Insomniac Games and Sony announced the improvements coming to Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered on Wednesday, and among the changes is a new face model for Peter Parker. The PlayStation 5 version of the game, which originally came out for PS4 in 2018, boasts plenty of technological advantages to the original release, but most fans have gotten hung-up on Peter Parker's new look, which might look familiar to some.
"We loved working with John Bubniak on the original game; however, to get a better match to Peter Parker/Spider-Man actor Yuri Lowenthal’s facial capture, we have cast Ben Jordan to be the face model for Peter Parker on the PS5 console," said Insomniac in a post on the official PlayStation blog. "He looks incredible in-game, and Yuri’s moving performances take on a new life."
Many have already drawn comparisons to another famous version of Peter Parker: Tom Holland. Obviously it isn't actually Holland, as Insomniac revealed that Ben Jordan is providing the likeness for the character in the game, but that hasn't stopped fans from reacting to the new model.
There's been something of a backlash and confusion among fans already, which has led to a statement from Insomniac creative director Bryan Intihar. "Today's news about the new Peter Parker face model has surprised some of you, and we at Insomniac totally understand your reaction," Intihar wrote. "But as we discussed the franchise's future and moving to the PS5, it quickly became apparent that delivering even more believable-looking characters made finding a better facial match for actor Yuri Lowenthal. ... I hope you can trust us that this decision is what we feel is best for the future of the franchise."
Among the other additions to the game is an optional Performance Mode, which targets a 60fps frame rate over the original release's 30fps lock. There's also other graphical bells and whistles added, including ray-tracing and higher fidelity assets. Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered is included with the 'Ultimate Edition' of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales for PlayStation 5.
Check out reactions to the changes below, and peep footage of the game running at 60fps on PlayStation 5 above.