Editor’s Note: This piece was originally published on September 21st, 2018. However, the trophy lists for Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man Remaster are identical.
Disclaimer: Unlike The Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift, this review is spoiler-free.
A couple times a year a really magical moment happens in my little gaming community. I’ll boot up my system, and cut a new game out of its plastic wrap. During the install I’ll down a soda or a cup of coffee…or a beer, and make sure my controllers are all charged. Then I’ll take a cursory look at my friend’s list, and see everyone is playing the same game. We’re all sharing the moment from Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh, to Canada, and beyond. Playing through the opening hours of Spider-Man were fun and polished, but it was even more special knowing all my friends were enjoying it at the same time.
Spider-Man is a blockbuster that appeals to so many generations of gamers. There’s the older crowd that picked up Amazing Fantasy in 1963 and the millenials whose fondest memories of Spider-Man come from Sam Raimi or the 1990’s cartoon. Even the recent fans more familiar with Andrew Garfield or Tom Holland will find a lot to love about Marvel’s Spider-Man. Insomniac Games really knocked this one out of the park, and every moment of the game feels crafted with passion.
The Platinum Trophy for Spider-Man is incredibly achievable and highly recommended. We typically divide trophies into two categories: organic and mop-up. Arguably, almost all of Spider-Man’s trophies are organic. The activities and requirements are so integrated into gameplay, that stepping aside to do tasks or to explore a specific section of the map doesn’t create a sense of tediousness or distraction. This article is going to highlight some tips for specific trophies, as well as point out the direction of the less organic trophies.
Con: It looks like shit.
Organic
The game is structured into three acts, with a trophy popping at the end of each act. On top of that, the game tracks your progress by percentage. This is a very accurate way to measure the completion of most trophy related activities. It’s handy. Use it, love it.
The most important tip to maximize enjoyment of the game and unlock the Platinum Trophy is to save challenge tokens for suits. Challenge tokens unlock later than most activities, and collecting all of them requires mastering specific traversal, combat, or stealth related tasks. These are not too difficult, and do introduce a nice side character, but may turn some players off who don’t enjoy timed trials. Challenge tokens are used to unlock suits and upgrade gadgets. Upgrading the gadgets fully has no trophy, and honestly most of the upgrades are cool, but unnecessary. Unlock all of the cool, sometimes hilarious suits, and then work towards upgrading the gadgets that seem the most useful to your play style.
A fair amount of trophies are related to side activities, including structured side-quests, random events, and bases that combine stealth and combat in waves. The side quests are fun, have some twists, turns, and references Spider-Fans will love, and all of them can be completed before the third act of the game. The random events vary from act to act, and the bases unlock through story progression. These activities provide a constructive way to experiment with combat and gadgets, but can feel a little drawn out towards the end of the game. However, they are doable, not overly tough, and honestly the most difficult part of this fairly easy Platinum.
One of my favorite moments in open world games is when the game offers story driven moments to do side activities. In Spider-Man, Peter Parker will mention going “on patrol,” or checking on the city. In addition, some quests begin with a very soft impetus, so there are moments where the game isn’t pushing you to complete the main objective. I love it. This simple and effective writing allows players to enjoy side content during the critical path, without creating a dissonance from the narrative.
Also, as is the norm in many games, there is a warning before the final mission begins, so players won’t be caught by surprise and can wrap up any lingering activities. It’s very likely that the last trophy to pop will be the completion of the main story line, but there could still be a few trophies that need… mopped up.
Mop-up
The mop-up trophies for Spider-Man are pretty simple. Two involve visiting specific locations on the map. “Hero for Higher” takes players to the very top of a very prominent and recognizable tower in the city. Gamers who know what’s being referred to get a big A plus. The other trophy can be unlocked here. Players may consider this a spoiler. Click at your own risk.
As mentioned, maximum upgrades for gadgets are not required for the Plat, but the use of a very specific gadget is required for the “Hug it Out” trophy. Spider-Man eventually gets access to a trip mine that when activated among groups of enemies, can sling and web up two thugs together. Honestly, anytime players find themselves in a group of enemies, shoot a few of those bad boys out every time. The trophy isn’t tracked in game, and most enemies will attach to walls or objects, not other enemies, but it will unlock pretty quickly.
Beyond the few mentioned here, most other trophies should pop along the way. As of writing, Spider-Man has a Platinum completion rate of 4.5%, which is high for any game, and particularly high for a game so new. This speaks to the relative ease of the Platinum, but also the quality of the game that players want to put in that extra time. This isn’t to indicate Spider-Man is light on content. There are plenty of tracked goals that don’t relate to trophies that can be fun to grind out, and a suite of DLC is on the way. So, what’re you waiting for? Go get ’em, tiger.
As always, tweet us and let Handsome Phantom know what you think! Which trophies gave you trouble? Any tips for the Platinum? What was your favorite boss? What do you want to see in DLC or a sequel? Handsome Phantom is lucky to have a great community, and we want you to be a part of it!
Be sure to check out our recent interview with Fictional Bad Games, or the Platted That! for God of War!
