The long awaited Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 released October 20, 2023. Because of the success of the first two games, the hype surrounding the PlayStation 5 exclusive game was high. In fact, it became PlayStation Studios’ fastest-selling game in company history. The hype was backed by seven nominations at the Game Awards including Game of the Year. So are these honors really deserved? Yes. Here’s why.
The first indicator of the game’s deserving success comes from the plot. Without spoiling anything, I really liked the plot. It was very predictable but it just works too well for the predictability to take away from it.
One of the main reasons it works so well is because of the villain choice. Sandman makes his first appearance in the Spider-Man games and was the right way to remind players of the game’s new and returning mechanics. Kraven the Hunter was my favorite villain. He was a menacing villain who had an interesting motive. Of course, there was Venom. The legendary, monster-like symbiote that consumes everything and anyone was perfect for the star villain role.
As for the heroes, New York City’s Spider-Men are the greatest duo since Shaq and Kobe. Once Peter Parker is consumed by the Venom symbiote (really fun to play with by the way), Miles Morales does everything in his power to get him back. Peter again serves as a mentor for Miles as he grows as Spider-Man and as a man. I did find that Peter was nerfed heavily in this game and his Spidey Sense or lack thereof during cutscenes essentially made him unaware of incoming attacks. This made him vulnerable and weak. Miles was probably the stronger Spider-Man throughout the game but besides his character arc with Mr. Negative and Peter, he lacked missions relevant to the main plot. No matter what though, their bond remained strong. I found that missions where they fought together showcased their bond the best. Even the small, street level crimes where you happen to run into one another were really cool.
John Paesano returns as composer for the game. The preceding games had phenomenal themes and Paesano delivered yet again. Paesano blended the previous games’ themes together and it was a masterpiece. Besides Kraven’s intimidating theme though, the villain themes weren’t impactful.
Gameplay wise, Spider-Man 2 keeps it safe and doesn’t take many risks when it comes to new mechanics. The only new mechanic that was added was the dodging and parrying system. This created a more reaction based game that definitely made the game more punishing. The returning abilities tab also stood out to me. There wasn’t a noticeable difference in damage dealt between the different abilities so it made the game feel unique and customizable. There’s one mission where the gameplay is beyond belief. It was amazing and more than any Spider-Man fan could’ve asked for. If you end up playing the game, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
There was also some unconventional gameplay when it came to the love interests of the game. In the first game, Peter’s love interest MJ had multiple missions that seemed insane for a regular person to do and boring. It had the basic stealth game design but didn’t have the kick when it came to laying enemies down. In the sequel, they made it a point to make the MJ missions enjoyable with less structure and more punch to them. Miles’ love interest Hailey is a deaf artist. They took full advantage of representation by creating an entire mission where you play as Hailey. In the mission, you spray paint walls that previously had graffiti on them to make murals around the city. You do all this with no sound and you only communicate your emotions through emojis that pop on the screen. The mission was praised for its portrayal of a deaf character and was even nominated for a few awards.
The aforementioned horror aspect of the game was unexpected. The game explored frightening scenes where the Lizard or Venom could pop out at any time. They really only did that once before in the first game with Rhino but that was only because you were playing as Miles before he got his powers. This time, you’re Spider-Man but you still feel the suspense as you slowly maneuver forward.
My major complaints are actually pretty minor. There’s two side missions that I didn’t enjoy. One just felt like busy work and the other didn’t make a whole lot of sense if you completed it after the main story like I did. Similarly, the street level crimes don’t make much sense because all the different goons in the game pop up no matter what crime it is. They are unnecessary and visually chaotic. Additionally, stealth missions are practically useless because you can brute force your way through levels. Lastly, the game seemed short but maybe it was just me rushing through it. I still hope there will be a DLC.
The complaints I have don’t come close to changing my opinion on this game. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is a must play for Spider-Man fans, Marvel fans, and gamers in general. The fact that the game hints at a third installment makes me excited for the future of the Insomniac Games Spider-Man universe. All things considered, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 earned a 4.75 on the DrewMeter.
