spider-Man, Ghosts of Tsushima, The Last of Us: Part II and more are all forthcoming.
Of all the confirmed 2018 releases that we know about so far, I personally think that Insomniac Games upcoming Spider-Man title is easily the biggest and most important PS4 exclusive of 2018. Here are a few of my thoughts on why this highly anticipated action-adventure game is destined for greatness when it finally hits stores everywhere next year.
First and foremost, it simply can’t be stated enough just how big 2018 is for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With Black Panther poised to hit theaters on February 16th and the long-awaited Avengers: Infinity War on May 4th, it already seems like a foregone conclusion that Marvel will dominate box office sales numbers once both respective films have released domestically and internationally.
Given that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man does play a role in Infinity War, this will certainly draw even more attention towards the character in other mediums. Insomniac’s interpretation of Peter Parker and stories within the universe will be different from the films but will be equally attractive and in high demand for both diehard and casual Marvel fans around the world.
Another reason why Spider-Man is going to be a big deal next year lies solely in the fact that the talented developers over at Insomniac Games are behind this project. Having played Ratchet & Clank and Sunset Overdrive, I can confirm that this studio has mastered the art of making great action-adventure games within an open world setting.
In the case of Sunset Overdrive, this new IP might not have sold as much as Microsoft imagined it would and that’s due to both a combination of poor messaging behind the Xbox One console prior to launch and the fact that several Xbox One owners chose not to buy and/or support the game when it mattered most. Spider-Man won’t suffer the same fate because the character is already popular in modern culture and the PlayStation 4 has garnered the most attention as the top-selling console so far this generation.
The final reason why I believe Spider-Man is the biggest exclusive of 2018 is due to the wider audience that it will appeal to over other titles. God of War, Detroit: Become Human and Days Gone are all launching in 2018 but are largely games made by adults for adults and will more than likely be rated mature when all is said and done.
With Spider-Man, comic books, animated cartoons, and films are released regularly to highlight the latest adventures of everyone’s favorite wall-crawler. Judging by this and the fact that the superhero is a very kid friendly character, I feel that anyone who doesn’t yet own a PS4 and is a fan will definitely make it a point to buy one as soon as this game releases.
This concludes my article on why I think Spider-Man is the biggest PS4 exclusive of 2018. Do you agree or disagree with a few of the points that I’ve made? Please feel free to let me know your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.
