The game development team did an amazing (ha!) job picking and choosing from multiple, well regarded, past comic book stories (in and out of the main continuity), then added their own spin to create a unique and captivating blend for this collection of tales.
Kraven and his gang was built up as a viable, city wide threat. 
That threat alone could have carried the game, but the later symbiote introduction turned things up several notches. 
The surprise level of getting to play as Venom rampaging through Oscorp and times square was a hoot.
Yes, the suit Miles designed for himself in this reality is ...
a sight.
Miles working with his Mom save the new Harlem Jazz museum was a delight. He even danced a salsa with her when the place opened at the end. It was incredibly sweet.
The non-costume portions of the game were just as engaging. (And the museum was educational and fun- like most museums are!)
Investigating Mysterio's legitimate business and finding details of Miles's Uncle's questionable Prowler past connected to one of the central themes of the game- redemption.
Mary Jane got several adventures, grew more resourceful as the story progressed, and there was an emotion packed face off with Peter about issues they were having where all the internal stuff got externalized before being resolved.
Yes, I played so poorly that the game itself got bored with me.
There is always some tragedy in a Spidey tale.
However, both Spider-Men earned happy endings for this one, with Peter accepting settling back into the mentor role, and Miles stepping up in both skills and confidence.
Plus there were multiple side stories for each character just as well thought out as the main one. Miles helping his fellow classmates at school was one. Some of that took place very early on, and I was glad I played through again. It took a while to figure out just how insanely interactive the settings and people were. Getting some extra chatting time made the story even more meaningful on the second attempt.
Miles working with his Mom save the new Harlem Jazz museum was a delight. He even danced a salsa with her when the place opened at the end. It was incredibly sweet.
Peter had his usual scientific career and relationship struggles.
His battles along side the Wraith against "the Flame" added a dynamic on the philosophy of crime fighting methods. (And a nice tease for the follow up title as well.)
Above and beyond those story lines were several one-off interactions that delved into the humanity of the main characters. The tasks involved straight up helping people, and being a "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man." One of the sweetest was taking what turned out to be a dying man's pigeons to a new home. 
Also up there was finding a lost Grandfather reminiscing in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and Zoo about when he proposed. (Yes, I fell in that lake. And yes, Miles's "Mutant Gala" outfit is more hideous than his own design. I learned just because the game unlocks a free costume, doesn't mean you should use it.)
The strangest task may have been turning one of Kraven's killer robot panthers into a pet for Blind Al, of all people!
Not that it was possible to get bored, but the game had a few curve balls for other one-off missions interspersed with the Spidey-ing that were far more puzzle based than the violence of the Venom one Some used other characters in the mix as well, including both Spideys' non-powered love interests.
Miles begins a relationship with Haliey Cooper, also an artist. She's hearing impaired and the game made great efforts to show things from her perspective.
For the Lee-Ditko era fans, there were flashbacks to Peter when he was younger.
Then there were a few "Battles of the mind" where physics didn't apply.
Miles had a crazy chase of the Black Cat through every environment on Earth when she stole a teleporting magic item from Doctor Strange. (Yes, once again, there was much screaming, but no photos as grabbing the phone wasn't even close to an option during that mess.) Rosa found this mission hilarious.
Miles had a crazy chase of the Black Cat through every environment on Earth when she stole a teleporting magic item from Doctor Strange. (Yes, once again, there was much screaming, but no photos as grabbing the phone wasn't even close to an option during that mess.) Rosa found this mission hilarious.
Peter had a "James Bond" type stealth mission where he had to deal with an unexpected tiger!
There were many "non combat" outings, such as the Coney Island one.
Miles brought the action there on his story line, but then it switched to Peter spending time with his friends, which was both fun and filled with warmth. 
Naturally, this turned into "combat on Coney Island" eventually,
but the fun elements remained.
All of them built emotional connections with who the people in the game were.
Getting into the story caused some shifts in strategy. As a pragmatic gamer, I originally planned to "spend" the in game rewards on skills and abilities to increase the ease of game play. That lasted about a week, before I was updating suits at every opportunity to make sure I was wearing the "proper outfit" for every occasion. Some caused problems.
Miles's forties inspired, fedora including suit looked dashing, and was easily recognizable in team ups.
His Mysterio inspired costume, however, led me to think that villain had returned to take on Peter when Miles showed up to help.
Honestly, I was out of control.
Oh look the Baxter Building, I have to wear Peter's Fantastic Four suit.
Oh look the Wakanda Embassy, I have to wear Miles's Black Panther inspired suit.
Oh, Peter is doing something on the sly, I'll wear the Scarlet Spider outfit.
Oh, Miles wants to run into battle with a cat on his back. (Please don't ask)
Oh, Peter is sneaking through an entire enemy base! Time to dress up in his (much cooler) Mutant Gala costume!
Oh, Miles has to have a GIANT fight, I'll wear the Wolverine themed outfit.
Oh, Peter has the Symbiote, I need a black outfit! Behold the Night Monkey!
Yes, there were a BOATLOAD of movie based outfits. From Tobey to Andrew to Tom, and the animated ones as well.
And yes, i would often coordinate costume choices between the two Spider-Men.
HOMEMADE COSTUME BROS!!!!
Oh, that Miles outfit with the light up piping is cool! (sometimes that's all you need!)
Oh Peter has the Anti-Venom, I need a white outfit.
Oh, It's four AM and I'm still playing, lets wear the ugliest outfit imaginable!!!!!
The overall Spider-World it has created truly shows why Spider-Man's refusal to kill is key to the character and the proper choice. There are several villains who have reformed (some from previous game titles, others as part of the the back story ) or who do reform based on the actions of Peter and Miles this time around. Redemption truly is a central theme.
For my other game write ups, I ended up playing through a second time to get those photos I wanted. Therefore I made sure to document this journey as I went... And took nearly 700 pictures. Then I did play through a second time anyway and added almost 200 more. Sometime near the end of this endeavor, I found "photo mode" on the menu which allows a posed, and lighted shot with various effects.
However, the "grab the phone and try to capture what's happening" method I used certainly added excitement to the game. Plus a lot of poses I took were simply because they showed cool landmarks...
Or because they were fun!
I had to play through a second time, anyway, in order to get that final trophy. I've never been big on in game trophies before, but the high tech PS5 automatically makes videos of them. (Which was fantastic for the "slam into the ground while trying to do an arial trick" one.) Not only that, but it also had little tips and hints for which trophies were missing when exiting the game.
The final trophy (not counting the "do it all again" one) involved doing fifty flips and tricks before stepping on the ground again. Trying to do this via swan diving off the highest buildings was a painful experience. (Thank the maker the game can be played without falling damage, as is fitting for the wall crawler. Removing any "running out of web-fluid" mechanics is also something I was thankful for.) I finally got it while swinging over the Henry Hudson Parkway(in game - why did I feel the need to specify that?) and repeatedly apologizing for the delay in rescue to the vehicles on fire below me, before dropping directly into the Hudson River next to them.
The need to build up the character meant running through many of the side missions and other priorities that popped up, before taking on the main challenges.
The second time, in "game plus" mode with all the enhancements activated, I reversed course from the original try. I played all the way through the main storyline first, and it really added to the intensity and urgency of the tale. Then I had an extremely entertaining and extended period of swinging around one section of the city at a time going through the stuff I'd littered the map with, and having a variety of different gaming experiences.
Granted, New York did look a mess before I fixed everything.
It also was intensely satisfying and cathartic to run up against some low level criminals I had faced (and been pummeled by repeatedly) in the early stages of the game, with a fully leveled up and tricked out Spider-Man. I was able to take out the entire gang of fireworks thieves without them seeing me once, and left them all hanging from lines between two buildings.
As with any game, there was one type of challenge I had enormous problems with...
This time- chasing after speeding cars. I could travel easily across the city using various methods. (And often falling onto buildings, streets and occasionally the lakes in Central Park and other green spaces.) However, the control needed to close in at the exact right height and distance of a runaway car eluded me. As those were usually "random crimes" it didn't affect overall game play much as they would speed out of range and vanish, and I could re-focus on the main story. However, there was a chase as the climax of the Jazz Museum storyline. I could not do it, and after multiple failures (and swearing) a moment happened which was the most seen I have ever felt in a lifetime of video gaming. The game paused itself to point out it had a difficulty adjustment for car chases that not only slowed them down, but also made the "jump on the car" action happen automatically when in range.
Thank you game designers, for recognizing Old Guys do play these games, and sometimes we need a little help to continue enjoying our super hero adventures.
Like any good Marvel story, there were teasers for a follow up. I'll see you there, true believers!
Although after looking through all these pictures, I have already initiated round three with this one. (At a higher difficulty level... pray for me.)
And that's not counting the time I spend exploring all the stuff that still exists in the city after the game!
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