This review contains spoilers
This is maybe the best narrative adaptation of the Spider-Man comics source material I've ever seen. Spider-Man is also extremely precious to my heart and I kind of tend to overjudge and over criticize some of the narrative stuff but this one blew me away. However I don't feel that it necessarily integrated into the gameplay the right way.
I think the venom enemies everywhere was a dumb mistake and I hated fighting them, because even though the attacks were reskinned they are the same enemies I've been fighting the whole time but it's just a glob instead of a big electric sword. I think some of the boss fights were also way too long, and I'm also unhappy with how some of the bosses I don't believe telegraph their attacks making them unblockable for me. But then some of the boss fights were like I'm going to remember this forever, scream was definitely my favorite. And that dialogue between Peter and MJ during that whole thing was heart-wrenching. I don't like any of the collectible stuff they set up in the city, I tried every single thing and I did one of each thing and never did another thing again. Like who tf can be bothered. I hate the collectibles so much.
I was blown away by how they did venom taking over Harry and integrated that into the plot about him being sick, it makes so much sense, and it was cool to play as venom for a little bit - That took me by complete surprise. I feel like the symbiote taking over everybody in the city makes me care a lot less about what it's doing to Harry though. And I know it's there because they want to give you new monsters to fight.
I liked the venom fight at the end but I also don't feel like they paced it properly and they actually had a cutscene deliver the final blow? I don't know that really dissatisfied me even though the fight itself was great. I know this is something that probably won't matter to most people but I feel like having Miles do the final part of the fight with venom takes a lot of the oomph out of it narratively. Like I know Peter does deliver that final blow in the cutscene like he should but it's been 45 minutes since you've played as him by that time
MJ sections were a lot better than the last game but I still didn't really like them, and when it turned into a third person shooter at the end I was just like what the hell are we doing here. I don't like this and I don't feel like it jives with the rest of the gameplay at all.
I also feel like having first Harry and then MJ fall victim to the symbiote, only after fighting scream you would watch that the entire world is beginning to be covered in the venom vines and would rush to stop him then. I think having all these goons around town doing random crimes as venom minions is kind of garbage to that narrative thread.
Overall better than the first but still basically plagued with every issue every other Sony game suffers from.
I think the venom enemies everywhere was a dumb mistake and I hated fighting them, because even though the attacks were reskinned they are the same enemies I've been fighting the whole time but it's just a glob instead of a big electric sword. I think some of the boss fights were also way too long, and I'm also unhappy with how some of the bosses I don't believe telegraph their attacks making them unblockable for me. But then some of the boss fights were like I'm going to remember this forever, scream was definitely my favorite. And that dialogue between Peter and MJ during that whole thing was heart-wrenching. I don't like any of the collectible stuff they set up in the city, I tried every single thing and I did one of each thing and never did another thing again. Like who tf can be bothered. I hate the collectibles so much.
I was blown away by how they did venom taking over Harry and integrated that into the plot about him being sick, it makes so much sense, and it was cool to play as venom for a little bit - That took me by complete surprise. I feel like the symbiote taking over everybody in the city makes me care a lot less about what it's doing to Harry though. And I know it's there because they want to give you new monsters to fight.
I liked the venom fight at the end but I also don't feel like they paced it properly and they actually had a cutscene deliver the final blow? I don't know that really dissatisfied me even though the fight itself was great. I know this is something that probably won't matter to most people but I feel like having Miles do the final part of the fight with venom takes a lot of the oomph out of it narratively. Like I know Peter does deliver that final blow in the cutscene like he should but it's been 45 minutes since you've played as him by that time
MJ sections were a lot better than the last game but I still didn't really like them, and when it turned into a third person shooter at the end I was just like what the hell are we doing here. I don't like this and I don't feel like it jives with the rest of the gameplay at all.
I also feel like having first Harry and then MJ fall victim to the symbiote, only after fighting scream you would watch that the entire world is beginning to be covered in the venom vines and would rush to stop him then. I think having all these goons around town doing random crimes as venom minions is kind of garbage to that narrative thread.
Overall better than the first but still basically plagued with every issue every other Sony game suffers from.