In a recent Twitter post, Insomniac Games developer Lindsay Thompson made note of how Sunset Overdrive influenced development on Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Developed in a second-party partnership with Xbox Game Studios, Insomniac's Sunset Overdrive remains one of the more memorable experiences of the eighth console generation. Arguably, it counts among the most underrated, as well.

Set in a colorful post-apocalyptic open-world, Sunset Overdrive drops players into Sunset City in the year 2027, where contaminated energy drinks have turned much of the citizenry into blood-thirsty mutants. In true Insomniac Games fashion, the over-the-top premise is only part of the fun, with unconventional weapons and high-octane traversal options accentuating the experience in the best ways possible. In many respects, a similar description applies to the studio's work on its two Marvel's Spider-Man projects, both of which raised the bar in terms of character movement. It would seem Sunset Overdrive was pivotal to Spider-Man's success in this regard.

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In response to a post from YouTuber Justin's Gaming Corner, Insomniac's Senior Cinematic Animator Lindsay Thompson explained that Sunset Overdrive served as a "huge proving ground" for the team's efforts in building Spider-Man PS4, Miles Morales, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Each game in recent memory ultimately paved the way for the next, Thompson said, hinting at the importance of Sunset Overdrive in the grand scheme of things. Thompson's full post on the matter reads as follows:

This doesn't come as too much of a surprise given the nature of game development, or content creation in general. Reason suggests early projects would inform those that follow in their footsteps. And Sunset Overdrive and Spider-Man bear so much in common that it would seem more shocking if the 2014 title didn't inspire design decisions for the PlayStation exclusive.

Insomniac and Xbox Game Studios unleashed Sunset Overdrive exclusively on Xbox One in 2014, then launched a PC port a few years later in 2018. Of course, the question that continues to linger is whether or not the adventure will ever migrate to PlayStation hardware, considering Sony's acquistion of the studio over two years ago. Because Insomniac owns the IP rights, Creative Director Marcus Smith has said nothing is stopping a potential sequel from eventually hitting the Sony-branded console.

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Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales are available to play on PS4 and PS5; Sunset Overdrive is playable across PC and Xbox platforms.

Source: Lindsay Thompson/Twitter