When Sony first announced Spider-Man for PC, I immediately thought about how awesome it would be on Steam Deck. If you’ve read our Steam Deck review, then you’ll know it’s now my favorite gaming handheld, as it’s capable of playing high-end PC games. I’ve already played Marvel’s Spider-Man on both PS4 and PS5, so I was curious to test it on the Steam Deck and see how it translated to a portable platform. I have to tell you, it’s pretty amazing. In fact, Spider-Man on Steam Deck is now my favorite PC game. Be sure to read our full Marvel’s Spider-Man review to see why it was (and is) one of the finest action/adventure titles released in recent years.
Marvel’s Spider-Man on PC: Features
Marvel’s Spider-Man on PC has many features you’d expect from the best PC games. This includes ray-traced reflections, texture filtering, level-of-detail quality, screen space ambient occlusion, and support for windowed, full screen and exclusive full-screen rendering modes. An ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio is also a feature, as is panoramic 32:9, which lets you play the game across three monitors. Nvidia DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) and Nvidia DLAA (Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing) are features exclusive to the company’s graphics cards. The former helps boost the frame rate, while the latter enhances the overall image quality. The PC port of Spider-Man offers full support for the PlayStation DualSense controller. You’ll experience the same adaptive trigger feedback and haptic response that you would on the console version of the game. The game also supports mouse and keyboard inputs, with the UI changing to accommodate for these controls. You’re also able to completely remap the inputs to your liking. Lastly, the game comes with “The City That Never Sleeps” DLC. While you can play it anytime after the story progresses to a certain point, this episodic adenture serves as a solid epilogue to the main narrative.
Marvel’s Spider-Man is spectacular on Steam Deck
It’s no surprise that Marvel’s Spider-Man on PC is brilliant. It’s arguably the best version of the game due to its enhancements and features. But even though I typically prefer playing both console and PC games on my LG CX OLED TV, I spent most of my time playing Spider-Man on Steam Deck. I’ve owned the Steam Deck for more than a month, but I continue to marvel at how well the handheld runs PC titles. Even after seeing how great God of War is on the Steam Deck, I had some trepidation about Spider-Man. Yes, developer Insomniac Games tweeted that it was Steam Deck verified (opens in new tab), but I still wasn’t sure how the end product would turn out. My fears were absolutely unfounded, though. As with God of War on Steam Deck, Spider-Man runs between 30 and 45 frames per second on medium settings. It can sometimes reach 60fps. This is comparable to playing the game on a PS4 Pro. The Steam Deck’s controller layout also made it easy to acclimate. In fact, there was virtually no learning curve. I had no problems swinging across the virtual New York City, or fighting Wilson Fisk and his army of henchmen during the game’s chaotic intro. The only thing I had to adapt to was the in-game button prompts. These use the Steam Deck’s UI instead of the PlayStation’s. But pressing X instead of Square, for example, wasn’t an issue after a couple of minutes. Spider-Man looks stunning on the Steam Deck’s 7-inch LCD screen. Despite the small screen and maximum resolution of 1280 x 800, I was able to see every little detail in the environment. From small brownstone houses to towering glass skyscrapers, everything looked authentic enough to touch. Character models, particularly the main cast, also appeared lifelike. You don’t get a diminished visual experience, as you would with some Nintendo Switch ports of graphically intensive games. This is the real deal.
Marvel’s Spider-Man is a winner on PC and Steam Deck
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered is another title that proves why we need more PlayStation games on PC. This game is every bit as good as God of War on PC, thanks to its enhanced graphics and performance. And on Steam Deck, Spider-Man makes for an exceptional portable experience. Port or not, this is one of 2022’s best games. Thanks to Spider-Man, I’m eager to see Ghost of Tsushima, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Returnal hopefully migrate to PC. This is doubly true now that I have a Steam Deck on which to play these games. Since Sony is unlikely to release another handheld console, the Steam Deck will have to serve as a sort of spiritual successor to the PlayStation Vita. Keep those PlayStation games coming, Sony. My Steam Deck wants more.
