Marvel's Spiderman 2

About the Game

Game: Marvel's Spiderman 2
Genre: Action adventure, Platform, Fighting
Consoles: PS5
Published:SONY
Developers: Insomniac Games
Released: October 2023

Insomniac games is a company with a huge experience in the field of gaming, with many well-known creations. Since 2019 they re known as one of the best Sony companies. Insmoniac Games first hit was Spyro the dragon(1998) released for the PS1. This game and both of it's sequels are considered classics and Spyro is a well recognizable figure. Since Spyro, they once again teamed up with Sony and release two more successful series, Resistance(2006-2011) and Ratchet and Clank(2002-2021). In 2018 Marvel approached Insomniac with the aim of creating a game (AAA) in which Insomniac only accepted if the hero was Spiderman.

In 2018, Insomniac games surpassed themselves by creating the ultimate "super hero game" experience with the release of Marvel's Spiderman. The game had a huge positive response from the judges of various sites as well as from the fans. Spiderman won several awards and was nominated in several award shows. Sales show that the game was the best on PS4 as it exceeded 20 million sales. In 2020, with the release of the PS5, Insomniac games released the Marvel Spiderman Miles Morales spin off game whose story follows the end of the Marvel Spiderman DLC and the book "Wings of fury". In September 2021, the Marvel Spiderman 2 teaser trailer revealed that the continuation of the story will have Venom as the heroes' new obstacle as well as the famous Kraven the hunter. Before the games release, October 2023, Marvel Spiderman 2 spark a contriversy regarding its bundles, more specifically the collector's editions. The game was available in the following forms:

Standard: Included the game alone
Deluxe Edition: Included the game and in game content such as costumes and points.
Collector's Edition: Included the game(Digital), a custom Steelbook case, Bonus game content(same as Deluxe) and a diorama Statue of 19 inches of Venom .

The problem rose as the majority of fans although loved the huge statue of the two spidermen fighting Venom, they were not happy with the fact that the game was not gonna be included as a physical disc. At the same time, many compared to the first spiderman's game(2018) bundle which in comparisson included an artbook, PS4 themes, future access to DLC and the physical disc. All of them way cheaper than Spiderman's 2 bundle. However a look at the statue can show the different between the two bundles. Finaly more concerns rose from the fact that there was not an inclusion of the pass. A pass usually grants its owner access to future DLC content, which meant one of two things. Either the game will not have future DLC content or the DLCs were not part of the bundle. One month before the release of the game SONY released special themed PS5 consoles, cover plates and controllers. On October 20th, the game was released and immedietly became SONY's fastest game.

Story of the Game

The game reintroduces to Insomniac's universe of spiderman were both Peter and Miles struggle with their double identity. Peter struggles balancing his work and life whilst Miles is not being able to focus on the career he wants to follow. The story loves to show us the heroes struggles the more we progress. At the same time we re introduced to familiar faces from before such as Mary Jane, JJJ, Rio Morales and others. The previously teased Harry Osborn is finaly making his debut as he is outside of his healing tank. A new threat aproaches New York in the form of Kraven the Hunter. Kraven wishes to find a new playground in order to hunt new preys in the hope of finally meeting someone worthy. Him and his hunters are after various villains from the past entries as well as the two spidermen. As shown from the first ever teaser and both of the older games end credits, the other main threat is Venom. Both characters have a memorable role to play in the game. From the trailers and all the clips Sony released, the Lizard, mr Negative and the Sandman are also part of the new tale. Its important to state that although there are plenty of new faces, the plot is straight forward and easy to follow. Similar to the past entries we spent a decent ammount of times as Spidermen but also a fair ammount of times as Simply peter and Miles. Very similar to 2018's entry the ammount of villains does not take away from them as the developers balanced their screen time fairly.

As mentioned the game took its time to build the characters first before establishing their part of the story. For example, a great example was the character of Li AKA mr Negative. For those unaware Mr. negative was one of the main villains of the original title and he is responsible for killing Miles father, Jeff Morales. Miles never forgave him and unlike before he now has powers and lets just say he is not happy that his dad murderer is out of his prison. Furthermore, the symbiot as seen in the series(comics, games, movies etc) usually has a negative effect on its user. We were shown a different side of Peter during the trailers which is far more scarier in the final product. Without going into spoiler territory, Peter and Harry are not the only ones who experienced this negative effect. Throughout the tales different bonds and relationships are being tested in a never before seen way. From one side we have version of Peter who is always helping Miles and guides into becomming a great spiderman and on the other side we see him treating Miles as just a mistake who gets in his way or is simply not good enough. On the other hand we have a Miles who always puts his family front and keeps his mind calm who is now more confused and lost as ever, as the double life is now beggining to show its serious effects both proffesionally and mentally.

Thoughts on the story

In terms of story the game is perfect. Theres nothing i can say that the game did wrong. It took its time to introduce us to the heroes and carefuly set the pieces until the end. The writting shows the dreams and struggles of all the heroes and it plays well with the concept of fear and PTSD that they suffered, whether through loss or the fear of failling. The game balances it storytelling between the life of Peter and Miles without one being better written or more interesting than the other. Furthermore, the plot also includes side characters like MJ, Harry Osborn, Ganky, the villains and others. The game is packed with action scenes. Emotional scenes and lore piece exist everywhere including the side content which i insist you should do as you will discover more details and information about this world's spidermen. Insomniac also included a small video that summarizes the story of the games so far(not including the books) in case any new players pick up the game that havent played the past two entries.

Gameplay

Insomniac games found themselves a successfull formula as both Marvel Spiderman and Miles Morales are succesfull games. The latest title made sure to continue on making improvents where possible.
First things first, since it's a Spiderman game, the first thing to cover is the traversal. Traversal in Spiderman games is important since it is something that the players will be using alot throughout the entire run of the game. Without a doubt as seen in the past, Insomniac understood it and gave us what is probably the best experience yet. Swinging throughout New York city never felt so pleasant and satisfying. Every spider web that Spiderman shoots has to have a surface for it to connect to. While swinging there are different animations that spiderman triggers when moving or when the player does tricks. Both Miles Moralers and Peter Parker have different unique animations that are triggered and the same can be told for their tricks. The players are also able of building momentum and use it to build speed. New mechanics were added to make the sweb swinging better. For example based on feedback from the past entries we re now able to tap a button and make fast turns. This small addition makes swinging even more run. Furthermore, theres a new skill that allows the heroes to loop around in order to build speed or launch themselves. This loop mechanic is very helpfull when using the latest addition of the Spider wings. By pressing a button the heroes are allowed to glide through the city and fly above everything. Around the world there are wind current that Spidermen can use in order to build speed. Finally another great addition to the traversal is the swing. The heroes can shoot webs onto two surfaces, pull back and launch themselves forward.

The combat of the game is once again fun. It's a fast pace cobat with a fair amount of fighting animation for both on ground and midair fights. Both Spidermen fight the enemies in close combat, through their martial arts. That includes punching, kicking and flipping. Both Spidermen can dodge incomming attacks based on when their spider sense start to tingle. The more intense it looks the closer the hit is to land. There are plenty of animations for dodging and attacking. During combat the heroes can use their webs on the enemies. Whether is to disarm them, launch spidey towards them or have them pulled towards spidey. The heroes can always use the surrounding items to help them in their fight with the enemies, such as trash bins, boxes etc. Both the them share the same 4 spidey gadgets which can help them during combat. The number of gudgets is reduced from the original. This can be seen as a negative, as it made sense to have less gadgets in Miles Morales(2020) but since Peter is back it was expected to have a beigger ammount. For example, having all the ones from 2018, the ones form 2020 and new original ones. During combat, damaging and dodging opponents builds the focus bar. The focus bar can be used in order to heal the heroes or to simply use finishers. New animations were added for finishing attacks. A new addition to the game is the party battles. Whilst fighting during story or free lancing a random hero such as Miles/Peter(depending on who you re playing as and how far you re into the story) will join forces with you. The Ai is not holding its punches againts the mobs which was a nice addition. If both heroes attack the same mob, theres a chance a team finisher will occur.

Game'chasers
The special attacks first introduced in Miles Morales are back. Both Miles and Peter have their own unique special attacks to use. Miles similar to his spin off is using his venom powers againts the opponents. The attacks he has are the same found in 2020's title, however the more the player proceeds with the story new abilities are unlocked that were never before seen. Once again the main focus is the electric skills. Its worth mentioning that once again he is capable of becomming invinsible and hide in plain side. Peter on the other hand received a new pair of attacks. As seen in the trailers, Peter is able to use his spider hands in order to attack the enemies. This hands are capable for more than just melleeing the enemies. When the player reaches the point of the symbiot, Peter can replace the hands skills with the symbiot ones. Unfortunately for some, the suit powerups are no longer part of the game. This means that the players cannot unlock more ultimates when purchasing costumes and they re bound to use the specific skills that they were given. Another new addition to the game is the introduction of parry/block. When an enemy attackk has a certain type of glow, it means that it cannot be dodged. The player will have to either perfectly time the block button to parry the attack in order to counter or hold the button in order to block. Blocking still deals damage to Spidermen and it wont give the player an open window for a counterattack

In terms of enemies the game doesnt differentiate as much from the past entries as the majority remains the same. For example, you have the enemies using the guns, using their fists, using a close range mellee weapon, the "bigger" guys etc. All enemies require their own way to be dealt with but ofcourse every player can encounter them with their way of preference. Insomniac ofcourse introduce new enemy types that were based on the story enemies(Symbiots, hunters). The boss battles on the other hand are fantastic. Similar to before, the boss battles include intemse gameplay, reaction commands and ofcourse cutscenes. Each boss fights adds its unique gameplay elements in order to differentiate from the others. Whether is chasing the Lizard around the city, defending Spidey againts sound or simply having unique elements that are available to use during certain fights.

Game'chasers
The gameplay also has Normal hero gameplay. Durning certain parts of the story we re given the control of Peter Parker or Miles Morales Outside of their hero costumes. These missions usually require walking around and interacting with certain areas. Mary Jane makes her return as a playable hero as well. This time around the player has immediet access to the stunt gun and to the sound granades. Once again the players are requested to stealthy manuver around areas, take down enemies and gather certain information. Near the end, Mary Jane's gameplay turns intro a third person shooter which was a nice addition. Last but not least we re able to play as other heroes during the main story or during side content.

The developers added different power ups that the players can use to power up the heroes. During the pause menu the players can upgrade their spider gadgets. Upgrading them grants them more power and more quantity. Each spiderman also comes with their own unique skill tree. The players can upgrade certain skill of a hero to make it more powerfull. For example instead of Peter grapping two people with his grap he can grap multiple ones. Each skill is based on either Peter's abilities or Miles. Moreover, since both heroes have common elements, the game adds a third skill card that is responsible for both heroes. For example web swinging abilities that both heroes will receive or stealth based takedowns that once again both are capable of. Lastly, both heroes can be upgraded passively, meanning that the players can upgrade the heroes mellee damage, the health bar of each hero and ofcourse their focus bar.
Points for all of these upgrades can be found during main/side content and from the crates around the world.

Post Game Content && Collectables

Game'chasers
The game once again being a true sequel, has alot of post game content in many forms, however this time is more respective towards the players time. The form of the quests re:

Side story
Hero Side Quest
Collectables
Enemy bases

Just like before a simple form of post game content is simply moving around New York stopping Crimes. Unlike before these are not mandatory but doing them rewards you with items to use in order to upgrade your heroes or to purchase new suits. The game has plenty of side quests that have their own unique story. All of them are unique and have plenty of exclusive elements. To start with side mission are seperated into two options. Missions that require a specific Spiderman or missions that can be complete by anyone. The player can use the spider app to track any side activity. Each activity has a hero's face attached to it. If its both, then any of the heroes can proceed with the mission, however if its a single face it means that only the specific spider can help. For example, any of the heroes can respond to the Sandman mission, but only Peter can help Yuri againts the fire cult, and only Miles can help Mysterio with his problem and his mum with a museum incident. These missions usually take longer than the others as there's a plot that might be expanded upon. For example Yuri's quest to take down the cult consist of multiple quest. If you choose to do them immidietly the game will not give you the next quest until you proceed with the story.

Collectables

The game has plenty of collectables and objectives:

Photos: A camera symbol is marked on the world. Any of the spiders can approach the area and take picture of the destination. This is very similar to the past entries. Each photo is escorted with a phone call of a reporter reeflecting on the content.
Mysterium: Mysterio wanted to open an attraction that apparently was hacked. Miles is require to go around the world enter the portals of Mysterium and deal with certain objectives such as, clear within time, win by using n ammount of take downs, dont get hit and etc. This quest is escorted by a side story.
Sandman Memories: Sandman acts as the oppening boss to the game. After defeating him, the heroes find Sandman crystals around the land. When approached mini Sandmans will try to defent the crystal. When cleared, the heroes hear Sandmans tale, each piece at a time. The quest gives us insight view of Sandmans life.
Spiderbots: Whilst moving around New York, a spiderverse wave can be spotted in the open. When approached, the heroes will find a spider bot based on a hero from the Spiderverse film. Theres a mystery around them and a secret cutscene when all re collected.
Prownler bases: Miles unlce requires Miles help in order to get something from his secret hideouts from when he was the Prowler. When approaching the bases Miles has to detect the secret passage and sometimes solve the puzzle in order to enter it.
EMF Experiments: The green leaf symbols require the help of Peter. During this missions we re solving puzzles and also playing minigames such as bee shooting or bike riding. These missions are giving us a beter view of Harry's and Pete's view.
Hunter Blind & Hunter base: The heroes can both find these secret bases around the world. The aim is to do take down the enemies and locate the location of the rest of the bases. These missions give us a better view of the Character of Kraven the hunter.
Flame missions: These missions have Peter teaming up with Yuri/Wraith in order to take down the flame worshipers who believe upon a prophecy. These Quests set the pieces together in order for a future character, whilst exploring Yuris and Pete's relationship
Brooklyn Vissions: These missions have Miles Morales hellping people in the academy he attemmps and also his mum. This side content expands upon Miles's heroic acts and his struggles.
Unidentified target: These bird bots can be found whilst using any of the heroes. The task is simple, you have to use the glide wings and stay within the birds trail in order to hack it. When hacked the bird will show the image of a target Kraven was after. Similar to the Flames, this quest teases a potential future threat.
Spider man Suits: The suits very similar to before can be acquired by spending points. Unlike before the costumes do not unlock new skills for the heroes. Furthermore some of the suits can change their color pallete.
Symbiot Nest: Once unlocked, Symbiot spikes will form a tower with a heart in its core. Any of the heroes can solve them by placing a "bomb", and defending it for a specific time limit.

Sound and Graphics

In terms of graphics and sound the game has the Playstation studio quality wich is simply top. The songs used in approprite ways to set the mood of what was happening. The voice actors were phenomenal and gave their all. I was very shocked with the Performance of Peter during the symbiot scenes. It was a very different look for the Peter we ve seen during both Past entries. At the same time the voice of Kraven the hunter also shocked me as i was left speechless by his performance during certain scenes. Ofcourse the rest of cast also did outstanding jobs but those two were more intense. Furthermore, the game's audio also changes based on whether or not Peter and Miles are swinging/flying through the city or fighting enemies. The heroes find it more difficult to speak, mainly duo to the air and the pressure. Finally a great addition to the sound can be seen during a side quest where the developers gave us probably the closest experience to a deaf person's hearing. I will not elaborate to avoid certain spoilers.
The game runs smooth and the cutscenes are even better than the ones found in the movies. The cinematography and sound used in the gameplay sections are action packed that will keep at the edge of your sits. Being a PS5 game allowed Insomniac to have ray tracing enabled during the game. A great detail can be seen on the heroes suits as the more damage they receive, the more teared up/ battle damage they get.

Final Thoughts

Overall this is a probably the ultimate Superhero game experience. It can be 100% completed within 25 hours and the player can receive the platinum trophy and satisfaction on defeating the game. Its less the time than the original howver it doesnt feel repeatetive. The world design of the game is very similar to the older ones filled with plenty of easter eggs from the marvel cinematic and in generall references.Easter eggs such as Dr Strange house, the Avenger tower, Stan Lee's statue, the fantastic four building can be found while walking around or doing side quests. Furthermore the world expanded and we can now venture across the bridge into new territories. Saying that the developers just copied paste th older map would be mean and unfair. Details can be found in every part of map. The characters and generally all the heroes are crafted with care and in respect to their original chracter design with Insomniac's touch. The world design is amazing with NPCs walkig around mining their own bussiness. Whether they re walking, esxercising in the park or even playing basketball. It is also worth mentioning how Insomniac gathered plenty of artists in order to create 100% original graffiti that decorate the world's walls. The gameplay is fast and the swinging unique and "realistic". The additions of the spider wings, and swinging tricks were phenomenal and a great addition to the overall great formula. The story as mentioned is by far the games strongest part, depictioning the struggles these heroes and villains are going through. As already mentioned, Insomniac's Spiderman 2 has already established it self as a great sequel and as a great Playstation exclusive.

On the other hand there were two minor mistakes in my opinion. The first one being the removal of Peter's ultimate attacks and reduction of his spider gadgets. Allow me to explain. In the review of 2018's Marvel's Spiderman i mentioned how these suits abilities and the number of special gadgets(8) allowed the players to create their own unique playstyles. We could have made a stealth run, a speedrun strat, a tank one and plenty more. The power ups and the gadgets allowed that for us, and thus the game was highly re playable. Some powerups were considered pointless however the fact that we had them allowed for some to do a certain built with them. On the sequel these are all gone and replace with the symbiont powers. Although they re fun and a great addition, they can be counted in one hand. At the same time, the gadgets went from 8 to 4 meanning that some were removed or even replaced.
The second critisism of mine comes to the web swinging. In 2020, Miles's Spiderman seperated from Peter's due to his venomous(electic) powers in and out of combat. In Marvel's spiderman 2, the developers decided to give Peter the same abilities during webswinging either through his spider hands or thanks to his symbiot(Venom) powers. This in my opinion not only takes away from Miles unique abilities but it also makes both Spidermen feel the excact same with the exception of the different unique animations. Personally after playing though the game(100%) i dont see the need to make this change. The Game play of both Spidermen was good in their own respective ways.