With Marvel's Spider-Man, Insomniac Games knocked it out of the park on its first try. While structurally it's a fairly standard open world action adventure, it's elevated by a great cast of characters, a solid story, and some of the best traversal in the business. It ticked all the boxes, and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a great sidestep with its own flavour. With two fan-pleasing blockbusters under its belt, then, we arrive at the much-anticipated Marvel's Spider-Man 2, but can it trump the already great games that came before?
From a top view, yes, this sequel is a bigger and better version of its forebears in many ways, which we'll get to shortly. However, fundamentally, this is familiar territory; if you liked the previous entries, you'll feel right at home here. While some might have been hoping for a grand departure to freshen things up, Insomniac has taken everything that worked in the past games and built upon it, refining everything to deliver a somewhat safe but incredibly high-quality experience. We've been here before, then, but it's one of the most reliably fun places you can be.
And, as mentioned, everything is just better. Web-swinging still feels phenomenal, but the addition of gliding is excellent; it speeds up traversal and feels beautifully smooth. Combining the two methods makes getting across the city even more of a pleasure than ever. While the fast travel is impressively quick and does come in handy every now and then, we never grew tired of darting around the map, whether it's swinging through skyscrapers or navigating wind tunnels to glide over the water. It's the best.
Meanwhile, the improved combat is both more streamlined and more challenging. You have your bread-and-butter combo, launcher, air attacks, and finishers as normal, but special abilities and gadgets are now accessed by holding L1 or R1 respectively. This gives you eight additional attacks at any given time, and while they operate on cooldowns, you're never out of options, especially once you've unlocked more advanced techniques in the skill tree. We will say that combat can still get a little repetitive, as you're still doing a lot of Square-mashing, but different enemy types help alleviate that to a degree. Certain attacks can only be parried, a new feature for this game, while others can only be dodged — these certainly keep you on your toes when facing large mobs of bad guys.
Stealth, too, has had an upgrade, albeit a smaller one. The web line is a new feature that lets you traverse spaces from more or less any angle. Instead of having to perch on pre-existing rafters or descend from the ceiling, you can create your own tightropes across open spaces, making stealth takedowns a lot more viable.
A major feature of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is the ability to play as both Peter Parker and Miles Morales, each of whom have their own unique powers. There was a slight worry that Miles might overshadow Peter with his electrical moves and invisibility, but good ol' Pete has access to his mechanical Spider-Arms and, later, Symbiote powers while donning the black suit. While the pair share a skill tree and control much the same, their unique abilities — enhanced with a skill tree each to themselves — mean both are equally fun to play as. The only time you're forced to play as one or the other is during main story missions, but aside from that, you can freely swap between them, near-instantly transitioning from Peter to Miles and vice versa.
You'll want to swap characters fairly often, too, because they each have side activities only accessible to one or the other. The side content has been vastly improved this time around. While there are still some collectibles to gather, they only populate the in-game map once you find them in the world. Even the most trivial open world tasks lead to something cool, whether it's a new Spidey suit or a nice character moment. However, there's more than just the odd minigame or puzzle to keep you busy. There's a larger focus on side stories, some of which are also exclusive to Peter or Miles, and these storylines are some of our favourite parts of the whole game. We won't spoil anything, but there's some really tremendous work here that rivals the main story. The extra effort in the side content has definitely paid off.
But what about the main narrative, then? Well, we won't say too much, but it's overall another great superhero romp. We do have some slight reservations regarding the pacing of certain plot beats, and it can feel a little contrived in places. Still, this is a story about people with supernatural abilities and a big, toothy monster, so we're not going to drill too deeply into that. All you really need to know is that Peter and Miles find themselves pulled and stretched by the sudden arrival of Kraven, an immensely strong hunter who's targeting NYC's assortment of super-powered people in search of someone to match his prowess.
However, it isn't just Kraven making waves; lots of relationships are put to the test as Peter struggles to hold down a job, Miles keeps putting off his college application, and Harry Osborn comes back into the picture. On top of all that, the Symbiote complicates matters dramatically, eventually leading to the appearance of Venom. As mentioned, Peter's gameplay changes once he has the black suit, really jazzing him up with more aggressive powers, but it also has ramifications in the story as things progress. Everything interweaves well and leads to some truly chaotic sequences, as well as some brilliant set-pieces and boss battles.
The campaign sees the return of missions played as MJ. While these were a contentious addition in the first game, there are fewer of them here and they're vastly improved. No more auto-fails for being spotted, and her options are expanded somewhat. While you're meant to stay hidden in these sections, MJ can fend off foes if seen — or just run and hide to return to stealth.
The expansion of the open world helps not only make for a larger play space to explore, but also a more interesting one. The story makes good use of the suburbs in Queens, or Coney Island's amusement park, for example. While Manhattan is obviously quite familiar, it's a more diverse map overall with more interesting sights to see throughout.
On a technical level, the game is very strong. We played predominantly in the 60 frames-per-second performance mode, and it didn't drop once in over 30 hours of gameplay. That said, the fidelity mode is perfectly playable at a locked 30fps, and has the benefit of higher resolution and better ray tracing. Either way, this is a good-looking game that makes great use of the SSD; not only for fast travel and character swapping, but also some amazing sequences that have you speeding through underground interiors and the outside world without a hitch. Oh, and a special mention to the DualSense implementation. The haptics in particular really shine through, while the adaptive triggers are well used, especially for some small puzzles that have you applying different pressure to L2 and R2. Only the odd bug took us out of the experience; while they were few and far between, we had issues with dialogue not playing and strange clipping through the floor. We expect any glaring problems will be quickly remedied in future, though.
Conclusion
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is a confident sequel that builds on the previous games in practically every way possible. Smart additions and refinements to traversal, combat, and open world activities mean this is the best Spidey game from Insomniac yet. We do have some minor criticisms about the story, and the combat does become repetitive eventually, but this is overall an absolute blast full of moments that'll surprise and delight.
Comments 148
Hello! I put about 40 hours into Marvel's Spider-Man 2 altogether (snagged that Platinum too) and loved every minute. I'll be around to answer questions, so please feel free to @ me if there's anything you want to know Thanks for reading!
The hype is real! I can't wait to play this (assuming I ever get time). A really fantastic review, Stephen (and Liam), thanks for the write up.
Very jelly you've both been playing so long!
And so the Arkham series remains the greatest - looking at the spidey 2 trailers, it definitely looked better than the first one, alas still really just looking decent at best 🙂
Good read. Seems fair as well (before the outrage at an 8 folks arrive).
Looking forward to this one.
Not gonna read the review as I'm trying to go in as fresh as reasonably possible but thanks for always being consistent with your reviews! 😃
@Quintumply Sorry if this has already been answered in the review, I didnt read it cause I want to play it as blind as possible but do characters constantly tell you what to do and spoil solutions to puzzles? Cause stuff like that ruined HFW and GOWR for me
@Quintumply How is the platinum difficulty? Is it comparable to the first two titles?
8 is good! Can't wait to play it.
Sounds awesome, loved the first one and pumped for more! The biggest surprise for me reading through is that MJ is back! I think I might be the only person who liked her missions; I thought they were fun little spots to breakup the core gameplay loop.
Pretty much as expected. A continuation and refinement of what we had before without enough novelty to really take it up a level. I'm very happy with that!
@ironcrow86 "Quite simply the best superhero game yet" - GamesRadar
Before the reviews I predicted that PS would give it 9/10 and Eurogamer would give it 3 stars.
Result: Push Square 8/10, Eurogamer 4 Stars.
In other words I can't predict s***
confused you say this is a better game but it got a worse score
spiderman
9/10
spiderman 2
8/10
@mariomaster96 I'm not sure I can really speak to this as that sort of thing rarely bothers me. It's packed with dialogue — while you're in the open world, characters are talking on the phone, "podcasts" come in, all exactly the same as the previous Spidey games.
I think characters may give you a nudge if you're dawdling on a puzzle, but to me it never felt too heavy handed. But again, those sort of prompts don't really get to me.
Seems like a great game just like HFW but not the dizzy heights of GOWR or TOTK.
But that’s not including personal preference and that makes difference.
Well next up Wednesday Mario wonder reviews.
@Bluetrain7 Very similar to the previous games. It's one of those lists that basically asks you to 100% the game, which isn't too challenging. There are a couple of slightly more obscure Trophies you might need to look up locations for, but again, nothing really tough about the list.
Well, I’m glad the GoTY FOMO didn’t get to me (even as someone that gave the last two games a 7/10, I was starting to feel a bit “should I or shouldn’t I?” thanks to the hype) and I can just wait for this one to be on PS+ down the line. If it’s just a shinier, better version of the last two games, then that’s fine, but something to play casually later down the line if there’s a lull in the releases. Thanks Pushsquare, as always, for an honest and unbiased review.
You could just tell that this one wouldn't review much higher than the others. They're great games but seem very familiar. It works though.
I just hope Insomniac aren't reduced to a Marvel studio now with Spider Man and Wolverine. Bring back Resistance or give us some new IPs, Insomniac 😁
I'm no doubt going to buy this but I am starting to worry about Sony's first party output becoming very samey. There doesn't seem to be a great deal to get excited about on the horizon either.
The Switch, in it's seventh year, currently has a more interesting 6 months ahead.
So... decent like the first one.
Sounds like a super fun platinum to me. Nearly all platinums get a little repetitive towards the end so no biggie. 7 is a good score as its well above average so to get an 8 means it's really good. Remember the best judge is always yourself
Sounds like a miss for me. The original made me feel like I was playing a forgotten open world game on the 360 from 2008, just with shinier graphics. I know that won't be a typical opinion on here. If this is barely different then that's disappointing, if unsurprising. Anyway, I appreciate that you guys don't just give it a 10 automatically because it's a first party game, unlike a certain sister site of yours... 😉
another nonsense review. just say it, that your overlords told you to score like this. 8/10 makes no sense. contradicting review too.
Do like the Spiderman games but a bit disappointing it doesnt add a lot new makes it easier to wait for a price drop. This gen is becoming a bit disapointing think Ratchet was the only game I bought day one and that turned out to be on the short side.
@OldGamer999 Ragnarok was rated too high
Sounds exactly what I was expecting, being a sequel I wasn't expecting any groundbreaking gameplay changes as that rarely ever happens. It sounds like what they have added works well though. My biggest concern has always been around the setting largely being the same but it sounds like they have done a lot of work to try and make it feel fresh so hopefully it doesn't feel too familiar.
I'll wait for poundland to stock it 😊
@Shad361 In your opinion
@Mauzuri They don't appear on the in-game map straight away, but they do make themselves known. They're pretty obvious. You won't need to look very hard to find everything
@Kevw2006 In many people’s. Most still rate 3 and 2018 higher
Well done Insomniac! And based on the footage before release, an 8 is what I expected. A safe but enjoyable sequel
A lot of 10 out of 10s and 9s elsewhere, a few more 8s too. Currently 91 on metacritic atm?. Friday evening can't come soon enough let's go yo
I'm excited for release day. Really love the last two games.
Missed the chance to have a subtitle something like
"Which way will you Swing?"
@Quintumply
So the Accessibility options and the Swinging assistance, how does it affect the swinging when making it harder? What does it do and is it more fun to have more challenging swinging (sorry, it is a serious question really
Can’t wait to play this. I loved both the other games and it’s been a while since I played either so not too worried about the familiarity. Bring on the 20th!
Several mainstream reviews have stated it’s the best superhero game ever made, and the majority of outlets are praising the game overall. It’s currently sitting at a 91 on Open Critic as well. It’s safe to say I’m beyond hyped for this one.
@Futureshark Haha, I did dabble with that setting. Turned it all the way off. It does make a pretty significant difference, but it's hard to describe. With the assist off it feels closer to Spider-Man 2 (PS2), in that it's stiffer and there's no safety net. By that, I mean if you begin a swing too close to the ground, it won't just hoik you up to let you keep going.
I actually preferred the default with the assist all the way on, because it makes the swinging feel smoother and more elastic, to my mind anyway. But I'm pleased the option is there for people to tune the swinging a bit!
Not going to lie, I expected a higher score. Especially since other outlets are saying it’s the best superhero game yet.
Not interested to spend full price at launch but happy to play this down the line. Insomniac (and SE) are carrying PS5 at this point IMO.
Hell yeah, MJ confirmed.
@Shad361
Yeah I did say personal preferences.
8-9/10 seems about right and a 90/91 MC is a great score. There was no way this sequal was going to be 10/10 unless it did something truly innovative. Unless you are getting to that RDR2 Kind of level you can't be scoring a 10 and those that do give 10's away like a pizza delivery place gives out pizza's.
@Kanji-Tatsumi if they say so - theyre wrong, but even so...iv given my opinion, you do what you want with it 🙂
I only ever got halfway through the first. Was forcing myself through the open world already by that point. More of the same open world is something I can wait for a deep sale on. Will get it one day though, possibly on PC.
gameplay and in this case combat get old after midway in Spiderman 1. It was fine for 10 hours or so....
Games like Sekiro who value gameplay above else are VASTLY superior.
Not gonna lie, I expected it to score 9. Still, not a bad score and subjectively I know I'll love it as it's fundamentally a Spidey game.
Friday can't come soon enough.
@Mauzuri I wouldn't really call it a spoiler. Basically, you can ping the open world with R3, and things near you will be highlighted, so that's one thing.
But there's only really one type of collectible that you need to actively look for, and even these will pulse a huge glowing circle once you get within a certain distance. Once they're introduced, you'll see the prompt all over the place as you're swinging around. Hard to miss
@Matroska out of sheer curiosity, what game in your opinion, did Nintendo life/pure xbox give an undeserved 10?? I know starfield got an 8 (or 9, cant quite remember) so cant have been that 🙂
@Gediminas Bro you are on the wrong site to say this nonsense.
1. This is a playstation site,so why would they have an agenda against a big playstation exclusive.
2. 8/10 is a great score, especially for a sequel that builds on heavy from its predecessor.
Not bad but not for me, I'll be getting it for my nephew for Christmas, I enjoyed Spider-Man 2 enter: electro when I was younger though, thank you for the insight pushsquare.
An 8?!? wow ….uh, still hyped !
@K1LLEGAL that’s mainly because they’re the only 2 studios with anything worth playing on the damn thing.
@ironcrow86 the new god of wars
@Quintumply nice one. I remember reading about some new implementation for the sound design, be that with 3d audio, controller or both. Did these things actually make it into the game, and did they make an impression on you? They teased it like it was going to be something truly quite special and new.
@Mauzuri A perfect game for the holidays!
@ironcrow86 In general Nintendo sites are known to overrate Nintendo franchises. It's known as the Nintendo bonus, that they typically get 2 points more than they should. Certain flaws are completely overlooked, while other things that are nothing special are spoken about as genius masterstrokes.
BotW is great, one of my favourite games, but NL have it a 10 while ignoring countless flaws - if you're interested, watch Joseph Anderson's critique of BotW on YouTube. Incredibly well made and intelligently argued, yet also incredibly long 😅. Then read the NL review and it reads like an official Nintendo press release rather than critical writing.
I think they are saving the real good changes for Wolverine tbh. Play it kind of safe with spidey, that's fair, its still more on the kid scale of things, but I expect combat in Wolverine to be much more visceral, hard hitting, punishing and much more meaningful overall.
With the first insomniac Spider-Man, I played some of it, its okay, its kind of fun, but I watched the story on YouTube and that was enough for me. I don't love the way the combat works, and it's a little bit cartoony, but that's fine it's not aimed at me. This one I was hoping would be a bit more for me, so I'll have to see some footage to decide, but we shall see. I'm more likely to play this one through if it's a little bit edgier, but a little disappointed the combat hasn't evolved much.
Is there more big boss fights? That might help. I get bored of waves of thugs very quickly lol
@Mauzuri Another great example. TotK is objectively a mod for BotW. That is all Nintendo did, open up BotW in the creation suite and change things around, add some more assets, add different cutscenes and text dialogue. There are mods of Skyrim that change it more than TotK is different from BotW.
Imagine if Forbidden West used the same areas and assets, same UI, same SFX even, as Zero Dawn. If Guerilla had literally just modded their own game. They'd get torn to shreds. Nintendo do it and everyone just kneels and praises them. And I don't even like Horizon so this isn't fanboyism - in fact Zelda is one of my favourite series.
@ironcrow86 You haven't played it but okay
@Ravix I actually didn't play the game much using headphones, but I imagine @LiamCroft will be better equipped to answer that for you (he's also completed the game).
Too many MIT Genius Kids on one spot. Less realistic than spidey senses.
I'm eagerly awaiting the shipment notification for my collector's edition (a rare splurge for me). I have a pair of the Spider-Man controllers I am waiting for this game to unbox, too. Insomniac games are all great and I'm really looking forward to this one in particular!
@Ravix @Quintumply I played the whole game through with my normal earphones and can't say I noticed anything particularly special to do with the sound. I'm not really clued up on audio, though, so you may need to go to a better source for this. As just a standard person, I didn't pick up on anything special.
@Quintumply okay, so I found one quote... "PlayStation's Director of Sound Design Jeremie Voillot has teased that the world isn't ready for Spider-Man 2 PS5 audio work."
And you didn't notice a damn thing on your entire play through? 😅😅 oh dear. I think it was to do with how they mixed it in Dolby Atmos too, so not limited to just headphone use.
The fate of this lies with you then, @liamcroft
Game changing audio design? Or just a game?
Edit: seen you've posted already. I guess we wait to hear if anyone within the entire player base notices anything at all, to see if they were successful with this aspect 😬
@trev666 think it could make sense for a sequel to be better than the original and still not score as good as the first.
Just recently that happened to TOTK for example.
That is because years have passed and you expect more and better from a sequel. If the new one is exactly as good in story, graphics, gameplay, size etc.. as the original, you would be disappointed and would rank it lower than the original right?
So if it is just slightly better, by today's standards and expectations it can rank lower.
If not, all ports should be scored exactly the same as their original.
But that is just my subjective opinion.
After having Miles Morales since launch, I finally platinum’d it last week in anticipation for this game! Preloaded and ready to swing!
@Diowine You more or less nailed it. Original Spidey was five years ago. Expectations change, tastes change, trends change... not to mention different reviewers.
Delivered today 😃
Excellent, fair and unbiased review written very well. While I'm not a big fan of Spidey, I do enjoy game reviews that are this good. Wish all of them were at this standard of quality. Thanks for the great read.
Sounds cool and I'm a real sucker for Black Spidey. But will postpone this sometimes after Lords of the Fallen and Alan Wake 2 😅
@Vil You're too kind! Thanks for reading!
@ironcrow86 You sound upset so I'll just leave you be lol.
What about the 40fps VRR mode? Is it the way to play?
I don’t understand why it is a negative point for being familiar. What would you expect? Spider-Man starts flying or driving cars or use guns and shoot enemies? How could you make it different? Make it linear?
How can you say it does everything between than the first one then score it lower 😂
There is just something too safe about what Sony has put out on the first party front for a while now, aside from the amazing standout that was Returnal.
They really need a shakeup throughout the mgmt. side as well as creatively within each studio. The wait for these games is far too long to be playing what amounts to a carbon copy in terms of gameplay with a new story often reusing beats from previous iterations. Especially considering that the filler in between are merely doomed to fail live service schemes. I'm not really sure I want another horizon, uncharted, GOW or GOT that merely iterates on the same formula. It just seems like such a waste of talent to have a core group of amazing studios taking 4-6 years to put out samey sequels that don't change much considering how much time has passed between them.
This title was always going to only just be good if you like Spiderboy. Mainly because there isn't much more you can expand upon unless you shakeup the entire design formula and setting. it sounds like the areas they could have done that (stealth, setting, combat, mission and activity design) they chose to really not do so beyond minor refinement. I hope Insomniac move away from the Sony safe sequel formula and try something new or at the very least resurrect a series that deserves some much-needed attention.
Biggest question I have, and is vital to know to know if this is truly GOTY.
Is there haptic feedback when spider sense goes off in combat?
Interesting that PQ has one of the lowest scores for the game, shows how great the game is if 8 is a low score.
@Kanji-Tatsumi it must be true then
@Matroska Nintendo seems to get free passes all the time just because it Nintendo
One of the lower review scores, going by what I've seen on Metacritic. It's never about the number though, I read the reviews here, NL and PX because they're generally fair and give me an idea what to expect. That said, I want to go into this game with as few spoilers as possible so I won't be reading this review now and instead will come back after I complete my first playthrough of Spider-Man 2.
I'm surprised it only got an 8. Not saying 8 is bad, because obviously some studios would kill for an 8. But I expected higher for some reason.
@Quintumply I have a few questions.
I understand insomniac have played it safe for its sequel but and its a big but... what exactly do you expect from a game about spiderman??
They nailed swinging around in the first game and seemed to of improved upon it and story wise, its still a comic book story.
What would you of done to change this?
Its not a gripe at you personally nor a attack. Im generally interested in what would change your mind for it to push it beyond and how much can you refresh a game about spiderman?
I do feel like this is always the same way people treat Game sequels, if its not a huge dramatic fresh take then its sort of graded down. Not suggesting that is the case here as I respect and value all of push Square articles.
But a game about spiderman. What I expect is Spiderman just a new story.
I dont buy a new comic in the same series and be like o its more of the same nothing crazy.
I expect spiderman to act the same in a different situation and different characters.
So for insomniac absolutely nailing how spiderman feels and plays in the first game. Then in 2 they have twek it to be better.
So I expect spiderman 2 to be that but a different story.
Same with films in a franchise.
John Wick example, 4 films and all are basically the same. Yet I found them amazing.
My other question which I dont think you touch on in the review.
And ive heard no one say anything. What about the swinging mechanic slider?
How does it work and is their a difference?
Did you forget and this could of swayed you on the familiarity of being spiderman.
Like many reviews say its just more spiderman but a 0 to 10 slider for swinging could be the game changer.
Beware: The following is a much a sincere criticism as it is a form of feedback/discussion.
This site's moderation revels in engagement and I guess the hot take in this review is that more, better and faster scores lower. Then, the rebuttal that it should be more difficult to score higher coming off two successful entries before it. As long as there are far worse games out there scoring 8's on this site, I will not exactly be happy with the editorial line. Also, indies are generally awarded higher scores for much less, which speaks volumes.
The conclusion still stands: this is a better game even after the original's patches and reworks. I am putting this game on my to-do list which is long and contains Forbidden West (I own it, but stopped playing about 20%-40% in without any real reason), GOW: Ragnarok (don't own, but I actually like to have some true quality gaming in the bank made richer by patches, updates and DLC.
I hope to contribute to Spidey's continued success but I am not in a rush. Too many games! And Cyberpunk 2077 has wrestled my gaming time and attention to the point where I just had to buy the DLC.
N.i.c.e. a 8 is really good score for 🕷 spiderman.word up son
Surprised to see just 8/10 from pushsquare. Myself, I gave original spiderman 7 out of 10 back in the day when it was released, but I'm very confident this game will be significantly above the first game. Miles morales already was a step forward.
@AdamNovice Haven't you heard, PushSquare is now Eurogamer and vice versa. Difference is, the latter are FromSoft fans and the former are Yakuza fans. 😉
I think 8 is likely the score most people will go to. From what I’ve read it is good game, but doesn’t innovate much from the original.
So, did anyone really feel like this would be anything BUT a merging of two solid games? I personally wasn't expecting something earth shattering new.
@Deoxyr1bose I don't recall specific haptics for the spidey sense, but the DualSense is put to really good use throughout!
@trev666 I think it's fair that the game would be expected to be better, as it's built on already solid ground, but being just better ithan the original isn't really enough to warrant a same (or higher) score, I'd say; spiderman came out at a time when that game didn't exist, but we've since had 2 spiderman titles and this plays similarly, so it's not like you score it in a vacuum, it exists post-game, and has to be scored appropriately for that? If spiderman 1 and MM weren't already there, I'm sure this would be a 9.
I’m so hyped already have the digital deluxe preinstalled and this game finally broke insomniacs curse and got 91 on metacritic so happy for them.
Can't say I was expecting it to be anything too innovative, as many have said, only so much you can do with Spider-Man.
Sounds like there are some decent improvements in there, can't wait to get my mitts on it, had a great time with the first two and there has been a good bit of time since I played them that it won't feel like I have Spidey fatigue.
@Bez87 Hello! So, to answer your first question: "what exactly do you expect from a game about spiderman?" — The answer is that I was expecting just about exactly what we got. And that's perhaps the issue: it didn't exceed my expectations, really. It's very, very good and I had a blast playing it, and anyone who enjoyed the previous games will love this too. But it didn't wow me. It's just an incredibly well made, iterative sequel, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's great.
Next question: "what would change your mind for it to push it beyond and how much can you refresh a game about spiderman?" — Well, I'd hope the answer to the first part of this question is in the review. Liam and I both had some reservations about the story's pacing (can't get into specifics without spoiling) and some contrived points that stuck out to me. Stuff like everyone conveniently being a mega-genius, or having tons of money, or access to technology that can conjure solutions to problems in a few seconds. It's part and parcel of the established universe and its characters, which I get, so I never wanted to get too into the weeds with that stuff, but little things like that did irk me occasionally. So, narrative-wise, I think there's room for improvement.
I also ran into a few bugs, though nothing too crazy, and I think the combat, while lots of fun, does eventually lose a bit of steam. I'm definitely repeating myself now, but yeah, there are a few things it could do better.
As for how to refresh a Spider-Man game, I mean, I'm not a game designer. But this is a comic book hero — there are limitless possibilities, in theory. Go crazy!
Third question relates to the swing assist option, which I addressed in an earlier reply. Basically, by default the assist on swinging is at 10 (maximum), which is the same as it was in the previous games. You can turn it all the way off, and it makes a pretty noticeable difference. It's less forgiving and feels a bit stiffer with the assist off, but gives you a little bit more control over the swinging arc. Fine if you want that, but personally I actually prefer the default. To me it just feels nicer. It's great to have the option, but I wouldn't call it a game changer.
I take your point about expectations but, again, that's why we ultimately went with an 8 and not higher — it's a brilliant sequel, but it doesn't push the envelope. It's safe and secure. That's absolutely fine.
I'm surprised this is only an 8, especially after reading the actual review itself. It read a 9, and for this site to be on the low end for this game is surprising, but in the end oh well I guess. It changes nothing for me having the game pre-ordered months ago and it still being my most anticipated game of the year. Still very much looking forward to starting it this weekend.
I do hope they do more to change things up with Wolverine and any future Spider-Man games though. Nothing drastic of course, but it could get old eventually to keep playing a similar formula.
Is it Friday yet?
@KundaliniRising333 yeah I’m sure the millions their games sell which always feel like an event when they release while reliably scoring 90 plus on metacritic needs a shakeup
A fair score. People will love it regardless and that's totally fine.
It's what I'd expect, story is probably good with Miles, Peter living on his own changes and the Symbiote. The fast travel uses the console hardware well I'm impressed as Rift Apart I wasn't it didn't push enough (faster loading is not exciting behind forced scripted rifts then dynamic rifts or control over the yellow ones not 'placed here and try to use them' yeah Portal wasn't fun because I had limited Portals the whole game you get the portal gun it gets more fun then the tutorial portals).
The visuals will be good (I still think they look less detailed, they change the faces to look different but in doing so they have less facial details of lines/freckles and more yet other characters look better or those even untouched probably like Miles look better than Peter and MJ, the environments and RT do look right but the lighting changes when swinging looked off, not in a bad way I'm just not used to seeing games do this that's all it works fine if that is what it's doing XD).
Hearing suits are cosmetic and require resources is a waste of people's time. They need to make it RPG style stats or the perks like the first game did but some suits don't. Maybe a photo/inspiration for making the suits but less of a cost involved. I didn't like Jedi Survivor being Metroidvania like going cosmetics made me care so little then a Metroidvania with functional abilities or saber perks or something for the effort.
Setpieces look good from other reviews footage. I wonder how the Sandman boss fight is, not expecting Shadow of the Colossus or God of War 3 but still.
The gameplay is probably fine, new abilities, some same suits from the old games is understandable and fine. I know dramatic changes will throw people off. But sometimes I prefer it I don't like safeness in my video games. Some can go bad no doubt but I mean story/visuals can't be everything. Because if what your doing to see the story is boring then well I won't want to see the story play out.
Stealth I always wonder, what layout, what distractions, what weapons/no weapons (what objectives to do for more tokens gained), what you can do in stealth, what enemy tracking light/sound/alarms, etc. Thief's systems were one thing and current games are another. Throwing a cigarette to distract the robot enemies in Vanquish is one thing, Max Payne/other slow motion combat approaches, camera and more are another.
Spiderman is a game that doesn't need to, it depends what they wanted to go for too though. I understand the audience for the game though. I don't fit that audience really but it doesn't make it a bad game.
The missions all bored me in Spiderman PS4, didn't play the Miles Morales game so can't comment there. But other than the radar/laser side missions (aka 2 side missions), the taskmaster challenges and the lab puzzles I had no interest in the rest. Oh and the ground pound one because 1 skill was used in one yay so 3 side missions.
Not everything needed to be like that but I find some with restrictions (I'm too used to racing games that do this sorry, but also it made me use things I wouldn't and why challenge runs are so fun, then open but I don't know what to do/could limit things but not sure what to make my own fun, better than car classes only for racing games or so linear it's boring because no depth behind the strictness being so basic) makes you use them more, some do need to be flexible though.
I just find some dialogue focused ones to be boring, some fights to be the same as others so the platforming ones/moveset ones stood out. The laser one made Ratchet 2016 stealth segments look bland they used the same laser assets but improved their use cases.
The outposts will be maybe improved (enemy types, AI, attack patterns, waves, objects to use in fights, the outpost layouts/location set pieces), stealth hopefully like Miles did. Just minor touches or maybe the same who knows.
But eh the stories are probably fine but the gameplay eh. I get who the audience is, I get dramatic changes I get this and that but I get bored with the most not much going on combat the AI/enemy types were getting very noticeable and boring.
While sure Spiderman is what it is for combat, sure ideas for enemies, objects, uses of abilities/ability ideas, scenarios to use them and more have limits the designers can possibly come up with, I didn't enjoy the side missions/leveling up so I didn't care about the abilities.
I used some but got comfortable (while Ratchet games they do the 'use the later weapons due to damage output/level ups and I don't mind it, I did a no skill tree/base armour run and it was fun, hard but not as hard as open worlds expecting you to always use them it's not as scaled as those, or odd skills/point cost in other games Diofield Chronicles you can make them cost 10 points doesn't mean the value is good for most of them for 5% this and otherwise better balanced that for me to grind levels for other skills no thank you)
and also did the missions to 'do them' not because I wanted to get tokens/get abilities/get anywhere I had no interest in them, so if I replayed the game I'd get what I want and not use the rest only the few I did, I found the AI/attack patterns boring then fun.
The writing will be good I have no doubt but if we get formulaic missions then snore. I get story and what Spiderman does in his world is more important but if I'm doing whatever crimes, whatever outposts, whatever formuliac this and that I get bored.
I enjoyed Sunset Ovedrive more because besides it's world/writing being completely different I played it for the gameplay (I hated the dialogue when I first played it, picked it back up and didn't mind it).
I'd rather tower defence or varied moveset or dialogue side missions/challenges then the eh crimes, eh tokens, eh this and that. Using the weapons in a Ratchet way was familiar but different enough (not saying out of comfort of game design I'm familiar with either).
I won't judge Spiderman to TOTK I just won't, sky islands with nothing on them, caves with resources sure but aren't that much more exciting, quests/bosses and dialogue that doesn't really work well because well you hear about the war 4 times depending who you free first and hear repeated 3 more times.
But when I think gameplay/interactivity in Zelda games or GTA I do wonder sometimes what reviewers or people that praise those games want, how limited or flexible players and do with cheats, with NPCs, with anything to sandbox make their own fun then just 'do missions' or only use player abilities in limited ways.
It is something where I don't want every platformer to be Mario 64 movesets if the games don't have level design to use it or even make it fun or just 'it's familiar/nostaglic and so on so lets make like 20 of those types. Like it's boring.
I want more interesting ideas.
I don't also want Banjo style sandbox platformer RPG quest games I want obstacle courses and the odd minigames not RPG quests. There is a reason I came to like Spyro 1 more than 2 & 3 and 3 went further but it became more tedious then fun. And I grew up on Spyro 1-3 but I can see what I don't care for in them as much now and willing to say so.
I'd prefer a Space Station Silicon Valley (aka what I will always bring us as to why Biomutant's player characters are boring and barely offer swimming/flight/anything interesting just vehicles/a glider later, why not offer more towards the player exploring then restricted to quests, the gas immunity sure great idea but if limited regions by vehicles why not by animal attributes then just gas immunity and looks) or Chameleon Twist's tongue moves still never replicated compared to grapple hook games or Glover's ball forms for puzzles approach, varied gameplay ideas then just Mario/Banjo formats.
I mean seeing Kao Round 2 be like Rayman 2 was weird but even still. Other games with varied ideas I'd like to see, that or them ported more even if only the popular ones do so while yay to Gex/Glover ports (hopefully they fix that PC port and whatever goes on for console future) I do question popularity (animals, marketing, whatever game got picked up by box art) and the better ideas less sold/talked about get left behind for blandness and popularity.
I see this with racing being more bland, I don't as much with hack n slashes their doing fine. Open worlds aren't my thing but I still think about elements in them hence the gameplay elements tangent.
Spiderman 2 will be as good of improvements, familiarity (not a bad thing and probably what people want than dramatic changes, but at the same time) and a Spiderman game with a lot of passion put in and that's what people want and that's totally fine.
It's still just not my thing.
@SuntannedDuck2 Cool.
Just please tell me Screwball isn’t back. Those challenges were the worst. Chances of a platinum decrease exponentially if so.
Pumped for Friday though! I loved the original and just finished replaying the ps5 remaster and enjoyed the story even more the second time.
@PixelDragon Console warfare stuff. Any review under 9/10 is seeing as an attack on their favorite box.
I am likely getting this one in a few. Need to finish Starfield, start Mirage and play Mario Wonder. Once that checklist is cleared, I plan to re-play Spider-Man 1 and Miles on PS5, hopefully get the platinum on both, THEN I'll be jumping on this one!
I unwrapped my gift under the tree this morning and it was Spider-Man 2 The Spectacular SIx for game boy color. Loving it so far! Thanks anyway ma and pa
I caved in and preordered it. Thanks PushSquare for making me spend my money 😜😜 I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hold out for long. Caved with Ragnarok too (so worth it though).
i have preordered and completed the download, took leave from work on Friday. the cool thing about Sony is that they are regional so my midnight Friday is 8hrs from GMT.
@ironcrow86 Arkham series could never be the greatest after Knight, but it's a good series.
I seem to be alone here but the thing that’s turns me off about games like this and other mega franchises like Assassin’s Creed is the combat.
Floaty, button mashing affairs.
Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Elden Ring, Nioh 2, Wo-Long absolutely wipe the floor with any other games in terms of melee combat.
@Quintumply 0/10 throw this entire game away and liquidate Sony as we speak
@dark_knightmare2 he's not wrong though. There are a fair few franchises that sony could bring back. The resistance games,socom and syphon filter to name a few. Sony have played it very safe this gen so far which is working out for them but i agree with kundalini and there are franchises that really are being ignored and would be most welcomed back.
It will be the best Spider-Man game to date
However, my guilty pleasure is Spider-Man The Return of the Sinister Six on the NES
To me the general consensus of this game is it’s a well made game that’s fun, but it breaks no new ground from the last 2. The problem I had with Miles Morales was it was way too familiar to the first one. It’s a shame they couldn’t have found a way to put Spidey in a new setting that wasn’t New York. I don’t think I want another 30 hours of the same stuff. Sure it’s a great game, but they better be careful it doesn’t go the way of Assassins Creed Sequelitis.
@Tharsman
Not one user sceptical of the final scoring has said or indirectly suggested that the scoring is too low because Nintendo exists, so that is some strawman😂
Wait, there are one who says Nintendo gets special points from their affiliate sites, so I guess the strawman-builder gets exactly 1 (one) straw to build the man. Get in there!
Removed - discussing moderation; user is banned
@MrGawain I only played the first 2 games this year. Think I'll wait a few years for this one so it feels new again for me.
@trev666 "confused you say this is a better game but it got a worse score".
If it's better do they give it a 10? What if Spiderman 3 is better again, is that an 11 out of 10?
It can be a better game technically but if it's also more of the same then that should go against it in my view.
Looks way more 10/10 material than mediocre and flawed Starfield
@blockfight Yea. Lets rate all games that could possibly get sequels 1/10.
Tell me what Spidey 1 did better than Spidey 2.
Theres Wolverine on the horizon. Rate it 1/10 coz it seems Wolverine 2 will be next and although Wolverine 2 will be better in every aspect it will be rated lower than original... Because...
A very fair score and review all around. Although I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the inconsistency in criticism between this review and say, Horizon Forbidden West. Which is also an admittedly safe, and unambitious sequel which PushSquare awarded a 9/10. But I'm not gonna bust balls too much, as they might have been written by two different reviewers for all I know. But this lack of consistency is also something that IGN gets beat up for all the time
@Tchunga I reviewed both games, as it happens. In my opinion, Forbidden West is a more improved sequel to Zero Dawn than Spidey 2 is to Spidey 1. I take your point about the similar, iterative nature of both sequels, but I think Forbidden West made a slightly bigger leap.
The fluidity of navigation and the combat were both strong points for me in the previous game. The story was OK, the characters were just sort of fine (apart from the villains which were fittingly over the top and ridiculous, which is what I expect). But the open world filler was painful. Ubisoft radio towers and pointless collectibles.
If this game dials back the filler and emphasises the story and villains, it'll be more my thing. From what I've heard, there might actually be more filler here. I imagine that makes it a weaker title than the previous one, unless the story is very strong.
As it stands, Elden Ring claims one of my very rare 10/10 spots, BG3 probably gets a 9 or an 8.5, which would probably place the previous Spiderman at an 8 or 7.5. So I'm estimating a personal 7 to 7.5 with this game.
@Quintumply That's fair. Quite frankly I found HFW to be the poster child of safe, iterative sequels but I'm sure many would likely say the same about GoW Ragnarok, Which I thought was a substantial improvement over its predecessor. It's difficult to nail down exactly what makes a sequel innovative or not
@Tchunga great question. I was thinking the same. @Quintumply Thanks for the review, but I was wondering; do you benchmark games like Spider-Man 2 against other recent sequels to settle the great game vs. not innovative enough argument? I know you also reviewed HFW, but I would love to see this debate reflected more broadly in a review, maybe as part of the second opinion. I’m loving the discussion in the comments and I think it would really add to the review of any future sequel.
Glad it reviewed well. I'm gonna wait for the complete edition (if there is DLC) or a price drop, as I still have to finish the first two games, (and I am still working on Horizon FW so that will be a while) but I'm happy that much of the free play allows you to play as the spider of your choice as I will be MM for most of my game.
I do hope they do a SpiderVerse game eventually so that we can play as other spiders in general. Comics have so outpaced Movies and Games, that it is hard to get hyped for the games anymore.
@Quintumply Is new game plus, the same as in Miles Morales, or did they add something new?
More of the same (if it is good) should never be a negative factor in a review in my opinion. Most people DO want more of the same otherwise you wouldn't have a favourite meal.
Didn't expect to read a lot of hot takes about TOTK from people who very obviously didn't play it, here in the Spidey 2 comments.
This game looks solid... I am disappointed this is the only big first party Sony game for all of 2023. I feel like Sony usually makes something amazing every year and this year they just didn't. Not to knock Spiderman 2, but this isn't what I'm craving.
I pre-ordered the game. I used some stars points for credit towards the digital deluxe edition . Can't wait to play tomorrow. Graphics look great and glad they ditched PS4 to focus solely on a PS5 only game.
@Ryu_Niiyama Imagine a Spider verse game made on UE5 engine. Man that would be wicked.
Is anyone else having trouble switching to fidelity mode ? Everytime I put the fidelity mode , the game restart and when I check the visual settings again, it's still on performance mode ? Can anyone help me please
Just got my copy along with Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Installing the game now. Pretty soon, get to find out for myself if it lives up to the hype. I'm a big fan of 1 and Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
@Futureshark Ooh I know this one. The more challenging swinging reduces the height between the Spidey's and the ground, meaning you have to actively dodge traffic etc
@GreatKwyjibo hello , I found out the solution. after starting the game and when you take control , than you can change it again in the setting and this time it will be okay. I found out many other people had the same issue , but that's the solution
I'm playing @ 120 fps Fidelity mode with (touch wood ) no problem and it's incredible looking.
The intro is amazing.
I'm playing this directly off the back of Spider-man remastered and it feel mostly like the same game apart from some nice QOL improvements. 8 or 9 out of 10 seems fair. I'm sure there will be hardcore Spider-man fans that will give it a 10 because it's Spider-man but I can't see why I would score it the same as RDR 2.
Can't believe some sites gave 10/10 to Starfiled in comparision ROFL
@Tr3mm0r
What on earth has a Spiderman review really got to do with Starfield?
Xbox living in your head rent free. Give it a shake.
So many comments here concerning Nintendo as well, why not just enjoy a great game on your console instead of moaning about reviews of unrelated games on a different platform.
At the end of the day, it's whether you yourself like the game. I've played many games over the decades that have had rave reviews that have left me thinking meh. And just as many not so well reviewed games that I've thoroughly enjoyed.
At no point did I feel like I had to take to the comments section to complain that a reviewer didn't have the same opinions as myself, or for that matter what score a different game on a diffirent platform received. Bizarre.
@GeeForce So You forbid me to compare quality of 2 exclusive games for each console? Who are you lol?
I’ve only played an hour or so but in the opening battle where you have to run through the building, dodging attacks, I managed to run through a wall and fell down inside/underneath the game. Luckily a restart put me back to the last checkpoint.
Then this afternoon my Nephew called and said he’s lost hours of progress because his game glitched (character swinging through buildings and falling through the floor) so he rebooted the game and it’s put him back to where he was last night. His last auto save was midnight, so all the side content he completed today is lost. Make sure you manual save often!
I’m a bit shocked that a Sony first party studio has released a game with these kinds of issues. Especially one as high profile as Spider-Man 2. Sony games are usually polished to perfection. Hope they get a patch out asap - I’m a bit reluctant to play any more until these bugs have been ironed out.
@Pusher2021 there’s no new game plus or mission replay yet. I read somewhere that it will be patched in later this year but the exact date isn’t confirmed yet.
@ItsBritneyB_tch Ah, good to know! Thanks! Was really curious since I almost finished new game plus on SMM
I platinumed it today and loved every minute. Definitely hoping we get another story expansion, like the last game.
I'd love to see them expand this universe and have it cross over with the upcoming Wolverine game. And I'd give a kidney for a Daredevil game made with the same love and care that Insomniac put into these games.
I'm giving it a perfect 10, because it checks off all the boxes to keep me glued to my system for hours.
If I have a minor complaint it was the same from the previous Spider-Mans. Its just the web swinging. What am i latching my web too when im swinging through Central Park.... come on!
@rachetmarvel well for me I would say it’s not so much an agenda but a way of making them look like they are honest when they are slightly biased against Playstation.
in reality Spider-Man 2 judging by what I have played of it so far is in no way an 8 and probably the most well put together game ever made…It is so easily a 10.
For this site to give it this score in a time of constant remakes and remasters is criminal against creative gaming. It only encourages people to not reward with a day one purchase to what is a clearly out standing game…
I’m close to just never coming to this site again…why not judge the game on what it gives you rather than being nit picking at every single flaw…I believe that there are a lot of sites similar to this one who only like to post slightly negative comments on PlayStation to make them look unbiased..
Xbox sites on the other hand lie on a constant biases and big up even the most mediocre game…
I believe our gaming press is disappearing ups it’s own bum and let’s hope that someday they emerge back out like an number 2. Then least we can flush that crap down the toilet to never be seen again.😉
As a slower, relatively older gamer, and somewhat of a completion-ist, games usually take me 3 or 4 times what it takes normal players to play a game but like a book you can't put down, this was that game to me. Literally had trouble putting the controller down, even to sleep. Definitely took a game-cation from work to play this one. Really enjoyed my time with it and only wished it lasted longer. I'm already counting down the years until the inevitable addition to what I assume will be a trilogy, for at least the mainline series.
@harchibald You're spot on. The story in this, while maybe not exactly new ground in canon for the Spider Man world, beats the pants off most of the drivel these sites give 9s or even 10s. I think games are being judged a lot on potential and less on comparison of other games. On whether that's a right or wrong approach, they could have scored this a 5 and I would have still played it day 1 (and probably blocked this site on my firewall.)
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