The Human Spider?
Fans excited to play Spider-Man Remastered on PlayStation 5 will be in for a bit of a surprise when they come face-to-face with Peter Parker, with Sony announcing a change in character model for the hero. Developer, Insomniac Games, says the change will help them better utilize the power of the PS5 and allow them to better sync the motion capture with that of Yuri Lowenthal, the voice actor portraying Spidey.
“In order to bring the best performances to players with our next-generation Marvel’s Spider-Man games, we have recast the face of Peter Parker” says James Stevenson, the Community Director at Insomniac Games. “We loved working with John Bubniak on the original game; however, to get a better match to Peter Parker/Spider-Man actor Yuri Lowenthal’s facial capture, we have cast Ben Jordan to be the face model for Peter Parker on the PS5 console. He looks incredible in-game, and Yuri’s moving performances take on a new life”.
I’m sure it is also no coincidence that the new Spider-Man looks A LOT like his cinematic counterpart, played by Tom Holland. Deliberate or not, having the lead characters in both the game and the MCU look so similar is a good move for Sony, further blurring the line between the console-exclusive and cinematic juggernaut. As with any change in a game, some fans have become quite vocal regarding the change, to which Insomniac Creative Director Bryan Intihar responded via Twitter.
As a massive fan of the original, it will take me a bit of time to come around to the new design. The new, younger-looking Peter seems at odds with where the story was heading, especially now that he looks around the same age as Miles Morales. I had grown quite attached to the off-brand Brandon Urie lookalike that was the old character model, but it is no way a deal-breaker. Anyway, looking at the gorgeous new still images released for the game, I think I will be too distracted by the New York skyline to pay any mind.
Along with the reveal of New Pete, Insomniac also confirmed that the game’s Performance Mode will allow it to run at 60fps, and loading screens are non-existent due to the high-speed SSD, though they can be turned back on manually – who doesn’t want to see Spidey riding the train?!
Spider-Man Remastered and Spider-Man: Miles Morales will be available at launch for the Playstation 5, November 12th. Spider-Man: Miles Morales will also release on PlayStation 4 that same day.