12 Spider-Man Remastered tips being greater than ever

Spider-Man PS4
(Image credit: Insomniac)

Our Spider-Man Remastered tips and tricks will help you get to grips with exploration, combat, webswinging and stealth in this fast-paced superhero game. Spider-Man Remastered is the great encapsulation of the Spider-Man experience, and if you're playing to get ready for the sequel coming soon, now's the chance to really get to grips with what being the webhead is all about. Read on to find everything you need to know about being Spider-Man and getting a handle on great power.

1. Make combat easier with a perfect dodge

One of the first Skills you should unlock is Perfect Dodge in the Defender skill tree, which in turn lets you buy the Dodge Window skill. Perfect Dodge means Spidey automatically webs the enemy whose attack he’s just avoided when you counter perfectly, which is as his Spidey sense turns blue. Dodge Window on the other hand gives you a slightly longer timing window to perfectly dodge an attack. I can’t overstate how important it is to get these two abilities as soon as possible as they’re a blessing for crowd control. The Last Stand skill that follows Dodge Window is also spectacularly useful, as it’ll give you a moment of slow-mo to help avoid a potentially lethal blow. 

2. Don’t get too button-mashy in combat

There are a lot of different enemy types and certain kinds can only be beaten in specific ways, so try not to get caught up in the moment and just hammer punch all the time. Use Air Launcher (hold square) for baton enemies, Dodge Under (square, then circle) for shields, and web up heavies before attacking. Using the right moves at the right time is vital to take control of a situation. 

3. Always take out the goons with guns first

When you’re fighting in New York’s streets you’ll want to take out gun wielding foes as soon as possible, as having to dodge bullets while fighting large groups is bothersome to say the least. While you can just punch them, there are skills to make the job easier. Tapping Triangle for a Web Strike, for example, will propel you to a targeted enemy, which is useful to reach a threat quickly. More useful though are Pistol and Baton Yank, and it’s high power cousin, Rifle, Shield, and Launcher Yank skills, which will let you pull weapons right out of people’s hands. While Yank and Throw lets you hurl things back at people as an attack. 

4. Stick a web mine on a person to take out two foes

A little way through Spider-man’s main story you’ll unlock Trip Mines, which shootout a strand of web when triggered wand then ties enemies to walls. But walls, floors, and ceilings aren’t the only thing you can stick them to. Oh no. They stick to enemies too, which means you can take two enemies out of the battlefield simultaneously when things get hairy. There’s even a trophy for doing it 10 time called “Hug It Out”.

5. Practise your skills to earn rewards at bases

Across the world bases for the various criminal factions will pop up, with Fisk’s being the first, as well as various crimes to stop. As Spider-man it’s your responsibility to beat them into submission. However, instead of rushing in and acquainting their faces with your webs, spare the time to look at the bonus challenges for each. They could be things like sneakily taking down three snipers, or perfectly dodging 10 attacks. Not only will you get bonus XP and extra tokens for completing these challenges but  it’s a great way of practicing any moves you’re having trouble with. 

6. Let go at the bottom of a swing for more speed, and at the top for more height

It doesn’t take long to get the hang of Spider-man’s swinging but there are a couple of ways to make sure you’re getting the most out of it. If you want to go as fast as possible, like when you’re chasing a villain and/or car, release R2 when you’re at the bottom of your arc, when you’re closest to the ground. Your momentum will be conserved into forward velocity, rather than an upward swing and you’ll go a lot faster than you could with Web Zips alone. Or, if you need to get high sharpish, let go at the top of a swing to catapult Spidey high into the air. 

7. If you can't find a certain type of resource you probably haven't reached it in the story yet

Everyone gets a little impatient sometimes, and in open-world games I think it’s fair to say that players are used to almost every resource being available as soon as they’re let loose into the world. But in Spider-man you’ll have to continue plugging away at the main story to unlock all its six resources (base, landmark, research, crime, backpack, and challenge). You’ll get through about a quarter of the story before all of them are unlocked, so just stay patient. 

8. The Electric Punch ability is great for crowd control

As the game progresses you’ll encounter larger numbers and more varieties of enemy types which can make dealing with them all even tricker. Unlock the Electrically Insulated Suit and you’ll get the Electric Punch ability which is a Godsend for crowd control. When your suit power is active you can click both the sticks to activate electric punches that chain shocks between enemies and can stun entire groups in a few blows. Pop it at the right time and you can pretty much shock an entire mob and really turn the tide of a fight. 

9. Plan a strategy and use your Gadgets before starting a fight

As the game progresses you’ll unlock more gadgets to use in a fight and thinking about how to use them before you throw a punch can make a huge difference. Spidey starts a lot of encounters perched up high, surveying the fight he’s about to have. While this usually give you a few chances to stealth eliminate enemies, it’s also a chance to strategize - see a point enemies are going to run through? Place a trip mine. Big group together? Throw a web bomb to incapacitate them as you attack. Keep looking for opportunities during the fight as well. If you’re on a roof a well placed concussive blast could knock a bad guy off for an insta-kill, for example. Or if they’re clustered together an Electric Web could stun several opponents. Basically let the gadgets do as much work as they can and save you the effort. 

10. Check the in-game benchmarks for extra XP 

PlayStation might have its very own trophy system, but Spider-man didn’t let that stop it from including its own in-game achievements called ‘benchmarks’. There the game keeps track of how far and fast you swing, how many enemies you web to a wall, that kind of thing. You should keep an eye on it too, as it’s a great way to give yourself some XP while you’re swinging around New York. 

11. Keep checking newspaper dispensers for headlines

One of the collectibles in the game is to get all 28 Daily Bugle headlines. These unlock at certain points in the main story, and reflect the grand event that's just happened - you know, like real newspapers. All you have to do is to go to one of the bright red newspaper dispensers on the street, hit triangle, and a front page will pop up on screen. Dismiss it with circle, and in the top left-hand corner of the screen you'll see a counter that keeps track of how many headlines you've found out of 28. 

Confusingly, there's also a section in the 'Collections' tab of your inventory called 'Newspapers' which automatically updates with the latest headline even if you don't get it from a dispenser. It's worth frequently checking newspaper dispensers as you go to tick off all the headlines, but even if you neglect doing it for quite a while you'll still be able to collect the Daily Bugle headlines by just activating newspaper dispensers until you aren't given a new headline. 

12. You can fast travel using subways 

Going to the map isn't the only way to fast travel in Marvel's Spider-Man, although it is the fastest. If you want a bit of extra in-game immersion, head towards one of the subway entrances and go down the steps to automatically bring up the fast travel menu. You don't get anything special for travelling this way, but it is a neat little detail that's worth knowing.

If you fancy becoming a Spidey photographer, you should learn how to take selfies in Spider-Man PS4.

Zoe Delahunty-Light

While here at GamesRadar, Zoe was a features writer and video presenter for us. She's since flown the coop and gone on to work at Eurogamer where she's a video producer, and also runs her own Twitch and YouTube channels. She specialises in huge open-world games, true crime, and lore deep-dives. 

With contributions from