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Spider Man PS4: The City That Never Sleeps DLC Review

Spider-Man PS4: The City That Never Sleeps DLC Review

By Rishi Alwani | Updated: 28 December 2018 20:29 IST

Highlights

The combat and traversal is as fun as it is in the main game
You should finish the main game before playing this
It introduces a new supervillain

Not only is Spider-Man PS4 one of our favourite games of the year, it's the rare perfect title too. Since it sets such a high bar of what to expect from a superhero video game, we thought it would make sense to check out Spider-Man PS4's downloadable content (DLC). It's in the form of a season pass called Spider-Man PS4: The City That Never Sleeps and consists of three chapters: The Heist, Turf Wars, and Silver Lining. With The Heist out in October, Turf Wars in November, and finally Silver Lining this week, we played all of them back to back to tell you if they're worth the price of admission. Here's what you need to know.

First and foremost, we don't recommend playing Spider-Man PS4: The City That Never Sleeps without finishing the main game. That's because it takes place after the events of the game, which are referenced often, making the story of this DLC tough to follow if you haven't completed Spider-Man PS4.

As for the chapters themselves, The Heist introduces Black Cat after foreshadowing her arrival in Spider-Man PS4. She's a master thief and current frenemy of Spider-Man. Black Cat is in New York City to steal from its crime families, collectively known as the Maggia, for super villain Hammerhead.

Turf Wars focusses on Hammerhead as he robs high-tech military gear from mercenary outfit Sable International, while Silver Lining sees Sable International boss Silver Sable (who was present in the main game too) make a return as she joins forces with Spider-Man to reclaim her tech from Hammerhead.

Without spoiling much, the overall plot of Spider-Man PS4: The City That Never Sleeps is an interesting one. Despite starting slow with The Heist, it finishes strong by the time the end credits roll for Silver Lining. You're treated to some spirited banter between Spider-Man and his allies which makes it all worthwhile.

And while there are side-quests aplenty between these three chapters, a lot of them don't feel fresh or integral to the experience. A bulk of these are doled out by Screwball, a relatively new villain in Spider-Man lore, who is essentially a power-mad influencer and YouTuber. These have you disabling EMP towers within a specific timeframe or take on waves of enemies. While they have Photobombs — locations within the challenge area that grant you a bonus to your score — they're pretty much similar to the Taskmaster missions of the main game.

There are some slivers of brilliance though, such as finding all the art stolen by Black Cat's father or piecing together an unexpected conversation between a Maggia hitman and a therapist. However, a lot of it feels like padding. More so when you have the game egging you on to "explore the city" before information for the next main mission shows up. This lull between its main missions makes the events of The City That Never Sleeps feel less natural and free flowing than they should be.

Thankfully, the moment to moment traversal is as good as ever, making slinging across New York City a treat while the polished combat is intact. And while there's little in the way of genuinely new enemy types compared to the base game, the usual melee, flying, and gun-toting foes in Spider-Man PS4: The City That Never Sleeps hit hard and keep you on your toes. This is particularly true during the final boss encounter of Silver Lining, which was equal parts spectacle and strategy, forcing us to swap gadgets and suit powers often.

Plus, the adventure takes you to different locations in the city. From the Bar With No Name, to New York City sewers, there's enough variety to make up for the short play time of around five hours to complete all three chapters.

At Rs. 1,664 ($25 in the US), Spider-Man PS4: The City That Never Sleeps is worth it only if you've finished the main game and want more Spider-Man PS4 to play. Although its writing is solid and dialogues entertaining, the uninspired Screwball challenges and padding between main missions takes away from what should have been a solid add-on to one of the best games of the year.

Pros

Witty dialogue
Varied locales

Cons

Padding between main missions
Screwball challenges

Rating (out of 10): 7

Gadgets 360 played a review copy of Spider-Man PS4: The City That Never Sleeps on PS4 Pro. The DLC is available now via the PS Store for Rs. 1,664 ($25 in the US).

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Further reading: Spiderman PS4, Spiderman The Heist, Spiderman Turf Wars, Spiderman Silver Lining, Spiderman The City That Never Sleeps, PS4, Spiderman PS4 DLC, Sony