Can this Spider-Man do better than the other Spider-Man can?
Spider-Men, Peter Parker and Miles Morales, return for an exciting new adventure in Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise for PS5. Swing, jump and utilize the new Web Wings to travel across Marvel’s New York, quickly switching between Peter Parker and Miles Morales to experience different stories and epic new powers, as the iconic villain Venom threatens to destroy their lives, their city and the ones they love. The incredible power of the symbiote forces Peter and Miles to face the ultimate test of strength, both inside and outside the mask, as they balance their lives, friendships and their duty to protect those in need. Quickly swap between both Spider-Men as you explore an expanded Marvel’s New York. Fight against a variety of new and iconic villains, including an original take on the monstrous Venom, the ruthless Kraven the Hunter, the volatile Lizard and many more. Explore a larger Marvel’s New York than ever before, featuring two new boroughs – Brooklyn and Queens – as well as locations like Coney Island and more.
Insomniac’s take on the Spider-Man series has been a success with it’s first entry and Miles Morales, so it was a no-brainer that a sequel would up the ante. But would it deliver what we had hoped from a sequel?
The game begins with both Spider-Men taking on Flint Marko/Sandman as he rages across New York in a visual spectacle that sets the tone for just how the rest of the game is going to be. I won’t spoil the story too much but I’m sure most know that Venom comes into the mix down the line and supervillains being targeted for hunting by Kraven the Hunter is seriously messed up, but superbly delivered.
During your time, you will switch between Peter and Miles depending on the mission. This is seamless, as is the fast travel function which unlocks when you complete enough tasks in each district. There’s essentially no loading and swings you straight into the action without delay, it’s perhaps the most effective use of the PS5’s SSD that I’ve seen so far. Insomniac also makes good use of the DualSense features, especially the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.
New York is a joy to traverse, especially with the new ability to fly using the suit’s web wings. The It takes a while to get used to it, but after a while you’ll be soaring through the streets of Brooklyn using wind tunnels all the way to Queens. Combat will be familiar to those who played the past two entries, but you naturally get new abilities and powers to use during these encounters. There is a nice variety of new and old moves so mixing them together is incredibly satisfying if you can pull it off.
There aren’t as many side-quests in this as the first game, but the ones here are pretty good. I won’t spoil it, but one literally had me holding back a tear. The city has a good amount of collectibles to find, but not too many and even better, the Activity cards even help you find the ones you are missing as well as how to obtain certain trophies.
Overall, it took me around 30 hours to nab the Platinum trophy and while that seems short compared to the last game, I felt the price tag more than justifies what is on offer here. It’s a high-octane action game with some truly emotional rollercoasters that set up events for the inevitable 3rd game which I cannot wait to play, even if it will probably take a good few years to surface.
I cannot put into words just how incredible this game looks. The city of New York is highly detailed, the character models are seriously impressive and the action sequences could be out of a Hollywood blockbuster. There are some truly great treats for the eyes throughout this. Expect plenty of Easter Eggs and setups for the next game. The game has 3 different performance modes but I personally opted for the 120FPS mode that also included ray-tracing. I did come across a few visual bugs with NPCs, but nothing that was game-breaking. The voice-acting is top quality and there are some amazing performances during some of the more tense, emotional scenes. The soundtrack is also superb with some great tunes to add to the dramatic and action scenes.
The Verdict
While not as long as its predecessor, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 nails it with a superb story, great characters, excellent combat and makes excellent use of the PS5’s SSD. Truly one of the best superhero games of all time.