Marvel's Spider-Man: Silver Lining Review (PS4)

The release of Silver Lining marks the conclusion of the City That Never Sleeps expansion for Marvel's Spider-Man, and as a finale, it's a slight letdown. It's clearer now more than ever that a sequel is coming, but leaving so many narrative threads dangling makes for quite an unsatisfying ending to this extra story.

Even so, this still provides you with yet more Spidey action, and when the game is as fun to play as it is, that's not really a bad thing. The story continues where Turf Wars left off, reintroducing Silver Sable as Hammerhead continues his quest for power. The big baddy has been stealing supplies and equipment from Sable International, and as you can imagine, the fiery mercenary isn't best pleased. Her relationship with Spider-Man is explored as the pair butt heads in an effort to stop Hammerhead.

Ultimately, the story has some decent wrinkles, but while the overall arc is concluded, Insomniac has also used the extra narrative to set up some interesting plot for the practically guaranteed second game. It's exciting to get some hints at what the supporting cast will be up to in the future, but the result is a rather unfulfilling end to the DLC.

At least it's a fun ride. For the few hours the add-on will last, there's the usual assortment of extra missions, side activities, and suits to unlock. If you enjoyed the main game's gang hideouts and challenges, you should be pleased to hear there are more of both, and it's all worth doing. Completing all hideouts and challenges results in a new side mission for each, and some recordings you need to hunt down are also worth seeking out. Nothing presented here is going to blow your mind or change the game, but it's a formula that works. One thing we will say is that the difficulty has certainly ramped up across the three chapters, so you might have some trouble if your combat skills are rusty.

There's not much else to talk about without getting into spoiler territory. The bottom line is that Silver Lining doesn't stray from what Marvel's Spider-Man does best, and for a lot of fans, more of the same will be more than welcome. It's the end of the Hammerhead plot that misses the mark. There's nothing wrong with the chapter's writing, but the conclusion is predictable and falls a bit flat. As we've said, there are also a lot of question marks over certain characters, and it's a double edged sword. It's exciting to think about where the sequel will go, but at the same time, it definitely distracts from the main thread.