Insomniac Games hit it out of the park once again with the release of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Following the monumental success of Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, hype has been through the roof for this sequel.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 sees the pair of Peter Parker and Miles Morales swinging through New York and fighting crime in their own unique way. The Spider-Men both do their best to juggle their personal lives with the great responsibility that comes with their powers. This comes with new challenges as well as new villains such as Kraven the Hunter, The Lizard, and Venom. Harry Osborne and the symbiote are a very big crux in this game’s story, with the symbiote suit altering Peter’s mind and actions towards the people he loves, not unlike an addiction. Miles, being the younger of the two, has his own challenges as well. As well as mounting school stress, Miles is haunted by his father’s death at the hands of Mr. Negative.
Like the first game, the story being told is one of loss and sacrifice, common motifs of any Spider-Man story. In these stories, Spider-Man must come to terms with the fact that he cannot save everyone. This is no different in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
In terms of gameplay, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 differs in many ways from its predecessor. The player can switch between Spider-Men on the fly, offering the player free choice in how they like to play. Peter now comes with metal spider arms, giving him various abilities until he gains the symbiote suit, which gives the player even more to choose from in combat. Miles also comes with many new abilities as well in his upgraded venom powers. Combat feels more fast-paced in general, with quicker access to gadgets making it possible to chain normal attacks with abilities and gadgets. The game also features skill trees for both Miles and Peter separately, as well as a skill tree for both Spider-Men. Miles and Peter have very different abilities, making it fun to switch between them for certain missions or encounters.
This game also does not slack on the suits. Fans of the comics will find many classic suits as well as new ones not featured in the first game. Each suit (with some exceptions) comes with three extra styles, each with different striking color palettes. Usually, these styles are references to other suits in Spider-Man media.
The side missions and collectibles are very well done and offer many things for the player to do when not playing through the main story missions.
Now come my only gripes with the game, but trust me, none of them are deal-breakers. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 takes away the gadget wheel from the first game and replaces it with a quick mapping system with four all-new gadgets. In my opinion, the new gadgets made for this game are pretty boring. The first game had tech like web-bombs, electric webs, tripwires, and other toys that are in the norm for Spider-Man, but this game does away with those and replaces them with what feel like instant win buttons for most encounters in the game.
My other complaint lies with the lack of post-game content. The first game is very easy to 100%, but the sequel feels even easier to do so. And with the game not launching with a New Game+ feature, once you’re done with the main story and side missions, the only thing that’s left to do is start a new save file. And while this game definitely warrants replays, myself and many others were looking forward to running through the game again but with all of the suits and skills unlocked. Nonetheless, this game is a must-buy for comic-book fans and anybody with a PS5.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is out now exclusively on PS5, physically and digitally.
