Marvel's Avengers and Fortnite have gone head-to-head in an unlikely competition: which game recreates Spider-Man's web swinging more satisfyingly? The answer will not surprise you, sadly.
Spider-Man was announced to be on the way to Marvel's Avengers more than a year ago. However, upheavals resulting from the pandemic and the issues that the game itself encountered delayed the arrival of our friendly neighbourhood hero. Fashionably late, Spidey turned up in new threads and no story missions. That's a change of tack compared to the Kate Bishop, Black Panther, and Hawkeye DLCs - and while it is a shame, it was born of a development decision to avoid FOMO among players who aren't on PlayStation.
Here's our interview with actor Christopher Judge - who plays T'Challa in the Marvel's Avengers DLC - covering topics like representation, Chadwick Boseman's legacy and how right now is the perfect time to be a comic book fan.
Marvel's Spider-Man offers a high bar (one of the highest, indeed) to clear when it comes to the experience of embodying Spider-Man. Yuri Lowenthal, who plays Peter Parker in the 2018 game, listened and learned from two stunt coordinators during development, and all architecture in the game world holds a number of different anchor points for the hero to attach and swing from for accurate momentum and direction. Furthermore, multiple versions of the same lines were recorded to ground the character in whatever the player was up to - he'll sound out of breath if he's conversing while swinging through the air or scrapping with enemies.
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Fortnite Chapter 3 brought Spidey to the battle royale as a skin to reward those who make it to the end of the game's battle pass. There's also the Web-Shooters set which is purchasable for 400 gold bars from Guaco in Greasy Grove, so anyone can swing through the air like Spider-Man, and Epic Games has done a good job making this mechanic satisfying. You're even able to web surf if your character ends up close to the ground. Take a look:
Now, with all of this in mind, look at what it's like to web swing in Marvel's Avengers:
The glaring issue is that the illusion of momentum is not there like it is in Fortnite or Marvel's Spider-Man. The player seems to hang for the tiniest of moments before the character starts to move forwards or upwards or whichever way-wards. The acrobatics of this hero then gets slowed down to a secondary school PE lesson rather than Cirque du Soleil. Yikes.
Featured Image Credit: Epic Games, Square EnixTopics: Marvel, Fortnite, Spider Man, Marvels Avengers