2018's Marvel's Spider-Man was a big leap forward for the Web-Head in terms of his video game career. With Insomniac Games at the helm, it told the story of an older, wiser Peter Parker and his struggles of balancing a post-college life with that of a superhero. Both the gameplay and narrative were exactly what fans wanted from a modern, AAA Spider-Man title, and so it became one of the PlayStation 4's biggest hits, spawning a spin-off based on Miles Morales and an upcoming sequel for the PlayStation 5.
Speaking of the PS5, both Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales have been ported over to Sony's latest console. Thanks to the more powerful system, players can experience both Peter's and Miles' adventures with better graphics, frame rates, and new features. Now that a PC port for Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered is coming on August 12th of this year, Spider-Man fans who own PCs can partake in saving New York by doing what a spider can. The port contains the main game as well as all three episodes of The City That Never Sleeps DLC, along with PC-specific features like mouse and keyboard support, adjustable render settings, ray-traced reflections, and more, but one thing Insomniac Games should consider has to do with Peter Parker's face.
The Faces of Spider-Man
For those who don't know, 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man has a different facial model for its lead protagonist, Peter Parker. John Bubniak was the facial model for the original game and was replaced by Ben Jordan for Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales on both the PS4 and PS5 releases; Jordan also replaced Bubniak in the PS5 version of Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered. Fans of the original game speculated that the face change was due to Insomniac wanting its version of Peter Parker to resemble Tom Holland, who plays Peter Parker in the MCU. Some even thought the new face didn't match that of the Peter Parker Insomniac wanted to portray, as he looked way too young.
In reality, however, Insomniac wanted a facial model that was more similar to Spider-Man's voice actor, Yuri Lowenthal. By swapping to Ben Jordan, whose facial structure is similar to Lowenthal's, developers would be able to more accurately animate Yuri Lowenthal's facial gestures and translate them into the games. It all sounds a bit farfetched, but Peter's facial animations in both Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered and Miles Morales aren't bad at all, so Insomniac must have succeeded in its goal.
The Peter Parker That Fans Love
However, just like the change from Tobey Maguire to Andrew Garfield and Andrew Garfield to Tom Holland, people are bound to complain that the current Peter Parker doesn't resemble the one they grew up with. John Bubniak's facial model, despite looking a bit dated when compared to Ben Jordan's Peter Parker, was the one fans of the original Marvel's Spider-Man were introduced to. A good portion of the game has fans playing not as Spider-Man, but as Peter Parker.
These moments may not as be as action-packed as Spider-Man's battles, but they were filled with emotion and took full advantage of Peter's facial animations, since most of the game's pivotal scenes have Peter without the mask on. First-time experiences tend to be the most impactful, so it's understandable when fans of the original game are opposed to Peter Parker's new face.
Spider-Man Fans Deserve Both
![Spider-Man PS4 Game Will Let You Play as [SPOILER] - Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson](https://static0.gamerantimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/spider-man-peter-parker-and-mary-jane-watson.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
It has been proven that both of Peter Parker's facial models work well when it comes to conveying emotion. The Bubniak face model set the groundwork in the original Marvel's Spider-Man while the Jordan face model successfully brought the character to a new console. Insomniac Games has both these facial models and animations tucked away somewhere, so it would be in everybody's best interests to have both of them in Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered for the PC. The Jordan face model already looks good, so all Insomniac would have to do is update the original Bubniak face model for modern PCs. This way, fans both old and new can play the game with whichever Peter they want. The voice acting and portrayal of the character would be the same, save for the appearance of the man behind the mask.
It goes without saying that if Insomniac doesn't add Peter's old face back into the game, modders will definitely find a way to bring it back one way or another. Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered on PC has so much potential to bring new life to the game, and adding the original face of Peter Parker is just one of many ways to bring a customizable experience to PC players.
Spider-Man Remastered is out now on PS5 and is coming to PC on August 12, 2022.