With Marvel's Spider-Man, Insomniac Games has clearly revived the fervor around video games based on Marvel superheroes. So much so that after the spin-off devoted to Miles Morales launched at the end of 2020, the American studio is already working on a real sequel. It is therefore time to compile all the information that we have about the second opus.
It was during a PlayStation Showcase rich in licensed games that Marvel's Spider-Man 2 showed up for the first time in September 2021. Be careful because we will slip in some spoilers related to Marvel's Spider-Man first of the name in this article .
A maturing story
The information is currently very meager concerning the scenario of this episode. This time, Peter Parker will be accompanied during his adventures by the young Miles Morales who fully masters his spider powers. We imagine that a new threat will hang over New York and that it could be embodied by Venom. The symbiote appears at the very end of the trailer and seems ready to make life difficult for our two heroes. Other big villains from the Marvel universe will necessarily be on the program. Given the clues left over the two games already available, we wouldn't be surprised to see a certain Green Goblin...
In an interview with PlayStation Blog, Insomniac Games clarified its scriptwriting ambitions for Marvel's Spider-Man 2. The studio wants to "offer a fascinating human story, full of tenderness and humor, which allows us to discover what really lies behind people's mask. The atmosphere of the game will also be darker compared to that of the initial opus. Peter Parker having lost his aunt May, one can imagine that his personality will be a bit more tortured.
Two spiders (or even three) are better than one
If the gameplay of Marvel's Spider-Man had been attractive on the dynamism of its fights or the enjoyment that it provided by swinging from building to building with blows of web, that of the second episode will necessarily have to be refined. We already know that new powers will be part of the company of new outfits. We can also hope for more legible clashes and better thought out infiltration phases. That being said, Insomniac is bound to manage to use the PS5's capabilities to achieve extremely smooth action.
But what could change the situation is the fact of having the possibility of embodying several characters. There is almost no doubt the player will be able to control Peter Parker and Miles Morales. It remains to be seen whether, like GTA V, we will be able to switch between the two heroes at any time. Everyone could thus be entitled to their own missions. Rumors even evoke the fact of being able to embody Venom whose gameplay would necessarily be very different. To be continued…
Always bigger, always stronger
Broadly speaking, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 should not alter the formula initiated by its predecessor too much. Thus, we can quite logically improve the abilities of our (or our) heroes via skill trees. A small RPG side reinforced by a probable abundance of quests and secondary missions scattered throughout the city. We just hope that the Insomniac teams won't push too hard on objectives like "take a picture of this place", "collect dozens of objects scattered all over the map" and many other somewhat boring activities which Marvel's Spider-Man seemed to adore.
The open world will also be renewed, but it would be nice to be able to cross the borders of New York or at least add new explorable areas such as the metro or the city's sewers. A real dynamic weather system and a permanent day/night cycle would also be welcome in order to reinforce immersion. Finally, Insomniac Games would also be working on an unknown multiplayer project. Will it tie into Marvel's Spider-Man 2? It is still too early to tell.
Crime doesn't wait (too long)
Finally, let's talk about the launch period announced by Sony. So Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will arrive sometime in 2023 (if not hit with a delay). In May 2022, the actor who plays Venom hinted that the motion capture sessions were continuing. We can therefore think that the development is still far from being finished. But there is hope...
Indeed, Insomniac Games is an extremely efficient studio that released three different games (Marvel's Spider-Man, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart) and one remaster (Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered) between 2018 and 2021. Another project, Marvel's Wolverine, is also currently in development, but the focus is of course on Marvel's Spider-Man 2, which will arrive first exclusively on PS5. We just have to take our troubles patiently.
