Hello Ladies, gentlemen and those of a non-binary nature, my name is Daibhi and this is the Gamerhub community. This article is basically a cross between an editorial piece and a review, but before I dive in, I need to explain my absence for the past fortnight. My mental health is wobbly at the best of times but recently, with the seasonal change in Scotland, combined with the fact my dad died 4 years ago at this time of the year, it makes November the hardest month of the year for me. However, I am back, I’m up and running, and I’m going to take this moment to do two things. Firstly, I’d like to welcome the wonderfully talented Lew Langton, who has joined the Hub in the last two weeks. Secondly, if you need help, don’t be afraid of going out and getting it. Bottling it up inside helps nobody in the end. To this effect, I’m going to put some important phone numbers at the bottom of this article. On with the review…
Spider-Man 2 is an action-adventure video game set roughly a few months after the events of Spider-Man Miles Morales, and is developed and published by Insomniac Games. It’s a PS5 exclusive and was released on October 20th 2023. It is currently the 12th of November as I type this, and the game currently retails at £69.99. With thanks to my best friend, I played my way through this game and managed to complete it, but I’ll get to the stuff in a bit.
The Plot
It’s been a hot minute since Roxxon Plaza went the way of the Dodo, and now Peter Parker and Miles Morales are both Spider-Man. Peter’s still trying to juggle his life as both the web-head and himself, and takes up a job at Brooklyn Visions Academy, where he and Miles have to stop The Sandman. The introduction to the game’s key mechanics here are nothing short of astonishing. The graphical quality (particularly if you play your games on the PS5’s Performance Mode) is probably the first time having a PS5 felt like getting good value for money, and both Spider-Men basically unlock the ability to fly. Okay, pedantic gamers, I know they’re called Web Wings, but it really feels as if the two characters are flying.
Peter gets fired for abandoning his class to go and fight the Sandman and is now living in Queens, in his late Aunt’s old flat. He’s still with MJ, and Harry Osborn returns to them, seemingly cured from his terminal illness. Harry hires Peter to work on “healing the world” at his new company: The Emily-May Foundation. Miles needs to crack on with his essay and get into college while Rio has apparently began dating.
Whilst overseeing the transfer of prisoners from The Raft, things go horribly wrong and the two Spider-Men witness Kraven The Hunter capturing Scorpion and Martin Li. It appears that Kraven is hunting them for sport, and eliminates a few of them. His latest target becomes Felicia Hardy (who apparently survived The City That Never Sleeps DLC) and Miles helps her survive by guiding her escape to Paris.
Harry, MJ and Peter visit Coney Island to catch up when Kraven’s forces show up to capture Tombstone. While rescuing people from a ferris wheel, Harry realises that Peter is the OG Spider-Man. Apparently Harry wears an exosuit that augments his body and lets him survive relatively healthily.
I’m going to stop spoiling from here on out, because this game goes hard, and doesn’t stop. It’s brilliant, amazing, astonishingly sad at some points, and is spectacular yet flawed.
The Gameplay
Seeing as the city of New York itself is both a gameplay mechanic and a character, let’s get the Manhattan-sized elephant out of the way- This NYC is a LOT bigger than the one we’ve seen previously. Instead of just having Manhattan, we’ve got Brooklyn and Queens as well, which makes web-slinging… interesting at times. Just like in the last two games, the city is one giant gym for you to navigate your way around, and I spent more time doing this than other things, because it’s just so fun! The web-gliding, however, becomes a bit of an issue. Sure, it allows you to soar around the city, in a way that doesn’t feel too much like Batman, but it is majorly overpowered. Web-slinging doesn’t quite feel redundant, but why web-sling when you can climb up a building and glide, and it takes a fraction of the time?
Don’t complain to me if you get spoiled from here on out, as the internet is dark and full of spoilers.
The powers in this game are broadly speaking similar to the two previous games, until we get to the symbiote. For those unaware at this point, Peter gets the symbiote and yeah… we eventually get a boss battle with Venom. The symbiote powers create two things. Firstly, Peter stops making jokes as he fights the bad guys. Secondly, the game becomes significantly easier for a while, but then, there is a storyline about that which I won’t ruin for you. The Symbiote powers are fun, and honestly, they don’t outstay their welcome. There is one drawback though. Eventually, Peter removes the suit and you realise how hopelessly overpowered the symbiote truly is. Also, this game drags as the final battle looms large over you. Seeing MJ get turned into Shriek was cool, but it really felt unnecessary.
The flaws.
Let’s talk about the pacing. For a AAA videogame, this game is short. To complete the story once, it takes about 30 hours. When the price of everything is insufferable and yet the game costs £69.99, this really does feel like you’ve been robbed. If you want to make this game feel like value for your cold, hard-earned cash, you can play through this game multiple times, with increasing difficulty, but sadly, there’s no New Game Plus or DLC to extend further. The story is absolutely phenomenal and kinda feels a bit like Empire Strikes Back when compared to Star Wars. What I mean by that is that this game is a few tones darker than the previous two games, and it feels longer as well. The story drags, with segments with MJ, and the hallucinogenic sequences take forever, even if they do provide important character development.
Now to deal with the elephant in the room. This game feels as if they rushed to the end, as the amount of bugs and glitches are insane. Whole features have been removed from the game in successive patches, and there are more expected on the way. We had a suit that turned into a white cube after about 2 hours at one point, and there is currently no way to control the weather and time of day after you’ve completed the game and gone for the 100% completion. For a game that costs £70 Brexit Bucks, I honestly expect a game that feels properly looked through, and honestly, this game doesn’t do that.
It’s why I can’t with good conscience recommend that you buy this game new. Wait until the price drops a bit, or keep up with the patch notes and check what your friends think before you lay any money down for it. This game is a flawed masterpiece, I’ll agree, but the bugs and glitches had both myself and my friend turning the air sapphire at several points.
However…
This game really stands out for four big reasons. Firstly, the gameplay is imperfect but superb. Being able to fast travel the way this game allows feels like it has been pulled straight from a Marvel Movie. Seriously, after reading this, go onto YouTube and look it up. Absolutely fucking brilliant stuff.
Secondly, these games are held in high regard due to their accessibility options and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is no different. The range of options to customise for your gaming needs is bigger than ever, and as a disabled gamer myself, I couldn’t be more thankful about this if I tried.
Finally, the soundtrack to the game this time is some of the best I’ve ever heard in a superhero game. Seriously, if they release the soundtrack to this game onto Spotify, expect me to be listening to it on my earbuds as I work. This soundtrack is genuinely brilliant and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Conclusion
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is a brilliant game to play, albeit if flawed and overpriced for what it is. The story is bigger, as is the city, and the range of villains in this game might just be the biggest range of villains ever seen in a piece of Spider-Man media. The game works beautifully well with the DualSense controller, and the emotional beats of this game will have you greeting like a wean at certain points. There’s one hell of a twist during the mid and post-credits scenes and the character development (particularly with Peter and MJ) is some of the best you could possibly want in a video game. This game is only really let down by the bugs and glitches, which I’m reliably informed will be ironed out over time. So play this game, aye, but bear this in mind before you splash your cash.
I give this game 4.1 out of 5 joysticks
For the Gamerhub Community, I’ve been Daibhi and you are all legends.
If you need help, reach out. If in the UK, like this author, the number for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) is +44(0)800 585858 and they can be contacted every day from 17:00 til midnight.
