Spider-Man in Mark Bagley's cel-shading comic book style. Playing as Venom is an original and fun addition. Open New York to explore, varied missions. Less good than Spider-Man 2 but the comic book visual style is charming and faithful.
Your verdict
Category
Action Adventure1 player12+
Description
Peter Parker and Eddie Brock share the spotlight in this open-world game with a visual style drawn from Mark Bagley's Ultimate Spider-Man comic. Published by Activision, released in 2005 in the United States and Europe. A fully explorable Manhattan, alternating Spider-Man and Venom play, storyline by Brian Michael Bendis, improved web-swing physics, and Sinister Six confrontations.
Ultimate Spider-Man review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
3/5
Music
★★★★★
"Memorable"
4/5
Story
★★★★★
"Captivating"
Drawn in bold inked lines and vivid flat colours, New York takes on the look of a comic page in motion. The cel-shading, the strong outlines and the panels that burst in transpose the spirit of the page beautifully. This graphic faithfulness to the Marvel comic makes it one of the most stylish adaptations of its time.
Is Ultimate Spider-Man still worth playing in 2026?
An open world action game from Treyarch, Ultimate Spider-Man adopts a superb cel-shading art direction reproducing the comic's line, alternating between Spider-Man and Venom across a freely web swung New York. The fluidity of aerial movement, the graphic style faithful to the panels and the alternation of the two characters win over fans. The repetitive missions and a short story weigh on it. A title for Spider-Man fans and superhero sandboxes with a strong comic style on Xbox.
