Marvel's Spider-Man 2 takes what you loved about the original and amps it up a notch. Instead of playing as just Peter Parker, aka the original Spider-Man, you get to play as Miles Morales as well. The cool thing is you can switch between them at almost any time. Of course, this time around, the threat to the fair city of New York requires the abilities of both superheroes. Developer Insomniac delivers a satisfying slate of villains to justify having two protagonists.
Quick notes
- PS5 allows for instantaneous fast travel, but you have to do activities to unlock it
- Game makes great use of the Dual Sense Controller with subtle vibrations for movement and your skills
- Combat remains fluid and fun, and boss battles are puzzles to solve
- Traversal in the game doesn't feel tedious unlike other sandbox games
Each Spider-Man has two different abilities to pick from, though they also share a set of common skills. You gain these abilities over the course of the game, though the new ones feel more powerful. Like the first game, you still have access to gadgets, but different ones this time. Spidey suits also no longer give you special powers. That's because both superheroes have a wide range of new skills that ratchet up the combat. I also like this change, since you are not forced to wear a suit just for the ability. Instead you can wear anything you like. However, my preference are for suits with expressive eyes. Some suits have static eyes that don't narrow when the scene calls for it. Unfortunately, you can't tell which suits will or won't, so you have to test them out manually.
Spider-Man 2's main plot draws upon an arc beloved by fans, and one that was also the plot of Spider-Man 3 — the Symbiote. And of course, that will lead to one of Spider-Man's greatest supervillains, Venom. Now, I'm not going to spoil you, but you will enjoy the journey of defeating Spider-Man's gallery of supervillains, including Kraven, who serves as the other antagonist of the game. The game switches storylines between both superheroes fluidly, with certain missions only doable by either Peter Parker or Miles Morales. I do note that certain in-game events, such as base takedowns, are better done with Miles due to his ability to go invisible. Otherwise, there's really no difference who you pick. Oh the dreaded Mary Jane segments return, but they are much easier this time, and less of an hassle.
One new mechanic in the game is the ability to glide with Web Wings, and it's honestly super fun to just skim all over New York before needing to swing through the air. Like previous games, there's plenty to do in the sandbox. You can stop robberies, hunt down flying drones, help out with requests, or take down bases. I do like the new puzzles, but they aren't as necessary as before. The sequel follows the same formula as before, so expect to hit similar notes as you progress towards the end. And I will be a bit cryptic here, because I don't want to spoil anything. While I loved the game overall, there's one thing that threw me off: Mary Jane Watson's weirdly big eyes and head. She looks terribly unrealistic compared with the other characters, and it leaves me unsettled each time she appears.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 took me about 22 hours to finish, and I did do quite a few side missions as well. It's pretty short for a game five years in the making, but perhaps I'm spoiled from playing games such as Baldur's Gate 3 or Horizon Forbidden West with their longer run times. You can replay it at an higher difficulty, or try to unlock everything. I do think the game does a great job of resolving storylines from the earlier games, though. And while the game is fun, it's the cutscenes with tender moments experienced by the characters that make it all worthwhile. Get it for S$98 from the Sony PlayStation store, or get it from Shopee, Lazada, or Amazon SG.
Note: Review copy provided by Sony PlayStation.
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