Insomniac’s “Spider-Man” and “Spider-Man: Miles Morales” were both considered some of the best video games of their respective years, if not the best of the Spider-Man IP as a whole. “Spider-Man 2,” the long-awaited sequel, officially released this October, smashing sales records.
Players will find this game to be an improvement of the previous games, which were already considered flawless. Minds will be blown at how a game managed to improve an already fantastic format.
“Spider-Man 2” feels like the first PlayStation 5 exclusive due to its use of the PlayStation’s hardware. For once, a game feels like it belongs on the next-gen consoles rather than stuck on the PlayStation 4. The game warrants buying a PlayStation 5, despite some minor repetitive story missions and puzzles.
The graphics feel much more vibrant and lively than the previous entries, making it much easier to feel engaged with the world and its characters. The game’s physics engine feels buttery smooth as well, especially with the game’s liquids. Water flows accurately to real-world physics, sand blows to and from in an annoying, dusty fashion and the symbiote fluid oozes like tar, making players uncomfortable when encountering one of the game’s antagonists: Venom.
Web swinging shines brighter than it did in the previous entries. “Spider-Man 2” drastically increases the speed and momentum, making the one complaint players previously had of swinging being too slow nonexistent.
Players can spend hours doing nothing but traversing the city and still walk away with just as fulfilling an experience as completing the story. Scaling buildings, bouncing off water and flying with a wingsuit make the movement system feel fresh and massive, despite the changes between games being rather minor.
Like the movement, the combat mechanics feel incredibly refreshing. Not only are there new perks and moves, but the old moves feel more responsive, making fights with small criminals and intimidating antagonists feel better than ever before.
The opening battle with Sandman brings players straight back into combat with a fairly easy boss fight. Everything learned there then carries over through the rest of the game, making learning combat feel quick and easy with little to no hiccups in the game’s flow.
“Spider-Man 2” stands out as a remarkable game in an era where complete packages are being replaced with live-service content. Players will enjoy the story, combat and graphical quality, making this the best video game featuring Spider-Man yet. And in this one, players even get two Spider-Men!
9.5 Spider-Men pointing at each other out of 10
