Marvel's Spider-Man has seen a bit of controversy these past few week with some keen-eyed fans noticing that the game has been slightly downgraded in the graphics department.
Insomniac Games has addressed this topic and simply stated that there was no such thing as a graphics downgrade, regardless of how many comparison pics have been posted online. While those pics did show two different-looking images, Insomniac Games kept claiming that there was no graphics downgrade.
Today, the people over at Digital Foundry have posted an exhaustive analysis on
Marvel's Spider-Man graphics, performance, and overall look of the game—going over the graphics downgrade controversy and completely debunking it.
As per Digital Foundry's analysis, the suit’s texture resolution in the game is identical to the one seen on the E3 2017 demo.The suit’s material was different on the demo, whereas in the final game it looks like it has been changed to look more like cloth fabric instead of that glossy, and rather plasticky look.
The video also mentions the amazing work done by Insomniac Games when handling motion blur, a technique they first used in Sunset Overdrive and was also visible in the new Ratchet & Clank game—giving Marvel’s Spider-Man a very natural look when moving throughout New York, without compromising the graphics.
The city itself looks pretty much alive thanks to Insomniac Games doing a great job when it comes to scale and detail. This is true even when simply walking through the city instead of just swinging over it, which gives a greater sense of realism to the game.
Not only that but Marvel’s Spider-Man also features scenes that take place inside various buildings, all incredibly detailed with its own unique character models.
But let’s not forget about the real controversy here: the game’s puddles. As this has been one of the things that started the whole debate, Digital Foundry also addresses this topic and their conclusion is that the box cube map has been changed
Not to mention that creating and aligning all the box cubes necessary in order to give the final game that E3 demo effect is very time-consuming, which resulted in the development team modifying the underlined texture data. In simpler words, they only readjusted the puddle placement so that it wouldn’t look off—although no graphic downgrade actually took place.
Take a look:
Sony Interactive Entertainment, Insomniac Games, and Marvel team up to create a brand-new, authentic Spider-Man adventure exclusively for PlayStation 4. Take control of an experienced Peter Parker who is more masterful at fighting crime.
Marvel's Spider-Man will be available exclusively for the PlayStation 4 on the 7th of September.