Insomniac Games addressed one gamer’s concern that their upcoming Spider-Man game relies on Quick-Time Events (QTEs) too much. The entire exchange took place over Twitter just a few days after the company went over web swinging in a Game Informer video.
Game looks great, but feels like extremely scripted at times with a lot of QTEs and dramatic cinematics. If the entire game is filled with those from mission to mission, then it will end up being a problem. Half the gameplay looks like Arkham series anyways. #PlsDontSuck
— EVILOSERUN (@eviloserun) April 6, 2018
Insomniac Games responded quickly:
Have you seen a single QTE in the Game Informer footage?
There are a very very minor point of the game used at cinematic set pieces
— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) April 6, 2018
Insomniac Games has previously stated that Spider-Man will provide plenty of opportunity for exploration and sidequests, and if they are to be believed, this part of the game won’t rely on QTEs.
“It’s very much a free-roam New York City” said James Stevenson, the developer’s community manager. “Size-wise, it’s the biggest we’ve ever built, being several times larger than our last one. There’s tons of stuff to do, too. Obviously you can chase those main storyline moments, or you can just go play in the city to explore and… uh, do a lot of stuff we’re not talking about yet. But rest assured: it’s a populated, living, breathing New York City. Cars on the streets, people on the streets, and yes, you would assume that Spider-Man will be handling some crimes throughout the city. Absolutely. More on that at a later date.”
In this same interview, Stevenson assured that QTEs are isolated and used sparingly. He also touched on the game’s engine, which is the same one that ran their game Sunset Overdive.
“We’ve also worked a ton on our open-world tech to allow us to draw this super dense, vibrant city,” he said. “Plus, gameplay-wise we’re just getting better every day. We’ve been working really hard on it since day one, and we’ve had the benefit of a lot of support from Sony and Marvel, too.”
Spider-Man is a PlayStation 4 exclusive and is set for release on September 7.