When it came time for Insomniac to put a '2' on 2018’s Spider-Man, not much needed to be thwipped into shape. The original article—plus a 1.5 sequel that was Miles improved—were already super tight. Like, Sam Rami spider-suit, rides up in the crotch tight.
Excuse the on-brand superlatives, but everything was basically all there—marvellous storytelling, amazing visuals, spectacular traversal, and a superior combat system well within web-striking distance of the Batman Arkham series.
Honestly, all they really needed to do was take their existing [red on] blueprint and just go bigger for a fanbase already well bitten. Or, as was done, sharpen the old fangs and inject everything with 100% more Venom.
As somebody who's already 100-percented this game twice already, obviously I think Spider-Man 2 is a sequel well worth your time. Collected below are some purchasing options for those among you who are “mind’s made-up already” diehards. Everyone else can bypass the window shopping by skip clicking here to read more of my post-mortem impressions.
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Cheapest Spider-Man 2 Deals
Spider-Man 2 (Standard Ed.)
Note: a preorder will get you early unlocks for a Web Gadget and 2 suits, plus 3 skill points.
PS5
- Preorder at Mighty Ape - $98
- Preorder at JB Hi-Fi - $99
- Get it digital on PS Store - $124.95
Spider-Man 2 (Digital Deluxe)
PS5
Extra Accessories
- Spider-Man 2 Console cover - Out of Stock
- Spider-Man 2 Ltd. Ed. DualSense - Out of Stock
- Spider-Man 2 Limited Ed. PS5 Console Bundle - $964
Spider-Man 2 hands-on
You're not going to spend much time wondering if this super sequel goes super-sized. Insomniac basically point-launches right into blockbuster ridiculousness with a gargantuan, God of War 3 scale boss fight. These visual flexes only get veinier as its VFX and environment artists unleash some xeno-moreish symbiote tech.
By turning NYC into... well, a literal sandbox right off the bat, Insomniac's statement of intent is unmistakable: “Did you think we’d run out of Web Tricks? Well, this sequel doesn't need to be squashed down into last-gen. With this colossus fight, we’re gonna put some dirt in your eye.”
As far as opening salvos go, it's mighty impressive. Better yet, and not to reveal much more of the rollercoaster ahead, it’s just the tip of the sandberg in terms of wow factor.
I’m not going to say much about the plot beyond a basic overview. Mostly because a fair bit has been said and showcased already about Pete’s dalliances with the Venom symbiote. What I will say, generally, is that Insomniac manages to tell great A and B stories with a Spider-Men duo that may be easily switched between. That said, you will be railroaded into using a specific Spidey for certain story beats and two unique sidequest threads that are mostly interesting and worth investigating.
And I say mostly here, because while some of them involve great drama with new or returning villains, others really do pump the brakes on the proceedings. For whatever reason, Insomniac feels pretty ok with plopping leisurely bike rides, non-super character swaps, and chin-wags with elderly NPCs into their action-adventure.
This is not a huge issue. But I did sign up hoping for Otto Octavius battling. Not octogenarian prattling.
Looking beyond that, you can expect the “Osborn family issues” teased in 2018 to occupy Pete’s time quickly. The PTSD-suffering Miles is given plenty of scores to settle and introspective moments, too. The true triumph here, however, is the decision to unleash Kraven as a limitlessly resourced and utterly ruthless foe who plays by zero rules.
Perhaps emboldened by being (loosely) connected to a cross-media Spider-verse where characters are infinitely expendable, Insomniac takes the gloves right off here. This is a sequel that’s not only more multi-threaded and sharper written; it's a new chapter that feels considerably more higher-stakes for super heroes and super villains both.
What I’d really like to spend time talking about is what I adore about this franchise—fisticuffs that feel as fluid and versatile as the all-purpose gunk in Pete’s web shooters. Worthy upgrades have been made, though many of the changes centre on streamlining the slickest ideas from the past two titles into a smarter sequel.
When it comes to web gadgets, the tinkering that’s taken place will sound iffy on paper, but it’s brilliant in practice. If you’ll recall, the 2018 Spider-Man had a weapon-wheel setup that had you suspending the flow of combat to select one of eight different gadgets. You could then deploy these wildly with R1 or use surgical aim via L2 + R1.
Curiously, Insomniac has drained our pool of upgradable gadgets to four that are shared by both Spider-Men. By default, you can web-shoot with taps of R1, but holding will give modifier access to your Upshot, Web Grabber, Concussion Burst, or Ricochet Web. Now, obviously, from a numbers standpoint, it sure sounds like you’re getting shortchanged, but the benefits of simplifying gadgets to face buttons pay big dividends to the flow of action.
In short, the old wheel was poisonous for fast, tactical combat. Now, you can no longer cheese the system by arbitrarily holding the gadget button to “Neo slow” the battlefield down. Secondly, having your gadgets sitting in a HUD, generously replenished, and tied to a R1 + facebutton works great in the heat of the moment. I was notorious for ignoring gadgets in the first two games; here, they're indispensable, novel tools.
Interestingly, suit powers have gone the way of Uncle Ben. Gone is the concept of purchasing a “new spider-you” (that you may not even like) to secure its unique, playstyle-changing perk. Insomniac makes the cosmetics rain heavily and often, with roughly 30 exotic suits per Spider-Man and many extra variants apiece. Quick warning, though: purchasing a suit won’t be a purely cosmetic decision. The fancier the fashion statement, the more likely it requires currency that’s probably better used elsewhere on especially useful gadget or performance upgrades.
Call it the OCD gardener in me, but I like my perks being kept in a neat forest of skill-trees like this. You effectively have one for Peter, one for Miles, plus a shared one that heavily concerns nice-to-have traversal skills, disarming techniques, and increased effectiveness against Brutes.
Like the gadgetry rethink, the reduced mess makes sense, but I do have a gripe or two. One can feel a bit aimless when it comes time to upgrade using an XP and Ability Point system that’s shared. Your future is largely unknowable, so there’s a chance you could be making one Spidey badass and the other one brittle.
Looking beyond that, combat is sublime as you effectively pinball between three major tactics. There’s the returning chestnut of thwacking fools to build Focus Meter pips, followed by a choice to use those on either a health refill or a one-shot KO. Secondly, your available gadgetry is used as a means to disrupt, displace, or concentrate enemies to where you’d like them to be. Lastly, when you’ve created the breathing space, or killzone, you need, the herd-thining, health-bar-shredding Super Abilities come out.
To say they’re showy and gratifying to use would be an understatement. Unlike gadgetry, Super Powers are wholly unique to each Spider-Man. Tapping into his electrical nature, Miles is a slightly more crowd-controlling, chain-damaging practitioner. Peter inches a little bit more towards isolating and dishing hellacious damage to single targets. This is especially true when you can stray from his extra Iron-Spider appendages to the brute force power-fantasy of the aforementioned Venom skills.
The old joy of crowd-controlling and isolating enemies mid-air has been augmented in great new ways. Enemy factions can now become intermixed during surprise reinforcement roll-ups. What’s the silver lining to needing to quickly shift tactics and handle a bunch of new enemy archetype interlopers? Random chance also decides if an AI Spidey teammate, or another ally, arrives to help you out. You just never know how a fight will go, and it makes every encounter feel that much more organic and exciting.
For instance, a fight with basic street goons might evolve to include firebug cultists who can slip through basic combos or deny large swathes of street with flamethrowers. Or it might be sandmen who are CQC lethal with ground-pounds and out-of-nowhere spawn-ins. As bad as they are, it’s the ubiquitous new Hunters who will dog you the most with their diverse range of archetypes and attacks.
Think: several flavours of snipers, undodgeable sword-bearers, shield-bearers, projectile-spewing VTOLs and 4x4’s, swooping bird drones, ability-blocking dog-bots, axe-wielding Brutes—they’re easily your toughest challenge yet. Also, expect to be turfed out of your usual combat safe spaces, thanks to caltrop explosives, poison clouds, or networks of electric air-mines that ruin your air-juggle cheese tactics.
Oh, and to make matters even better, the stealth is the best it’s ever been, too. The biggest switch-up is a lateral web-line mechanic that lets you organically ping out your very own stealth-kill clotheslines. I love that it frees you from the restrictions of pre-existing perches.
I also dig the clever design of “Hunter blind” outposts that hide atop skyscrapers. Instead of being an all-seeing, all-knowing death-from-above predator, you have to skulk into these blindly and usually from below. Clearing these out cleanly, without the benefit of an opening Obi-wan advantage, is a challenge to be relished.
We should talk scenery, sandbox, and the fun new ways to slingshot around. As veterans already know, Insomniac’s take on spider-commuting is on par with its super-polished pugilism. The addition of wingsuiting (literally) elevates all that even further, and even though I went in highly resistant, I surrendered to flying quickly. Wingsuiting is so useful and fun. So much so, I probably can’t go back and replay the previous games now.
Gliding seamlessly fits into an already sublime array of webslinging options as more of a high-altitude solution as opposed to a low-altitude replacement. If you’re down amid the skyscrapers and not utilising the new, sparsely available wind tunnel highway that threads through NYC, wingsuiting must be heavily supplemented with more swinging than an open marriage.
Knowing which traversal moves will earn and maintain maximum velocity becomes this wonderful little puzzle. Though all that may fall by the wayside if you clear a district of objectives and unlock a ludicrously load-less, “land anywhere” fast-travel for a suburb. That’s hugely impressive stuff on a technical level.
As handy as that function was, however, it felt Iike I was cheating myself out of a shinier, juicier-looking Big Apple that begged to be consumed. (Mostly for awesome, Across The Spider-verse collectable bots.) The old streets you know teem with sharper detail and more varied pedestrian routines. Corners of it burst into new and unexpected life when they can get caked in random sandtraps, blazes, or symbiote goop nests.
All in all, everything whips along at a silky 60fps, and extra kudos to Insomniac for almost doubling the playspace with some leafier eastern suburbs, too. Basically, from both a presentation and exploration standpoint, Spider-Man 2 is an absolute upgrade over its already massively impressive predecessors.
Spider-Man 2 trailers
Adam Mathew is all about the Spidey games, particularly the Ultimate difficulty versions of.
