Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Review

The hype for Spider-Man 2 is real, and it’s safe to say that fans were eagerly anticipating its release. Insomniac has been incredibly successful with the franchise since the first game’s launch in 2018, having released the original, a remastered version of the same, and Miles Morales. That’s a total of four games in just five years, including the remaster.

However, please be aware that the following article contains spoilers for the game.

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Information and products Daniel used to play the game;

• Platform: PlayStation 5
• Edition: Digital Deluxe
• Screen: 4K Samsung TV 27″
• Audio: SteelSeries Arctic 7P+
• Release: 20th October 2023

Information and products Phil used to play the game;

• Platform: PlayStation 5
• Edition: Digital Deluxe
• Screen: 4K Samsung TV 46″
• Audio: HyperX Cloud II
• Release: 20th October 2023

Initial thoughts

Based on the marketing campaign from Insomniac, we had high expectations for the game. As soon as we took control of the character and started swinging, it sent chills down our spines. It’s worth noting that every Spider-Man game from Insomniac has left a similar impact on me when I first gained control of the character.

There’s a lot to unpack within this review but we released our first impressions article which you can read in full here. I’ll pull 2 paragraphs from that article which explain our initial thoughts in a much better light.

I haven’t even unlocked any abilities but the combat is already better. It feels more fluid which I didn’t even think was possible. There are new combos, and new finishers which add to the already vast level of combat. There’s also a lot of familiarity here when you play as both characters. I can’t imagine what new abilities are hidden throughout the game because even the new spider legs ability was fantastic.

Daniel Lewandowski

I’ve played a few missions and did a few side missions and stopped a few crimes, something I did notice which I was surprised at was the damage to the suit. While you fighting crime, in previous games you wouldn’t take damage to the suit, it would be fine from a rocket hit, in this new game, the suits actually tear and rip, you see scratches on the spider emblems, and more. It’s honestly a fantastic new feature.

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Phil Weaver

Dislikes

I always like to point out the flaws of a video game early in the review. I do this because I prefer to get the negative points out of the way first so that when you read it, you can save the best until last. My only dislike for the game is the fact it doesn’t have a New Game+ mode. I wasn’t a massive fan of this. I know it’ll come later and the developers have confirmed this is the case, the fact it’s not here at launch isn’t great. I am however thankful the game’s platinum trophy doesn’t require you to complete the game on Ultimate because as much as I’d like to, I don’t want to truly start all over again just for that. I’d ideally like to keep all my skills and abilities like the other games have allowed me to do.

Story

Insomniac has consistently delivered great stories in their games. While some may argue that the story in the Miles Morales game was weak, I don’t think that’s entirely fair. We must consider the fact that Miles is a relatively new character, having only been introduced in 2011. On the other hand, Peter Parker has been around since 1962, with numerous movies and adaptations featuring him. Therefore, it could be easier to connect with Peter than with Miles at the moment. Nonetheless, I believe that Insomniac did a fantastic job with both games and in my opinion, they are both masterpieces.

The game is not just like the previous ones, it’s even better. It has the same sections as before, in this game, you have the prologue, symbiote, and final scenes. However, it has been executed beautifully. All the sections are interconnected in a major way, and the new villains are introduced in such an entertaining way. Venom, in particular, is done better than the Tom Hardy version as it feels more comic-accurate.

Prior to playing the game, I came across IGN’s review which rated it 8/10. Despite disagreeing with the rating, I must say that their opinion about the story was on point. The story was truly amazing and had a lot of different aspects to it that made it stand out.

It’s not just the main story that’s captivating in Marvel’s Spider-Man game, but also the side missions. The side quests have interesting stories such as Yuri’s return and Miles’ hunt for the stolen music items. This game is a collaboration between Marvel and Sony, so there are Easter Eggs and storylines that can keep players invested for days. Wong even left a note for Miles, which opens up further possibilities for future games if Disney allows Sony to do so. It’s no surprise that Insomniac knows what they’re doing.

When comparing Spider-Man 3 with this game, you can see that the latter has a similar storyline but is executed in a much better way. The relationship between Peter and Harry was portrayed more effectively, the symbiote story was told in a more captivating manner, and the inclusion of Miles in the plot made it even more interesting. I particularly loved how Peter’s character gradually becomes more hostile as the game progresses with the suit. This gradual shift in his behavior is quite impactful. The moment when Miles faces off against Peter towards the end of this segment is extremely satisfying.

When Venom rolls in, it’s like the biggest holy shit moment on the planet. I just sat there in awe, I couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t just the fact he’s there now, you got to control him. This just added so much to the story side as well. I could talk about the story all day because there’s so much to unpack but overall it was perfect. I couldn’t have asked for more.

Insomniac left no stone unturned, including the Anti-Venom side. Admirable. It really is.

Gameplay

The one thing Insomniac Games is fantastic for is delivering some outstanding gameplay. This game is no less. The gameplay throughout the game is very much a top-notch experience, yes the gameplay has some bugs but ultimately the gameplay is outstanding.

This is the type of gameplay where I can go in countless times and not get bored or tired of it. I love every single bit of the gameplay. It’s just fantastic. The new addition to the gameplay was duel takedowns and automated team-up moves. Countless times I would be fighting an enemy and Miles would just in and finish him off.

The gameplay feature to unlock new suits and abilities is once again fantastic. I have no issue with how to upgrade your suits, abilities, or skillset. I believe this is one of the best ways in any video game to progress your stuff within a game.

While the gameplay story is fantastic. You could easily get distracted by the side-quest, and random events that happen throughout the city, it’s been many times when I would be going to the main story mission and then end up in a side-quest.

The app that allows you to pick and choose which mission or event you want to do, and the new addition to simply click and change character is a very nice feature to have. You do not need to wait for the story to force the change upon you.

Characters and customization

Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Negative Man, Kraven, Black Cat, Venom, Scream, and so many more. I could be here all day talking about the character’s side but as always in these Spider-Man games, you’re stacked with interesting characters whether that be a villain or a hero.

In regards to the customization aspects of the game, you’re spoiled for choice. When you’re far enough into the game you can choose whether to use the spider legs for Peter or the symbiote abilities. You can change suits whenever you want, there’s more to choose from here as well including new color options on a large portion of the suits. We’ll go through some of these options in the content section below.

Content

Within this game, there is a vast amount of content. From the story to the mini-games to the street-level crimes. It has a lot of range to go into this game and get sidetracked with the amount of stuff to do within this city and the extended map.

One of my favorite things to do is to simply go around and collect the different types of spider drones that are spread out throughout the city. They give off some Spider-Verse pulses which tell you the location of them.

As the content is great, there is missing content. New Game+. Insomniac Games added New Game+ after a few months in the first game, in the Mile Morales game it was there from the beginning. It is not there in this game. Although it will be added at a later date, I feel like this should have been in from the beginning.

The developers truly had something huge on their hands, when they decided on what content to have within the game, they chose right. The abilities and the system to upgrade were nothing short of surreal. Peter had his own ability tree, Miles had his with different abilities but on top of that, the developers added a duo ability tree, where you could give both spideys the same abilities.

Another thing I want to praise is the content surrounding the characters. While you play as both Spider-Men throughout the game, they took this a step beyond and delivered Venom content. They allowed you to run wild as Venom. They did absolutely amazing capturing the presence, ruthlessness, and brutality of Venom.

Top 5 favorite things about the game

1. The ability to play as both Miles and Spider-Man

2. The fact that Peter’s abilities have been upgraded. When you play the first game and the Miles game side by side, it’s more fun to play as Miles due to the venom abilities. This game levels that playing field.

3. The web wings and the swinging. It’s the perfect mix. If you want to swing fast you can, you need to travel over 1000 meters. Web wings it is. It is such a fantastic addition to the game.

4. The molecule mini-game. I absolutely love this mini-game. It’s so satisfying to see the molecules get destroyed. It’s a simple yet very good mini-game.

5. The Venom abilities when Peter has the symbiote. It’s so satisfying to see the symbiote go to work on enemies.

Bugs

1. One of the bugs I noticed was once you gained control of the Symbiote suit, the mission required you to take out the Hunters. I did this but wasn’t able to progress. Thankfully it was just a restart from checkpoint but this has happened a couple of times in other missions and side quests.

2. There are a few occasions where the game completely freezes and requires a restart from the latest checkpoint. Notably, this happened when I got access to one of Miles’s abilities.

3. Only once has this happened but I went to a crime scene and there was nothing there but the mission objectives were.

4. Miles had a floating head in the final scene. To be fair this is one of the bugs that really took away a lot from a scene for me.

5. There was a mission where at the beginning you would land on a street lamp as Peter, I did this originally and when I went into the actual mission, Peter and the other NPCs were glowing as if they were a candle light, it was so bright. All it took was a simple restart and the glitch fixed itself.

6. There was a funny moment in an early mission where in the background, an NPC got hit by a car and then started to float. It was not a major glitch but it was hilarious.

Buy, rent, wait for a sale, or avoid?

If you’re a casual or even a non-fan of the game, owning a PS5 and playing this game is an absolute must. There are many aspects of this game that make it lovable, as we have explained above. If you haven’t bought the game yet and have some extra cash to spare, we highly recommend that you buy it ASAP.

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Rating 10/10

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Trailer

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