Spiderman 2 (Finished 11/14/23)

Spiderman 2 is Insomniac's latest blockbuster effort, and as happens so often they deliver an excellent adventure. I was swept away by the 2018 game, and I enjoyed Miles Morales as well so my expectations were high going into this one. All those expectations were met and exceeded. Spiderman 2 delivers on being able to play as two Spidermen and balances this expertly. You switch between them at your own will most of the time unless the story dictates otherwise. Both feel different to control and leads to variety in gameplay, but also aren't different too much as to cause confusion when you switch inbetween them. The action is kinetic, smooth, and improved greatly from previous entries. While those previous games had great combat as well, Spiderman 2 just takes those solid controls and makes them even better. You have two main special weapon radials. On the L1/face button side it's the more powerful attacks and on the R1/face button radial are the gadgets. The stronger attacks are replenished after a certain cool down period, while the gadgets are brought back by doing damage to enemies. This along with your normal attacks makes for a very fun gameplay loop. You feel powerful, but you also have to plan attacks which adds a strategy to fighting. The main campaign missions are as epic and jaw dropping as you would expect including an opening mission that gets you into the action instantly. The side missions are thankfully more varied this time as I didn't love the monotonous missions of the 2018 game. Here they throw a lot of ideas at you, and vary it enough so that it stays fun and never feels like a chore. One mission you are using a robotic spider, then next you are using a bicycle with a bomb attached and if you don't get from point A to B in time you blow up. These side missions also usually have an interesting story beat, and or an unlockable tied to their completion so you feel rewarded for your efforts. These side missions are also spread out nicely through the campaign so you don't feel overwhelmed ended up having most of them done by the time the credits rolled, and had very little time after to 100% the game. Insomniac added an impressive quick travel function that you unlock after doing certain tasks in each section of the city. It's instant and is a game changing feature that will set the bar for other future releases. Until you unlock this feature you have a new wing suit ruse in combination with normal web shining that makes traversal that much more fun. There are many scats to unlock along with gadgets and abilities to upgrade. The story afun Spiderman story that takes beats from comics and filin, but put me twists on it for a serviceable story that hits great emotional moments in it's finale. My final point I must discuss is the world Insomniac created. It is just beautiful, and so alive featuring a lived in fully fleshed out New York City, Every section of the map feels different, and fun to swing around no cookie cutter buildings or environments. It's so beautiful that I didn't use the fast travel much as I just loved moving through this photorealistic world. Overall Spiderman 2 takes the already great Franchise and makes it one of the best experiences you can play on P55. This game is a must buy!

6/5/24 Edit: I am going to bump this up to 3.5 because I highly recommend doing the extra content. It's far more fun than the main storyline and there's more diverse gameplay elements.

It was never going to live up to the hype, but I'm still a bit let down by Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Let's discuss the good, since it outweighs the bad. I love how it balances the two protagonists in the storyline. The extra content and swinging around New York are as varied as ever. Spider-Man can now traverse water faster, so that's neat. The new special moves are fun to use. Finally, the graphics are actually quite good, and the story is compelling enough.

Now, the bad... there are just too many enemies. I know it's a beat-em-up action game, but these fight sequences are way too drawn out. I never felt exhausted during every encounter in Spider-Man or Miles Morales, but pretty much every fight here vastly overstays its welcome. Some people complained about boss fights being too long, but I was mostly okay with those. But when every encounter feels as long as a boss battle, that's when we have problems. Plotwise, I think things fall apart towards the end, but I can't really discuss that without spoilers. While the MJ stealth sections are improved in this game, I still hate them. Peter and Miles both have actual stealth sections in this game, so why bother? Admittedly, playing as her at the end was actually pretty satisfying. While I enjoyed the game enough, it is my least favorite in the series so far and I'm hesitant to go for 100% completion. We'll see how it goes.

This game completely exceeded my expectations. I was hyped for this game like most others were, but I wasn't expecting something too different from Spider-Man 2018 and Miles Morales. Insomniac delivered with this one. The game just feels so damn good to play. Back in 2018 I bought a PS4 for Spider-Man, and I did the same thing this year by buying a PS5 for Spider-Man 2 (managed to get the limited edition version!). This game was pretty much the sole reason I bought my PS5, and I'm glad I finally got some use out of it. I grinded this game out this past week, and I'd like to share my thoughts.

First off, I really enjoyed the story here. I'm going back and forth between whether I like this game's story or 2018's more, but right now I'm leaning towards this game. This was a sequel done right. I think the first game delivered a brilliant "classic" Spider-Man feel in terms of story, but this game took more chances and for the most part it worked. I enjoyed Kraven as a villain, and Venom was of course phenomenal and I like how he was presented in this game's story. Black suit spidy is a menace of course, and myself as the player felt the extra power I was wielding when I obtained the black suit. I think the characters are well written, except in the case of Miles. I WANT to like Miles in this game, it just seems like he doesn't do much. Beyond dealing with a revenge plot on Mr. Negative, Miles struggles with writing his college application essay. When Miles is left to his own devices in the story, it drags. I think Pete and Miles work great together in the story when they're both on screen, but Miles without Pete seems stale. This is a very minor complaint as for the most part, I enjoyed the entirety of the main story and I think the way the Spider-Men are presented here works great, when they're together.

The combat is somehow even better here compared to Spider-Man PS4 and Miles Morales. I enjoyed the combat in those games, but man, here it's so flashy and fun. The introduction of the parry mechanic scared me a little at first, but I think it was executed very well and I grew comfortable with it about halfway through the story. The combat controls took a tad too long for me to get used to, but that's probably chalked up to me coming fresh off of Miles Morales and Spider-Man 2018 combat system. I like the gadgets in this game, and I like that both Miles and Pete have access to all of the gadgets. The abilities given to each hero are also very fun to use. Abilities in combination with the gadgets provide a plethora of variation in combat scenarios. Basic moves have also been updated with new skills that can be unlocked via the skill trees. I did feel a little overwhelmed at times at just the sheer amount of different ways I can fight. I often forgot that I could yank enemies around by holding triangle and a trigger button, or that I could hold triangle then press R1 and throw a weapon back at enemy. These are just a couple of examples, but I don't look at this as a negative in the slightest. It's amazing that we are given access to this much variety for combat encounters.

The boss fights fucking slap. Both in terms of the villains you fight and from a gameplay perspective. Insomniac really listened to the fans here. I said in my review of Spider-Man 2018 and Miles Morales that boss fights felt way too similar and basic. Spider-Man 2 gives bosses a health bar, and are much more complex than "throw object at boss, hit triangle, mash square, repeat." I played on spectacular throughout my entire playthrough, and every single boss in this game kicked my ass. I had fun while fighting these bosses though. The set pieces for the main story were already great, but the boss fight arenas were done well too. I don't want to spoil any boss fights here, but I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed the boss fights here.

I'll keep this section brief, but the transversal here is top notch. I already enjoyed swinging through the city in the previous two games, but they somehow made it even more fluid and smooth here in the sequel. The introduction of the web wings in couple with wind tunnels is a game changer. You move so fast with those guys. I initially believed from trailers that the web wings would be a sort of cool down mechanic, but no. You can pop those suckers out at any time and get them in the very first mission of the game. They provided another element to transversal and I loved using them. I know some have complained that they feel less like Spider-Man when using these gliding wings, but I simply don't care. I just kind of remind myself that this is a game universe and these are not traditional Spider-Men. I think the web wings are fun, and I feel like I didn't soley rely on them when traversing. They pair well with the swinging mechanics in the game. The swinging feels much faster, and you get access to new swinging mechanics like the super slingshot and loop de loop which are both great additions.

Final notes. This was a great game. I haven't felt this addicted to a game in a while. I super grinded this game, and the final play time is recorded at 30 hours which I feel is just perfect. A few of the side missions and collectibles get a little repetitive as they did in the previous two games, but I feel like this game does not overstay it's welcome or ask the player to go all out in 100%ing. It sucks there's no new game plus right now, but that's ok. Developers have stated that we will be getting a new game plus added sometime down the road, so I'm not stressed. I will probably return to this game at some point, so I think a new game plus on ultimate difficulty will be a fun challenge. Oh yeah, we're also 100% getting DLC. I am very much looking forward to that given the strong hints laid out in one of the side missions.

Overall this is a good game, but it’s clear Sony’s AAA plans are seeping into the design and influencing Insomniac in directions that I think are less than ideal. There’s a lot that can be trimmed from this game to make it stronger, and as a result it’s only the second time I haven’t wanted to immediately replay an Insomniac game (the first being the fun yet flawed Sunset Overdrive, which ironically serves as a prototype to their Spider-Man series).

In a post that I wrote when I replayed Marvel’s Spider-Man I made a short list of my ideal for the sequel. I think Insomniac delivered on about two of the eight primary things that I felt would really make this game shine (number nine was, as I said, a pipe dream). Although this is still a fun game, I think that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 could have been much greater than it ultimately is. It’s squarely made in the bigger is better philosophy of AAA design, with emphasis on a lot more without focusing on the high quality quest design that makes Miles Morales as compelling as it is. As I’ve said elsewhere, this game is sorely lacking in FNSM missions and no amount of repetitive and simplistic brawler missions can ever make up for that.

There’s a lot to love here, but a lot more to critique (forced and unavoidable corporate advertising tie-ins anyone?), and I’m not sure I’ll rush into any followup DLC or sequels. Perhaps if Miles is carrying both, but I think, as with a lot of Sony Studios productions these days, I’ll be sitting any future adventures out at launch.

That does leave me with some questions are trepidation about Wolverine because I worry that the more high-profile Marvel related games Insomniac makes, the more they’ll have to give over to Sony’s corporate design ethic. And I would die for an amazing Wolverine game, but Sony has pushed so hard in a single direction with their AAA games that not even Insomniac games feel like a sure thing to me anymore.

Side note: Tony Todd is a god!

Whenever I play a game from Insomniac, whether it's Ratchet and Clank, the vastly underrated Sunset Overdrive, or their recent Spider-Man games, I feel like I'm actually good at games. Insomniac has a way of starting the player off making them feel like an expert at whatever game they've just picked up, and as the game progresses and you advance and evolve your character, this feeling only grows greater. Their Spider-Man series is the best at this, as by the time you end a game, you feel like Spider-Man, you feel like you've saved New York City, and even after playing for hours and hours, you still want to keep swinging around this city.

Spider-Man 2 can't match the absolute wonder players felt when diving into this world with the first game, and by design, it absolutely can't have the narrow focus that Miles Morales had. But as one large story, Spider-Man 2 is an excellent middle chapter for this universe, excelling at balancing so many spinning players, yet still managing to feel as grandiose and expansive as the first game—even if it does pull back a bit more to focus on our main characters. Which, to be fair, is what I prefer anyway.

Spider-Man 2 is certainly impressive, and while playing, I couldn't help but keep thinking of how well it handles so many characters, so many villains, a dual lead narrative, and so many optional missions, all while feeling like one cohesive story. While playing Spider-Man 2, it always feels like you're getting the payoff from stories in the first two games, setting up for the inevitable next game, and still getting a substantive and excellent narrative for this game. Insomniac has made this a living, breathing world full of characters that we truly care about. I found myself happy that Tombstone had gone straight, sympathetic for Norman Osborn, and proud of the choices my characters were making with villains. More than any other Spider-Man story I've seen so far, Insomniac's story really focuses on how drastically a person can change their life for the better, be it through becoming a superhuman spider, or just turning your back on the old ways that led you down the wrong path. The way this handles improvement and rehabilitation is a pleasant surprise.

But while I feel like narratively Spider-Man 2 is a crowning achievement for Insomniac, I did have some issues with the gameplay. There are so many new ways to explore the city and fight enemies that some of these new options can become a bit cumbersome. While the stealth has improved in this game, I also just found myself wanting to fight my way out of situations to get them over with quickly. Flying through the city with the new wings option often led to me crashing or running into a building. And even after downloading the day one update, I still found myself finding strange bugs that broke the game to me, and ended up having to load my last save more than usual. This wasn't really an issue, besides a slight irritation, but given the quality of the game overall, this never felt like a big deal.

It's also hard for Miles to not feel occasionally lost in this story. Miles' story mostly focuses on finishing an essay for college, whereas Peter's is primarily about reuniting with his best friend and saying the entire city. Miles certainly gets some great moments, and his story concludes in a satisfying way, but he often becomes the second fiddle to Spider-Man—which is a shame after his last game.

But overall, it just feels great to be back in this world, and I really love the story that Insomniac is building here. After the first game, I couldn't wait to return to this universe, and now that I've come back, I just want to play the third game immediately. I imagine that once this story is completed, this is going to be a tremendous story, because every step of the way so far as been wonderful to experience. I can't wait to get back to swinging around NYC.

I'm tired of the same superhero stories over and over again and I'm tired of bloated open worlds filled with "stuff to do" but very little meaning. I'm not interested in world-ending stakes that can be paused at any time so I can go pilot some bee drones and earn enough of one of the four different indistinguishable upgrade resources so I can beat people up more efficiently or just get a new suit in which to beat people up. And it sucks because that's actually what makes Spider-Man my favorite superhero, the fact that sometimes he's just doing science or grabbing a runaway balloon or taking photos. But as much as these games do go out of their way to include that stuff, it's not what any of the three different upgrade tabs are focused on. At the end of the day, it's all about how well you can beat people up (which somehow leads to saving the world.)

At the start of the year I set myself a rule, which is that I’m not allowed to install any new games on any of my systems until I finish (for a given definition of finish that makes sense for each game) or give up on every game I currently have installed. The three other big AAA open-world games I currently have installed are Dragon Age: Veilguard, which I’m 99% sure I’m not gonna keep playing because it kind of sucks and it hurts how much it sucks; Borderlands 4, which I think I only stuck with for as long as I did because I was depressed and couldn't distinguish how not fun it was from how not fun everything else was; and Elden Ring, which I’m like 75% sure on because as much as I want to try applying my Bloodborne lessons to it, it also isn't Bloodborne so maybe I don't care.

So for the next few months I will probably mostly be playing smaller games telling smaller stories in, hopefully, more interesting ways. And after that, we’ll see. I’m leaning towards trying to avoid AAA games for a while. Increasingly they tend to be bloated, narratively uninteresting, and going forward almost certainly going to include genAI assets. But look, I'm not gonna pretend beating people up and/or shooting them and/or hack-n-slashing them and/or using spells...to magically beat, shoot, and/or hack-n-slash them isn't fun sometimes, and AAAs do often do that well. So I’m probably not swearing off AAA forever. But when I look at the games I've really loved in the last few years, the ones that have been not just fun but immersive and emotionally resonant, the ones that I've raved about to anyone who would listen (and few people who would not), it's all indies. And mostly smaller, less action-focused titles. And I think those are better for my soul right now.

p.s. I did platinum this game. Sort of like binge-drinking the night before getting sober.

p.p.s. I do appreciate that the villains who are redeemed in this game are actually redeemed and don't just turn around and start villaining again. But I also recognize that they only do that so that you feel invested in saving them from Kraven, because god forbid you try to stop murder just for the sake of it even that's like the whole "killing is wrong" superhero thing. Also notable that Scorpion is the only one who doesn't get a redemption arc and is also the only one who dies. So while I'm glad those storylines exist I'm also not fooled into thinking they're part of any kind of broader critique of the justice system or an argument for reparative justice or any consideration of the moral hazards of conflating "criminal" with "bad person;" none of the non-superpowered criminals you beat up in any of these games get the chance at a redemption arc.

p.p.p.s. Dana trying to be all "sure the Spider-Men led the way but everyday New Yorkers came together to help and we're all heroes" and then her example is fucking MJ, I can't tell if the writers are actually that un-self-aware or actually that cynical.

p.p.p.p.s. Fuck Norman Osborne. "They ruined my boy" motherfucker he was GONE, what are you talking about. Did you prefer him as Venom? What a stupid vengeance arc they're setting up. At least Harry blaming Spider-Man for Norman's death in the Raimi movies kind of made sense. Kind of. Maybe? Actually...