Spider-Man PS4 Has An Assassin's Creed-Like Tower Mechanic

Insomniac's upcoming Spider-Man game has jumped to many fans' lists of most anticipated games, in part because it seems to so innately nail the free-swinging and improvisational feeling of the wall-crawling superhero. One part seems a little less at home for the web-head, though: a tower-climbing mechanic straight out of older Assassin's Creed or Far Cry titles.

As detailed in our preview of the first two hours, Spidey has to climb towers littered around Manhattan to find points of interest like side missions and collectibles. There's a handful of towers per district, so you'll be crawling your way up to find waypoints in iconic locations like Chinatown, Hell's Kitchen, and Central Park. It's an odd choice, given that Peter Parker is supposed to be well into his superheroic career at this point, and he's lived in New York City his entire life.

In the most recent Assassin's Creed Origins and upcoming Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Ubisoft has moved away from using towers to spot waypoints. Rather than "unfogging" the map and adding points of interest, these recent games have added markers to highlight items and areas that are unexplored. Far Cry 5 did away with towers altogether, and even cracked a joke at its own expense about it.

This wasn't enough to detract too much from the experience, though. In the preview, Edmond Tran says the game plays as good as it looks, with a greater focus on character interaction and a wide array of progression options. Insomniac has even found a way to bring the usual damsel-in-distress Mary Jane into a more prominent role with her own gameplay function. Still, the towers are said to feel a bit outdated and out-of-place here.