The much anticipated sequel to Insomniac’s 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man introduces players to a new side of Spider-Man, while carrying on a lot of familiar beats (for better & for worse).

(SPOILERS BELOW)

Considering all the abject hatred that people give Marvel & the MCU as of recent, it’s hard not to deny that this year has been the (unofficial) Year of the Spider. From Across the Spiderverse being Marvel’s only major box office hit this year, to this very game selling over 5 million copies since launch, it’s hard to deny that fans are fed up with the antics of Peter Parker, let alone Playstation users. With Spider-Man 2 being Sony’s big exclusive launch for 2023, there were a lot of issues that both Sony & developer Insomniac Games had to overcome. How would this game feel different compared to the others? How would New York evolve to better suit the new technology of the PS5? Would Kraven & Venom co-exist or consume each other, or was there a secret villain amongst the shadows? In short, does Spider-Man 2 stand out as it’s own, or is it just another Spider-Man sequel swinging around New York City?

Well first impressions are important, and this game is gorgeous! From the leaves blowing from central park, to the rendering on an alien parasite, you can see that this is a busting New York, a city that never sleeps. I played the entire experience in a 120fps performance mode and it was absolutely crisp, while still maintaining its 4K specs. Also the load times & fast travel were insane, barely requiring any time to get running. Character designs work well enough, however i’m not a fan of them changing Peter’s face model to better resemble Tom Holland. Costume & character design is top notch with Venom, Lizard, and a certain cult leader being standouts for me. I wouldn’t say that this is the best looking game out there but the overall art direction gets the aesthetic & feel of a supersized NYC well.

Gameplay wise, you’re looking at an almost copy & paste from the previous game with some elements from Spider-Man Miles Morales. First off, the combat feels similar in nature, since the major additions either don’t add much, or feel out of place. For starters, you have a block & parry button, which initially sounds great, but started to feel like I was playing Spider-Souls with how much I relied on memorizing attack patterns or parrying at the right time. You also do a get a new array of fun special moves for both Peter & Miles but you get a limited chance to use them before you need to wait and go again. You’re also given more gadgets to play around with, but I found myself just spamming them in the endgame & having enemies dealt with like that (and this was on the standard difficulty). I feel like the addition of combos or having more diversity in moves would help the combat feel like they improved with new ideas, instead of patching up the holes they had missed in 2018. Even the enemy variety isn’t much, with most of the enemies having great designs, but relying on similar attack patterns. This isn’t to say it’s bad, it worked well in 2018, and works well here in 2023, but it makes the gameplay feel stagnant. Also here’s a kick to the balls, Venom is playable in this game, but he’s relegated to one chapter that you can’t replay unless you restart the game. Why not have him be an ultimate attack when Peter uses his super? There’s also a problem with a bulk of the main & side missions trying on different gameplay styles to help break up the tedious pacing, but if i’m playing a game called “Spider-Man 2“, why would I want to play as Mary Jane going through Resident Evil-like missions or play as Miles’ friend putting Graffiti on buildings? Missions like the MJ one’s can happen up to three times throughout the campaign.

Now, this isn’t to harp on the game, there is a lot here in the gameplay that is a step above. Mobility-wise, your movement is a lot faster (now with the better technology) so you have more swing in your step, allowing for newer & faster ways of traversing New York. From a Just Cause-like glider to slingshotting yourself through Manhattan, the game lets you chose on how to proceed to each different point of interest. Both Peter & Miles also have a great selection of costumes to choose from, ranging from iconic movie suits, to more original costumes that allow for more customization. I also found it cool that once you unlock the Spiderverse suit for Miles, you could alter the frame rate for him & Peter so that it mimics the movies.

So if the gameplay isn’t the main attraction, what is? Well I’d argue that it’s the story. Expanding on what we were introduced to in 2018’s Spider-Man & Spider-Man Miles Morales, we see the struggle of balancing life as a superhero, and as a human being. We see throughout the game that being Spider-Man is taxing on both Miles trying to get into College & Peter being there for MJ. Once Peter’s long lost friend Harry returns from the hospital, & Kraven & his hunters show up gunning for past villains & the Spider-Men, that’s when the story’s kicked up to 11. From an amazing opening fight against Sand Man, to Peter & Harry fighting off an attack at Coney Island, the game utilizes its characters well & helps them better absorb the backdrop of iconic NYC. Considering that a third game in this trilogy is obvious, it makes you winder what steps would be taken in this game to subvert or surprise your expectations. Who was Venom going to be? Would Kraven succeed in killing any villains? Would one of the Spidermen die? It was questions like this that kept me going through my 30 hours of game time (leading me to getting the fairly easy Platinum Trophy). Even the side quests were (mostly) great to go through, helping add multiple villains into the frey, and showing us how the city is living through Kraven’s hunt.

Also, small tidbit that I want to add here but I did not expect the voice work to be as strong as it was. From returning faces like Laura Bailey (MJ) & Nadji Jeter (Miles), to veteran actor Tony Todd, CandyMan himself, coming in to voice Venom (even if it was brief). However, they cannot hold a candle to Peter’s actor, Yuri Lowenthal. I praised him previously in my Mortal Kombat review, but this role was perfect for him. Allowing us to see a whole spectrum of emotions, Yuri’s performance is one that will define this game, and I will burn New York down if he doesn’t earn any recognition for this game.

So that’s Spider-Man 2, a familiar experience to say the least, but one that still feels great to go back & play. I wouldn’t personally call this my Game of the Year, but it was great to suit up & swing through the city, once more. Can’t wait to see what Insomniac does not only for the next Spider-Man instalment, but also what they do for Wolverine.

7/10

(guess who went through the entire review without saying “this game makes you feel like Spiderman?”)