Marvel’s Avengers fans have a clear idea of what content is coming in the next few months, and many are excited about what is on the way. In June, the Cosmic Cube Villain Sector will be added to the game, giving gamers a replayable boss fight with Monica Rappaccini. Patrol Mode will likely follow in July, giving gamers a chance to further explore the Wasteland location from Future Imperfect. The War For Wakanda expansion will follow, providing the game with a massive content drop that gives it the best chance at a comeback.
However, despite all this content, many Marvel’s Avengers fans are holding out hope for Spider-Man’s DLC. With the webslinger confirmed to be coming after Black Panther, fans will be waiting until the very end of 2021 to play as the character — with the hero possibly even making his debut in early 2022. With no date confirmed, many are hoping that the wait will be worth it. While it remains to be seen if that happens, Spider-Man will likely not be a saving grace for the game. With several things holding the DLC back, it will not be the piece of content to revitalize Marvel’s Avengers.
The PlayStation Exclusivity Of Marvel’s Avengers’ Spider-Man DLC
The biggest downside to Marvel’s Avengers’ Spider-Man DLC is its PlayStation exclusivity, as it puts Crystal Dynamics in a tough position. Obviously, this exclusivity is bad news for PC, Stadia, and Xbox players, as those on the platforms will not be able to control the friendly neighborhood hero. Instead, they need to look on as those on other platforms enjoy the content. With this in mind, Spider-Man’s DLC will likely do nothing to revive the Marvel’s Avengers community on PC and Xbox. While PlayStation platforms may see hundreds of gamers logging in, those on other gaming systems may have less interest than ever before.
Marvel’s Avengers’ Spider-Man content is a double-edged sword for this reason, as there is no good outcome for the content. If it truly is amazing, then it will only revive the game’s community on a single platform. As such, it cannot save the game, as only a portion of the player base has access to the webslinger. While Spidey could be a ton of fun to play and add a lot of content to enjoy, limiting who can access said content is a major downside of the DLC. If Marvel’s Avengers was in a healthy place, this would not be as big of an issue, but this situation hurts the game’s recovery plan in a big way.
The flip side to this scenario is that there is less content in the Spider-Man DLC because of this exclusivity. Crystal Dynamics could deliver an intentionally small DLC for Spidey, limiting the content to a brief mission. Even further, it may just be kept to Peter Parker himself, with Spidey simply thrust into the game without much explanation. With his story confirmed to be standalone, not crucial to the main narrative, this is a possibility. While the DLC having less exclusive content might anger those on PC and Xbox less, as they would only be missing a character as opposed to several missions, it could make Spider-Man’s debut lackluster as well.
The Size Of Marvel’s Avengers’ Spider-Man DLC
Even if there is a solid amount of Spider-Man-themed content added to Marvel’s Avengers, it is hard to imagine it would be enough to fix the game’s many problems. While there is potential with the War for Wakanda expansion due to its sheer size, there has been nothing to suggest that the Spider-Man DLC will be anywhere near as large. Instead, players can expect something akin to the Operations for the two Hawkeyes if there is story content.
If this turns out to be the case, players are looking at a story campaign that is between 4-6 hours. They would also see a new boss fight added, and while there is potential here due to Spider-Man’s massive rogues gallery, a single addition would hardly be enough to keep people playing. One of the biggest issues Marvel’s Avengers has been facing is a lack of enemy variety, with bosses being particularly limited. Large AIM bots, Taskmaster, Abomination, and Maestro are all there is in terms of replayable fights, creating a stale lineup of Villain Sectors to complete. While a battle with Mysterio or Sandman would be welcome, this one fight is not enough to fix the issue.
On top of this, the DLC is unlikely to introduce new enemies due to its exclusivity, meaning that Crystal Dynamics' version of Spider-Man will be fighting the same AIM bots players have battled since launch. No new mission types are likely to be seen, either, meaning that similar objectives will likely be seen as players fight through a slimmed down version of New York.
A full new region like Wakanda is also unlikely, meaning that players will probably not have somewhere fresh to explore after they beat Spider-Man’s missions. With this not being the place for gear system changes to debut, either, gamers should not expect it to fix nagging problems with Marvel’s Avengers. In the best-case scenario, it seems like the DLC will deliver a short-but-sweet experience.
Potential Issues With Marvel’s Avengers’ Spider-Man DLC
The final thing holding Spider-Man back is that he might not translate well to Marvel’s Avengers’ style of gameplay. While his gadgets and fighting style are a perfect fit for upgradeable skills and Champion rank rewards, his actual webbing could cause issues. Crystal Dynamics could likely need to make an entirely new attack, with the physics of webs being a major part of what makes them fun. Webbing up and stunning foes could be entertaining, it likely won't be one-to-one with Marvel’s Spider-Man. While it is possible that the webs are a ton of fun to use, there is also a chance that they fall flat when compared to the hero’s other video game appearances.
An even bigger issue to overcome is Marvel’s Avengers traversal issues. Not only have players called out the sluggish movement for characters like Hawkeye and Black Widow, but getting around quickly is a defining feature of Spider-Man's character. If Spider-Man feels slow like Iron Man and Thor do when flying, web-swinging could be lackluster.
On top of this, Crystal Dynamics is facing an uphill battle when it comes to realism, as the game’s environments are not designed for the movement style. With just as many open spaces as there are cities, Spidey will likely be swinging from the sky like he did in older games. While this is hardly as worrying as slow movement, it does hurt immersion and could make the game’s version of the hero feel outdated.
While there are positives to Marvel’s Avengers’ Spider-Man content, such as seeing Peter interact with The Avengers in a game, it is going to be impossible for the DLC to please everyone. If it lacks content due to its exclusivity, or if Spider-Man is simply not as fun to play as the other heroes, then PlayStation users will be let down. If he is great and the DLC adds tons of content, only those with a Sony console will benefit from the addition — meaning the game stays dead everywhere else. While there are reasons to be optimistic about Marvel’s Avengers, it is hard to imagine a scenario where the Spider-Man content fully revives the game.
Marvel’s Avengers is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
