One of the most popular heroes to hit our consoles is Spiderman. As early as the 1980s, game adaptations of the iconic web-slinger have been available. Despite the number of game adaptations of the web crawler, none have gotten the most acclaim and praise than Insomniac Game’s 2018 Marvel’s Spider-Man. Gamers praised its adaptation, including how it was written and how it differentiated itself from most superhero games with its open-world setting and fantastic storytelling. Fast forward five years, and we now have its highly anticipated sequel, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and boy, is it fun.
Comic books have long dominated pop culture. No other genre has captured the imagination more than superhero comics, particularly Marvel and DC comics. There’s no question that superhero comics are among the most adapted media for television, movies, and even video games. A reason superhero comics have so many game adaptations is the allure of superpowers and how people would like to experience them in one form or another.
Double the Spidermen, double the story
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is technically not the sequel to the original. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, released in 2020, is the direct sequel to the original game and follows the story of the titular Miles Morales, the second Spiderman. The only reason it wasn’t the direct sequel is that it focuses more on Miles Morales, with Peter Parker, the series’ protagonist, taking more of a side character.
Going back to Spider-Man 2, the story follows both Peter Parker and Miles Morales. Unlike the previous titles in the series, the sequel actually lets you play both heroes. Each character has his own story with unique side-missions only available to him. While the majority of the story still revolves around Peter, Miles’ struggles as a Spiderman and development also play a crucial role in the story.
The whole (main) story would set you back around 25 hours (without doing side-quests), and for 100% completion around 40 hours. There’s a lot to do around New York City, or even when you’re not on a mission simply exploring and swinging around the tall buildings, you’ll be glued to the game.
Webslinging in style
If you’ve played the first two games in the series, you’ll be very familiar with the gameplay of this sequel. As much as the first two games were great, the latest installment just carried over most of the previous game’s mechanics and controls and then some. Even though that’s the case, it does not take away from the fact that these are enjoyable mechanics, and hey if it isn’t broken don’t fix it.
For those getting into the series for the first time, Marvel’s Spider-Man is an open-world beat-em-up game. The goal of the game is simply to hit every enemy and try to build up a combo. Once you reach enough hits you fill up your focus bar which can be used to either heal or perform a finisher to instantly take out one enemy. The gameplay is satisfying and with the added feedback from the PS5 controller, it makes the game even more compelling.
What sets this game apart from its predecessor is the number of different playstyles you can approach it. While main missions are stuck on a specific Spiderman, other missions allow you to choose between the two. Both spidermen have distinct abilities which while almost similar, do provide a bit of advantage in certain situations.
Another unique mechanic introduced in this game is the web wings, which allow the two to glide in the air, seemingly flying across the city. Finally, the last unique mechanic introduced is the web-line, which allows Spiderman to create tight-ropes which expands the stealth mechanic introduced in the first two games.
I found myself preferring to play stealth than the standard beat-em-up whenever it was available. The game is not a stealth game by any means, but somehow, Insomniac has managed to make it a bit more rewarding than the standard “Leeroy Jenkins” charge approach.
The superhero game conundrum
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is a great game, by all means. It has a great story which was wrapped up nicely and satisfactorily. The developers have made room for future titles by previewing future villains and characters, making me want the latest installment to come soon. Unfortunately, I feel most superhero games suffer this same fate.
One thing I found after playing the game up to 100% completion is that the game lacks any meaningful replayability. You can complete around 98% of the game before the final two main story quests, and by then, you’ll be fully decked out. After beating the big bad boss, I found myself not able to do anything meaningful. Sure, the occasional minor crimes needed to be stopped, but after grinding that throughout the whole game, it just became too repetitive towards the end.
For me, this game felt like watching a superhero movie. You came for the hype, and the movie delivered, but you’re not compelled to watch it again afterward. Even when it comes out on streaming platforms, you do necessarily rewatch it immediately (except when you’re a diehard fan); since you generally know the outcome and how the heroes get there, there’s no twist left to hook you in.
I love that you can still swing around New York after beating the game, but after a while, the allure loses its luster. That said, the more than 45 hours I’ve spent in the game were worthwhile and, honestly, some of the best in recent games I’ve played.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 reminded me of what it was like to play games again when I was a kid —mindlessly swinging around New York City, exploring every nook and cranny without any expectation, and best of all, becoming Spiderman for at least a couple of days. Honestly, I couldn’t ask for more.
Platform: PlayStation 5
Developer: Insomniac Games
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Words by Gabriel Pe
Also published in GADGETS MAGAZINE November-December 2023 Issue