I recently sat down to play Spider-Man 2, a new game that was released on October 20, 2023 by Insomniac Games. This game is a sequel to the first game, which was released five years prior. The first Spider-Man video game (released September 7, 2018) is highly acclaimed and was nominated for multiple awards. Although there were concerns that the game wouldn’t match up to the same level of gameplay as the first video game (with lots of cuts made), it ultimately came through and showed a good story with lots of new characters and plot lines.
The first thing players will notice in this game is the addition of Miles Morales. The character of Miles has grown quite popular in recent years with two hit movies starring the titular character and a spinoff video game. Miles is the main character in the newer movies “Spider-Man Into The Spider Verse,” in which Miles complements Peter’s personality and allows for more dynamic storylines since the two can work together.
MJ, Peter’s girlfriend, takes a greater role in this than in the first game. She has more important storylines and a wider variety of side missions that feel like they actually matter when compared to the first version. The gameplay with MJ overall improves the game and creates a greater balance since you have a wider variety of missions to accomplish. These missions aren’t just focused on Spider-Man.
The final main character introduced is Peter’s best friend, Harry Osborn. Peter and Harry are clearly close in the game, but this is strained later on due to the presence of Venom. I think Harry was a well-developed character throughout this game. We saw him struggling with real issues while trying to be a good person.
Now, onto the villains. The two main villains in this game are Kraven the Hunter and Venom. Kraven is made three-dimensional through his enigmatic backstory, coming to NYC from overseas in search of better “prey,” and through his towering physical appearance, as he’s made quite terrifying. In my opinion, Kraven is a difficult character to get right because he is obsessed with hunting, so how do you make him three dimensional? The writers manage to do this through not showing him right away and really taking time to develop his motivations. This all creates a sense of fear around him. The first part of Kraven’s character is his arrival in NYC. He comes in search of better prey and is able to take down numerous supervillains for sport. This shows that he is pretty tough to fight. The second part of Kraven, as mentioned, is his physical appearance. He has a large and overwhelming figure that makes him intimidating to fight. Overall, the story and final battle with Kraven are highly intriguing.
At last, the final villain… Venom. Venom has been implemented in the Spider-Man universe many times, most notably in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3. The Venom in this game is a great addition since he is first used by Harry, who is in dire medical straits due to illness, and then transferred to Peter since Peter is badly injured. Venom then goes back to Harry again which corrupts Harry to the point where he battles the two Spider-Men in a life and death duel. There is a long plot where Miles needs to help Peter overcome the symbiote. Just to mention, what I like about Peter, and they do this well in the game, is that he is a character who is perfectly suited for Venom. Peter isn’t super popular or super well-liked, but he’s simply a conflicted but genuinely good person who has some struggles and tries to make the world a better place. In the case involving Venom, Peter’s good intentions are overtaken by a lust for power, which is the antithesis of his character because he uses his power as a responsibility to help others, not to harm others. “With great power there must also come great responsibility” is the core of Spider-Man. Peter shows this in the way he treats MJ, Miles, and tries to add to the world. However, as mentioned before, Venom corrupts this. Venom makes Peter not see it as his responsibility to help others but rather sees his power as a sign that he is better than others. The scene where Venom comes off Peter is emotional and it takes a while but is worth it. As much as I love Spider-Man 1 and 2, I think the third film wasn’t able to accurately convey the character of Venom. I think this game did a good job of that.
Overall, in terms of characters, the game does an all-around good job. I felt that the characters remained consistent from the previous game with new growth and various storylines. The soundtrack in the game is also really good with some new music, and the visuals have improved moving from the Ps4 to Ps5. Lastly, I definitely noticed some overall improvements in the gameplay mechanics from the ability to do tricks when swinging to new power-ups when fighting and an increased variety of ways to fight, which is fun. The powerups which include a more developed skill tree add to a smoother gameplay experience for both characters. I’d definitely recommend this game to anyone interested in the Marvel universe because it builds upon the prequel in many good ways.
