Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 — out next Friday on PS5 — is easily one of our most anticipated titles of the year, building upon Insomniac Games’ original blockbuster tale to weave a new line for our spandex-wearing web crawlers. Yep, true to the name, this time we get to play as both Peter Parker and Miles Morales, as they team up to neutralise various new threats to New York City, which include the monstrous symbiote Venom and the beast-like Kraven the Hunter. In addition to refining web-swinging and chained flowy combat — a selling point for 2018’s Spider-Man — the sequel has nearly doubled the size of its open-world playground, albeit in ways that traversal never feels tedious.
Insomniac has never been shy about drawing heavy inspiration from classic Marvel moments, be it through comic books, movies or animated shows, some of which seep into this blockbuster sequel via skins or general storytelling. “…part of it, too, is not holding ourselves back by saying, ‘Oh, we can’t do this because someone did it before.’ Because our games are the first Spider-Man games for a lot of players, and I’d hope we’re bringing new fans into Spider-Man in general and being the first Spider-Man experience for some people,” Mike Fitzgerald, Director of Core Technology, Insomniac Games told Gadgets 360. Based on our initial impressions, the title feels like an improvement in more ways than one, promising a humane story that focuses on our leads’ personal lives that often interweaves with their superhero duties, in addition to the technical advancements it brings over its predecessors.
Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if Spider-Man 2 competes for the Game of the Year honour in late 2023, given how extensively Sony is marketing it, from 3D billboards around the world, TV spots, and collaborations with renowned artists and athletes to create exclusive suits for our Spider-Men to wear. With that, here is everything you need to know about Spider-Man 2, available next week on the PS5.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will be released Friday, October 20, exclusively on the current-gen PS5, leveraging its fast SSD for better loading times. Marking yet another first-part Sony release, the game might eventually make its way onto PC, albeit according to PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan, it might take another 2–4 years before that happens. Pre-orders for the same are live now, with bonus in-game items on offer.
Those who’ve already pre-ordered Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 can start downloading the game and keep it ready for launch day. It’s great that Insomniac has given a week-long head start, helping players save time and clear out some space on their SSDs. Bear in mind, that this is simply the preload period, so you can only start playing when the game unlocks worldwide on October 20.
As per ‘PlayStationSize’ on Twitter, Spider-Man 2 weighs 86.26GB when installed, though I’d recommend leaving a bit more headroom since a day-one patch is always possible. The account also noted that the file size is the same across both the Standard and Deluxe editions of the game.
Following a small tease of the foreboding Venom during 2021’s PlayStation Showcase, Insomniac debuted a 10-minute-long gameplay trailer detailing Kraven the Hunter’s involvement in Spider-Man 2, as he begins his hunt by targeting The Lizard. This is where we also got to see Peter Parker’s new black suit and its destructive powers, alongside his shift in personality as the symbiote begings taking control over his mind.
Earlier this month, publisher Sony also dropped a cinematic trailer of our heroic duo taking on Venom across the abandoned and ruinous streets of New York, making use of all their abilities to stop the monster, from Peter hurling a flashbang to Miles turning invisible to catch him off guard. It also appears as though Peter’s Spider-Man will be fitted with mechanical arms — akin to the Iron-Spider suit — granting him a range of new abilities to pummel baddies.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Preview: Insomniac Games’ Spidey Sequel Aims to Swing to New Heights
Set 10 months after the events of Spider-Man: Miles Morales, this sequel reunites Peter Parker and Miles Morales, all grown-up and tackling real-life problems by themselves. Peter, while still distraught from Aunt May’s death, barely has time for anyone — working a waiter’s job at some gourmet restaurant and scrambling to make payments for her house, which he’s against selling due to sentimental value. Of course, he’s got to dedicate some time to his girlfriend Mary Jane, which causes Miles to feel a little left out. While the latter has become more comfortable playing a superhero to Brooklyn, he struggles to balance it with his personal life — often finding ways to procrastinate on his college entrance essay.
And guess what? Harry Osborne’s back in town, having been cured of a mysterious illness, which was teased in the last two games’ post-credit scenes as having something to do with the black symbiote. As you’d expect, at some point in the story, that viscous substance latches itself onto Peter, giving him a new suit and aggressive powers, slowly manipulating his personality into a brazen one — the effects of which are seen when he stumbles into the animalistic Kraven the Hunter, who’s prowling about New York City to hunt down any mutants or superpowered beings. His goal is unclear for now, but judging by our demo session in August, it appears his first target is Dr. Kurt Connors aka The Lizard, leading to an impressive chase sequence along the East River in Queens.
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The monstrous Venom in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Photo Credit: Insomniac Games
Just like in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 film, we can expect Peter to eventually lose the symbiote, which would instead bond with a secret character, turning them into the monstrous and bulky Venom. During the Summer Game Fest event, Insomniac Games assured that, unlike the comic books, Eddie Broke is not Venom, promising a mystery twist for the fans. That said, trailers and scenes from previous titles heavily suggested that Harry could be the new incarnation, given the ominous declaration of intent both Harry and Venom make in the trailer — which is to “heal the world.” Either way, I think it’s time we got to explore the darker aspects of Spider-Man’s ethos.
As mentioned before, Insomniac Games is expanding on Spidey’s toys in every way, while ensuring the open-world NYC feels like a third main character. So, while swinging around town still feels spectacular, the biggest change has to be the ability to switch between Peter Parker and Miles Morales’ Spider-Men at will. Players can complete side quests and experience both their stories, switching between them through a single button hold and an instant fade-to-black transition, regardless of where either of them is located in the game world. This is all thanks to the PS5’s SSD, whose speed extends into the fast travel system, throwing you right in the middle of an ongoing activity, such as Miles gliding across the Ney York skyline. (It goes without saying that there’s no co-op mode.)
That’s right, our heroes are equipped with deployable Web Wings now, allowing them to swiftly glide around the city, while frequently mixing it up with standard web swinging for increased momentum. It also helps alleviate issues with long-distance traversal, considering the map has doubled in size to include the Queens and Brooklyn boroughs. Both Spider-Men’s masks are also fitted with AR tech that reveals world activities via holographic icons popping into our field of view, though one could always rely on their handy Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man App to keep track of nearby objectives or NPC quests. While most tasks can be completed by either Spider-Man — indicated by the tiny face icons on the phone screen — some are reserved for a ‘specific hero.’
Spider-Man’s new symbiote abilities are devastatingly strong
Photo Credit: Insomniac Games
Peter harnessing the powers of the symbiote not only gives him a black suit but also a myriad of destructive powers to beat enemies to a pulp. Instead of webs, the slimy parasite stretches and morphs itself to suit its host’s needs, like tendrils that can easily lift up and throw down rugged foes without breaking a sweat. Combat functions similar to the previous entries, but it’s just a tad more overpowered, with Peter being able to activate a Symbiote Surge that lets him one-shot enemies in a brutal fashion. Miles is growing too, becoming in tune with explosive bio-electric powers for that extra dose of damage. They’ll both have respective skill trees for upgrading abilities via collected tech parts and tokens, in addition to a shared one that improves both of them simultaneously.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 costs Rs. 4,999/ $69.99 for the Standard Edition — both digital and disc versions — and is available for purchase on the official PlayStation Store, in addition to select online and offline retailers. Pre-ordering the game grants access to in-game bonuses like a hooded Arachknight Suit for Peter Parker and a Shadow-Spider Suit for Miles Morales, alongside a Web-Grabber Gadget and 3 skill points for headstart on upgrading your in-game character.
In India, we’ve got the usual suspects such as Amazon, Flipkart, GamestheShop, and e2zStore. Pre-ordering from the latter two outlets also provides an exclusive Spider-Bot Key Chain. As per games analyst Rishi Alwani, there also seems to be a midnight launch event for Spider-Man 2 in India, with 15 brick-and-mortar stores on the list of venues. You can plan your visit by referring to the embedded tweet below.
Then there’s a Digital Deluxe Edition costing Rs. 5,599/ $79.99 that includes the aforementioned pre-order bonuses, alongside 10 exclusive suits — five for each Spidey — which have been created in collaboration with artists around the world. You also get two more upgrade skill points and some undisclosed items for the photo mode.
And finally, there’s the Collector’s Edition priced at $229.99 (about Rs. 19,200), which sadly comes with a Deluxe Edition digital voucher for the game, a steelbook, and in PlayStation UK’s words: “19-inches of Venom” — a statuette representation of both Spider-Men engaged in a tussle with the gigantic Venom. And, of course, all the aforementioned bonus items are included in this package. It is currently available on the PlayStation Store.
Sony also launched a limited edition PS5 bundle featuring a glossy red and black theme console, whose faceplate design gives the sense of it being consumed by the symbiote’s blackness. It comes with a similarly fashioned DualSense controller to go with and a digital code of the game. This edition is priced at Rs. 62,990 in India, across select retailers like Amazon, GamestheShop, Sony Center, e2zStore, and Reliance Digital. In the US, the Spider-Man 2 limited edition PS5 bundle is priced at $599.99.
Sony is also selling the Spider-Man 2-themed DualSense controller and PS5 faceplates — for existing console owners — elsewhere in the world, but there are no official sellers so far in India.
Reviews for Spider-Man 2 go up this Monday, October 16 at 7:30pm IST in India / 3pm BST in the UK/ 7am PDT in the US. The Gadgets 360 review of the game will be out on the same day.
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