If you intend to revisit Marvel’s Spider-Man when the remaster arrives on the PS5 later this year, you could be in for a shock.
Yesterday, Insomniac Games released the first trailer for its upgrade of the original 2018 title, revealing, in turn, a brand new face for Peter Parker. While improved visual fidelity for graphical assets like skin, eyes and teeth have been deployed across the board for every single character in the touch-up, Parker, in particular, has undergone complete facial reconstruction surgery. John Bubinak, who served as the face model for Peter in the PS4 version, has been replaced with Ben Jordan, who (coincidentally or otherwise, Insomniac hasn’t specified) looks remarkably similar to live-action Spider-Man actor Tom Holland.
The change isn’t subtle, then, and fans, clearly taken aback by the swap, have shared their mixed reactions on social media, many of which take issue with the character looking considerably more youthful than before. In order to address the disquiet and further explain why steps were taken to change Parker’s face model, Insomniac’s Bryan Intihar released the following statement on Twitter:
A few words from me on today’s news… pic.twitter.com/PpdWVuw4Mm
— Bryan Intihar (@bryanintihar) September 30, 2020
It’s not entirely clear whether Intihar’s explanation – that Insomniac desired a better facial match for Yuri Lowenthal’s voice – reveals the full picture, but without any further comment, we can only assume that nothing else happened behind the scenes as to prompt such an unexpected outcome. To completely replace something as recognizable as a character’s face when remastering a game is unheard of and a move that, to many, feels wholly unnecessary. Those who prefer Bubinak’s original performance, though, can, of course, stick to playing the PS4 release.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered will be available alongside the PS5 when it launches in November, though only as a bonus included with Ultimate Editions of sequel Spider-Man: Miles Morales. As per Sony’s previous comments, there are currently no plans to release a standalone version.