Spider-Man Voice Actor Speaks Out About Game Controversy
When Marvel's Spider-Man swung into action in 2018, Insomniac Games' open world favourite rightly earned its place as one of the best superhero games of all time. Let's be honest though, there wasn't much competition. Shaking the curse of questionable Spider-Man games that have also tied into some equally questionable movies, Insomniac broke from the norm and decided to tell a wholly new story.
Pitching Peter Parker against the intimidating ranks of the Sinister Six, the game was praised for effectively being the Marvel version of Rocksteady's award-winning Arkham games. With Spider-Man becoming one of the PlayStation 4's best and fastest-selling titles, it makes sense Insomniac wanted to give things a rework for the next-gen PlayStation 5.
The recent release of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales bridges the gap between the first game and promises of Spider-Man 2, while also coming alongside a remastered version of the OG for the Ultimate Edition. Things looked better than ever as Web-Head launched himself across a revamped New York City skyline, however, not everyone loved the game's new look.
What is the Spider-Man game controversy?
When Insomniac first showed off its remastered Spider-Man, it caught everyone's attention for the wrong reasons. Namely, there were accusations that developers were trying to cash in on the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by making Peter Parker look a lot more like Tom Holland's live-action portrayal. Putting old and new Peter side by side, the old version went from generic video character to Holland doppelgänger. The reveal led to complaints of "not my Spider-Man", meaning the game's untarnished record was left with a dirty mark. Now, voice actor Yuri Lowenthal has spoken out about the drama.
Lowenthal is known as the voice of Peter Parker, and according to the voice actor, he doesn't think Spidey's new face is anything to be worried about. Speaking to ComicBookMovie.com, the star explained, "I did know it was coming, and I did agree with all the reasons [Insomniac] were going ahead with it. I know that people, once they fall in love with something, for you to change that thing is very hard... and understandably so! There are a lot of people who will always love that original thing best, but I think the reasons they did it were sound, and going forward, the game will benefit".
Expanding on why critics should give the remastered Peter a chance, Lowenthal concluded, "I understand it’s also especially hard when you form an emotional attachment. Playing a game is playing a game, and you get used to things, but the story and characters from that game, we all grew to love them. When you’ve formed that emotional attachment and that thing changes, it’s hard. I’m hoping people in the end will understand it was done for the good of the game and will understand it’s for the good of the franchise. We’ll all get used to it!"
The Spider-Man drama stemmed from the fact facial model John Bubniak was swapped out for Ben Jordan. Both Insomniac and Lowenthal say it was to better capture the likeness of Lowenthal, however, it's not enough for many. Thankfully, the drama has died down since the remastered version first came to PlayStation 5 in November. Obviously, the main focus of the past few months has been Miles Morales. The game was tipped as more than a DLC as it shifted focus to Peter's protégé.
In general, the Ultimate Edition made the most of the PS5's 3D capabilities, raytracing, and the new DualSense controller. What could've been a perfect game was sadly mired by complaints about Peter's look. Although there have been suggestions that Insomniac move back to Parker's old look for the sequel, it looks like we'll have to get used to his new face. This seems to be one sticky web Insomniac has crawled its way out of.
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Images via Insomniac Games