Yes, I know, Spider-Man: Homecoming PSVR Experience is not a true game. So why are we reviewing it? Because we have review quotas to meet, damn it, and this is an easy one to knock off the list in a short amount of time. It’s economics, baby.
Spider-Man: Homecoming PSVR Experience (from herein to be referred to as Spider-Man PSVR, because sod writing that title every paragraph) is a short and sorta sweet freebie that landed on the PlayStation Store last week. You’ll need a headset, obviously, but you’ll also need a couple of PS Move wand controllers, too.
I feel compelled to say once again that Spider-Man PSVR isn’t a fully-fledged game. It’s an “experience” that, in all honesty, is nothing more than a 10 minute advert for the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming movie. And that’s fine, I like the concept of using VR to give consumers an extra bite of the apple. What I don’t like is when it’s a shoddy, half-arsed attempt.
You start off on a rooftop with the Spider-Man costume being presented in front of you. After donning the mask you’re given a brief moment to have a gander at yourself in a mirror, much like in Batman: Arkham VR, before it disappears. Like, it barely lasted 20 seconds. I would have liked to have had a longer look at my slimmer digital self, but alas, it was not to be.
The rest of the game is just a simple shooting gallery showing off what this new movie Spider-Man can do. You’ll shoot web shots at bottles, lob web-grenades, and even spray your sticky goo on a collapsing crane before firing more web stuffs at evil flying beasties. Honestly, it’s not that exciting. No, correction – it’s not exciting, full stop. It’s mundane, it has none of the fun that we’ve come to expect from the boy in spandex, and it’s over before it really begins.
On the other hand, it’s 100% free. For this price, I guess I can overlook the major flaws and just appreciate it for what it is: a marketing tie-in to get me to go and see the new movie. Unfortunately for the movie studios, it didn’t work. I’m gonna wait this one out until the Blu-Ray release. You try going to the cinema with an excitable 15-month old boy and see if you can get past the opening trailers…
Spider-Man: Homecoming PSVR Experience Review
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Overall - Not Bad - 5.0/105/10
Summary
Considering that this experience is completely free and there’s no additional costs via in-app purchases, it’s worth a look, even if the running time is only slightly longer than the movie’s trailers. Hey, who knows, perhaps this is the first step to a fully-realised Spider-Man VR game? We can dream…
Review Disclaimer: This review was carried out using the free download available to all PlayStation owners on the PlayStation Store. For more information, please read our Review Policy.
Reviewed using a PS4 Slim.
