wraggster
November 15th, 2020, 13:08
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered is a definitive polish of a beloved game. The visuals in this game are a marked improvement. But it’s the feel of the game—the sensory tickles from the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller—that made me appreciate and enjoy it in a new way.
I remember first reading about vibrating controllers in Nintendo Power magazine, when Star Fox 64 came bundled with a Rumble Pak peripheral in 1997. At the time, I wondered if the Rumble Pak, which attached to the back of your controller and vibrated in accordance with the on-screen action, would be successful or just another failure in a long line of Nintendo gimmicks. It turned out to be the former; fast forward two decades, and a vibrating controller is the industry standard.
The obstacle to popularizing something like a Rumble Pak is that players have to experience it for themselves. Visuals are self-evident; players can discern an uptick of quality with a side-by-side comparison. Vibration quality cannot be communicated nearly as well, but it has long-term potential. This is evident in Spider-Man: Remastered. The visuals are the most obvious improvement, with the game running at 60 fps and employing ray tracing. The draw distance is rendered further than before. The faces are more detailed and expressive. The reflections and ambient shadows are more crisp and detailed. The developers relit entire scenes to highlight the action more clearly. During the game’s launch week, Insomniac Community Director James Stevenson tweeted out side-by-side screenshots of the opening fight in Fisk Tower:
https://kotaku.com/dualsense-feedback-makes-marvels-spider-man-remastered-1845668716
I remember first reading about vibrating controllers in Nintendo Power magazine, when Star Fox 64 came bundled with a Rumble Pak peripheral in 1997. At the time, I wondered if the Rumble Pak, which attached to the back of your controller and vibrated in accordance with the on-screen action, would be successful or just another failure in a long line of Nintendo gimmicks. It turned out to be the former; fast forward two decades, and a vibrating controller is the industry standard.
The obstacle to popularizing something like a Rumble Pak is that players have to experience it for themselves. Visuals are self-evident; players can discern an uptick of quality with a side-by-side comparison. Vibration quality cannot be communicated nearly as well, but it has long-term potential. This is evident in Spider-Man: Remastered. The visuals are the most obvious improvement, with the game running at 60 fps and employing ray tracing. The draw distance is rendered further than before. The faces are more detailed and expressive. The reflections and ambient shadows are more crisp and detailed. The developers relit entire scenes to highlight the action more clearly. During the game’s launch week, Insomniac Community Director James Stevenson tweeted out side-by-side screenshots of the opening fight in Fisk Tower:
https://kotaku.com/dualsense-feedback-makes-marvels-spider-man-remastered-1845668716