Spider-Man 2 is out this week on the PS5. Ahead of its launch I've been fortunate to finish Insomniac Games' latest Sony exclusive on the PS5, and discussed my thoughts as a guest on The Untitled Gadgets Podcast.
In addition to this, I've also spent some quality time analysing how the game will sell, courtesy conversations with my sources in distribution and retail. Here's what to expect from the game itself after seeing it through the end in about 18 hours on normal difficulty with no side-quests. As for the game’s sales and insights, you can find that in a separate newsletter.
Spider-Man 2 traversal
Much like the 2018 game, the core gameplay systems such as traversal are exceptionally polished and a treat to interact with. Aside from stellar webslinging from one building to the next, you can glide across the game world as well. Throw unlockable abilities such as being able to swing around corners and traversal in Spider-Man 2 is a treat.
As I progressed through the game I noticed that completing a certain number of tasks unlocks fast travel. That was one objective I ignored. Zipping across New York City in Spider-Man 2 is too much fun to be reduced to essentially teleporting to a destination.
Spider-Man 2 combat
This time around you’ll play as both Spider-Men — Peter Parker and Miles Morales. Each of them have their own abilities that makes them unique all while possessing a shared skill tree as well for common upgrades to traversal, health, and the like.
Peter Parker gets some interesting ones thanks to the alien symbiote aka Venom that makes its present felt with an ambitious storyline such as tentacles and spikes to blast through the games many foes. Miles can use lightning to electrify enemies and thunder to reach distant targets and zap them with ease too.
Coupled with gadgets that let you wrap up bad guys en-masse or knock them back with concussive force and there’s enough here to make each combat encounter a glorious spectacle of speed and style.
Spider-Man 2 puzzles
It's not just the combat and traversal that's gotten some welcome additions, it's the puzzles too. While optional, they build on the simple elements of the last two titles are far from frustrating.
While some felt the last game had one or two frustrating sections of puzzle-solving, there's nothing too tough or painful to take away from moving to the next plot point, place of interest, or foe to pummel.
Straying off the critical path is almost always rewarding — in some cases granting you resources to upgrade abilities, get new suits or simply letting you see how some the interactions between either Spider-Men and the game’s cast play out.
Spider-Man 2 stealth sections
Much like 2018’s Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2 has stealth sections featuring Mary Jane. As a journalist, she partners with the Spider-Men in their search to unmask the conspiracy that threatens New York. These are in the form of stealth missions in locations such as suburban neighbourhoods and mercenary camps.
Unlike that game, you have a stun gun that makes these encounters a whole lot more entertaining and less tense. While you will see a game over screen if you go out guns blazing, these sections are a whole lot more forgiving and less frustrating than Spider-Man 2018. No instant game over and multiple retries here.
Spider-Man 2’s open world is best-in-class
Like most big budget games in recent memory, Spider-Man 2 is an open-world game. While that term alone implies a sort of near endless amount of gameplay, of late, it also suggests an overwhelming dread that makes playing them a lot more cumbersome than they should be.
This has largely been down to open-world games being replete with side objectives and content that aren't crucial to finishing the main story. A lot of modern-day games try to play this bloat up in an attempt to show that there's a lot to do leading to titles are are filled with busy work that take away from the main plotline.
Spider-Man 2 on PS5 smartly evades going down that road with a map that while replete with missions, side-quests, challenges, and the like, never feels overwhelming.
This is due to how it rolls out its optional content. You’re dripfed a steady flow of mercenary bases to clear, tech to capture, and spider-bots to collect. Completing these adds to the lore and ties back to the overall story in welcome ways.
While this is similar to how the last mainline entry played, it results in an experience that’s just as grand and epic (thanks to a stellar main campaign) while having optional content that’s easy enough to interact with that you want to keep coming back.
Spider-Man 2 story
Without spoiling much, Spider-Man 2’s story is a welcome romp through New York. A new villain, Kraven is on the loose kidnapping other villains all while tearing up the city. Naturally, it’s up to the Spider-Men to save the day. As you’d expect things spiral into a potential world-ending plot. That said, between bouts of saving the world, Spider-Man 2 takes time out for the quiet moments.
You get thrown into Peter Parker’s and Miles Morales’ daily lives and non-superhero problems with an astonishing amount of relatability such as keeping a steady job or filling up a college application.
Combined with its themes of friendship, support, and well, dealing with your own demons, it cuts a sharp contrast to its opening moments that have you up against Sandman in a colossal battle. And yet, it manages to deliver on most counts on either end of the spectrum — with encounters that are just as epic and situations that are just as relatable.
However, it isn’t perfect. In trying to tightrope this, there are a couple of scenarios that felt odd. I can’t discuss them (for spoiler reasons) though I felt that these could have been done better.
Spider-Man 2 DualSense features
Haptics get a special mention, they're subtle albeit meaningful, punctuating combat and traversal as necessary without coming in the way.
Adaptive triggers are where Spider-Man 2 shines. From specific quick-time events to moment to moment traversal, this is perhaps the best implementation of adaptive triggers.
Throw in smart use of the mic during the introduction of specific powers (which I won’t spoil) and this is arguably the best implementation of DualSense features on the PS5.
Spider-Man 2 PS5 review score
The first thing I wanted to do after finishing Spider-Man 2 on the PS5 and rolling the credits (and post credits scenes) was to simply go back and play more of it.
It builds upon its predecessors in almost every way with some meaningful innovations to boot. There are compelling character arcs for its heroes and villains as well as a sense of pacing and scale that’s spectacular. Though certain aspects of its plot are questionable, this is by and large a triumph.
While 2018’s Spider-Man on the PS4 was heralded as a breath of fresh air in the superhero subgenre, developer Insomniac Games’ latest effort proves that there is room for perfection. It’s not there, it’s close enough. [9]