Not all games are created equal, though, and while most Spidey-themed games in the last 20 years have been set in an open-world New York, some stand above the rest for the quality and complexity of their environments and settings. Even when the story fell short - as it did, for example, in 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - or became repetitive (see 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man), the ability to explore Spider-Man's huge open-world New York made up for it, providing players ample opportunity to discover side quests, have random encounters, or simply enjoy the gritty, textured urban landscape. Related: Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Must Avoid Repeating GTA 5's Open World Mistakeīut it wasn’t until the emergence of the open-world concept that the true potential of Spider-Man as a video game headliner could be realized.
