This review contains spoilers
Spider-Man means a lot to me. When I first saw the original film directed by Sam Raimi as a little boy, Spider-Man was everything that I could have wanted in a super hero. Not only did he have incredible powers that made him a super hero, but he had real human problems and struggles that came with being a hero. Insomniac's first Spider-Man game for the PS4 (now also on PC) was the perfect Spider-Man experience. Their spinoff, Miles Morales, was also a great, albeit short, Spidey story about Miles coming in to his own. Now with their full fledged sequel for the PS5, Insomniac gives players their version of the Black Suit Spider-Man tale, and my god did I love it.
The narrative is obviously a major highlight here. Playstation exclusives usually have great storylines and that doesn't stop here in Spidey 2. From Kraven's somewhat tragic backstory, Peter's fall from grace with the symbiote suit, to Miles' struggles with being his own person outside of Spider-Man, everything is nailed here. Every character is so fleshed out here. There isn't a single character in the cast that I disliked, no matter how major or minor their role is.
The gameplay is largely the same from the previous two Spidey games, but they've just added more to play around with. The web wings are a nice little addition to the already near perfect traversal system. Web swinging feels as great as ever. The combat will feel very familiar to people who played the previous games (which you should really do before jumping in to this one imo), but with more added abilities for both Peter and Miles.
Obviously a big highlight of the game is the symbiote suit abilities. Visually alone they are so impressive and fun. They change up the gameplay enough to give you a sense of just how powerful the symbiote suit really is.
At first, I groaned when I saw that MJ's missions were back. However, this time around, they are extremely well designed. MJ now has a weapon that she can use to take down enemies, and each time you play as her, your options greatly expand. By the last of her missions, it plays closer to a 3rd person shooter rather than a boring sneaking/tailing mission.
Let's also not ignore one of the best gameplay parts of the game: you get to play a mission and a boss battle as Venom. This was so damn cool and unexpected. It may only be for one small portion of the game, but even then Venom's gameplay is so highly polished and fun. If this is Insomniac hinting at a Venom game in the future, sign me the hell up.
Side missions this time around were pretty solid. They're a little lighter on Spidey villains this time around, but there's enough that set up future games and/or DLC that make them satisfying enough. There are a few extra baddies that show up though, and they are a lot of fun to see.
Progression is also largely similar to the previous games, but with a focus on skill trees, stats and gadget upgrades. Progression felt nice and smooth. I never felt like I had to grind for resources or that I was underpowered in any way. Everything just feels so smooth in Spidey 2.
In terms of complaints, I think I would really have to start nitpicking my experience. I suppose at times the side missions can start to feel a little monotonous. Though to be fair, that could just be because I would often go and try to do all of the side missions at once when I could, so that is probably more on me than anything. This experience is just so great there's not a lot coming to mind in terms of things I didn't like.
As a huge Spider-Man fan, I know I'm biased towards loving this game, so take my review however you will. But Insomniac created the best Spidey game to date (again). I highly recommend this game for anyone who's a Spidey fan, or just super-hero fan in general. Is it the best comic book game ever made? Well, its certainly between this and Arkham City.
The narrative is obviously a major highlight here. Playstation exclusives usually have great storylines and that doesn't stop here in Spidey 2. From Kraven's somewhat tragic backstory, Peter's fall from grace with the symbiote suit, to Miles' struggles with being his own person outside of Spider-Man, everything is nailed here. Every character is so fleshed out here. There isn't a single character in the cast that I disliked, no matter how major or minor their role is.
The gameplay is largely the same from the previous two Spidey games, but they've just added more to play around with. The web wings are a nice little addition to the already near perfect traversal system. Web swinging feels as great as ever. The combat will feel very familiar to people who played the previous games (which you should really do before jumping in to this one imo), but with more added abilities for both Peter and Miles.
Obviously a big highlight of the game is the symbiote suit abilities. Visually alone they are so impressive and fun. They change up the gameplay enough to give you a sense of just how powerful the symbiote suit really is.
At first, I groaned when I saw that MJ's missions were back. However, this time around, they are extremely well designed. MJ now has a weapon that she can use to take down enemies, and each time you play as her, your options greatly expand. By the last of her missions, it plays closer to a 3rd person shooter rather than a boring sneaking/tailing mission.
Let's also not ignore one of the best gameplay parts of the game: you get to play a mission and a boss battle as Venom. This was so damn cool and unexpected. It may only be for one small portion of the game, but even then Venom's gameplay is so highly polished and fun. If this is Insomniac hinting at a Venom game in the future, sign me the hell up.
Side missions this time around were pretty solid. They're a little lighter on Spidey villains this time around, but there's enough that set up future games and/or DLC that make them satisfying enough. There are a few extra baddies that show up though, and they are a lot of fun to see.
Progression is also largely similar to the previous games, but with a focus on skill trees, stats and gadget upgrades. Progression felt nice and smooth. I never felt like I had to grind for resources or that I was underpowered in any way. Everything just feels so smooth in Spidey 2.
In terms of complaints, I think I would really have to start nitpicking my experience. I suppose at times the side missions can start to feel a little monotonous. Though to be fair, that could just be because I would often go and try to do all of the side missions at once when I could, so that is probably more on me than anything. This experience is just so great there's not a lot coming to mind in terms of things I didn't like.
As a huge Spider-Man fan, I know I'm biased towards loving this game, so take my review however you will. But Insomniac created the best Spidey game to date (again). I highly recommend this game for anyone who's a Spidey fan, or just super-hero fan in general. Is it the best comic book game ever made? Well, its certainly between this and Arkham City.