TechGamingGaming ConsolesMarvel’s Spider-Man 2 is short, repetitive… and my favourite PS5 game of the yearThe caveats of open-world gaming remain, but Spidey rises above themWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
TechGamingGaming ConsolesMarvel’s Spider-Man 2 is short, repetitive… and my favourite PS5 game of the yearThe caveats of open-world gaming remain, but Spidey rises above themWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
The caveats of open-world gaming remain, but Spidey rises above them
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)
After heaping not inconsiderable praise on Marvel’s Spider-Man after its 2018 release on PS4, then 2020’s Miles Morales onPlayStation 5(which I still believe is one of the best launch titles for any console ever), it should come as no surprise that I love Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
However, it is also riddled with the sort of repetitive side ephemera synonymous with open-world adventures, and it’s just too darn short.
So why do I think it’s still one of the best games of the year? Why has it filled me with joy, even when button-munching my way through another identi-fight?
It’s simple…. it is one of the best written titles around.
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(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Web swinging aside – which is still a wonderful way to traverse an open-world map – Spider-Man 2 has the most engaging, nuanced storyline in many a game, and tells it superbly.
It presents a tale of friendship (on multiple levels), tragedy, redemption and loss, and without being corny, to boot.
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That’s largely thanks to a superb script that could teachSony’s movie franchise a thing or two, plus incredible voice and motion acting from the likes of Yuri Lowenthal and, especially, Nadji Jeter, who reprise their roles as Peter Parker and Miles Morales respectively.
Graham Phillips also puts in a star turn as Harry Osborne who has an equally major role in the proceedings.
That’s testament to Marvel’s trust in the studio – that it can create and populate its own Spider-Man universe without the constraints of decades of canon. It proved this was the case with some of the shocking events in the first Marvel’s Spider-Man and does so again here.
Also as before, plot isn’t limited to cut scenes. Some of the best dialogue throughout is told while you are swinging around New York City (a larger playing field to before), or during fights.
Indeed, there are a couple of boss battles that feel just as emotional as any fully acted, non-interactive sequence, and it is this that puts the game on a par with the very best. The dynamics between Peter, Miles, Harry, Mary-Jane and even Kraven and Venom aren’t just crafted to get you from one set-piece to another, they feel convincing, engaging and, ironically, human.
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(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)
My only main regret is that the game feels a bit too short, but that’s simply because, after the 30 hours I put into it (side missions included), I just wanted there to be more.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will beavailable for PlayStation 5from 20 October 2023.
I’ll eat my Spidey pyjamas if it isn’t nominated in many of the gaming awards for the year.
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