With the anticipation continuously building for the eventual release of Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man 2, the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase cleared up a few assumptions fans might have had based on the game's first reveal trailer in 2021. Despite some disappointment among fans concerning the event this time around due to a lack of first-party titles, Insomniac's efforts arguably saved the day.
Coming off the back of Marvel's Spider-Man and Spider-Man Miles Morales, the sequel's introduction of new foes, plot points, gameplay mechanics, and much more has led to fans speculating even further as to what will be in store when the highly anticipated title is finally available.
5 Combat
Insomniac Games has not been shy to reveal possibly the main focus of the sequel's story: the symbiote Venom being one with Peter Parker. Unsurprisingly, this story direction looks set to take the combat to a new level entirely. While the 2018 title provided a great gameplay experience through the blend of tools, combos, and finishers, the reveal of Spider-Man 2's combat shows a far more aggressive and brutal Peter Parker.
Very reminiscent of the Arkham series and its combat, the player can be seen inflicting heavy and potentially fatal blows on enemies, whilst also giving off a menacing presence unlike his usual self due to the symbiote. Insomniac Games appears to be changing combat so that it is more akin to titles such as Batman Arkham City and Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. While this may only be aligned with the use of the symbiote suit, it is an exciting sign regardless.
4 Faster Swinging
Over the period of both Spider-Man (2018) and Spider-Man Miles Morales, many fans came to the realization that the speed of the swinging between both Miles Morales and Peter Parker could do with a little tweaking to be faster and more "lore accurate." Luckily for PC players who recently have been able to experience both games, Spider-Man modders have worked their way around allowing for faster movement in web-swinging, resulting in rapid movement in traversal.
Fortunately, it appears as though developers at Insomniac Games have taken this into account and amped up the speed at which both characters swing, with greater momentum between each. Part of this could be due to the speed of the PlayStation 5 compared to the PlayStation 4, which served as Marvel's Spider-Man's home. Even though only fairly short gameplay sections are currently available, the difference between the three titles is still evident.
3 New Traversal Mechanics
In addition to the increased speed of web-swinging, Insomniac Games has taken traversal up by another notch through the addition of a wingsuit for both Peter and Miles. Presumably, this mechanic will be incredibly crucial to the manner in which players will be able to advance through the newly added regions in the sequel, and the wingsuit could play a significant role in pivotal traversal sections during story-driven scenarios.
This could also be a newly added mechanic that could be enhanced along the way through leveling up, extending the game's playtime and replayability. Not only is this impressive in the manner of gameplay and how it massively improves it, but the potential of this working flawlessly in the aspect of performance, and the increase in graphical fidelity, is definitely something to watch out for.
2 Darker Tone
Taking the symbiote suit into consideration, a change in narrative tone was one of the more predictable shifts in the jump from Spider-Man (2018) to Spider-Man 2, especially after the game's reveal trailer showcased Venom. Taking a deeper dive into the interactions between Miles and Peter, the direction the narrative may be heading toward will likely be very different from what fans have previously seen.
Due to not being within his normal self or frame of mind, Peter clearly takes an angrier and more aggressive approach to his interaction. This is evident in his monster-like deep voice, snappy attitude with Miles, and throwing an innocent civilian on the ground after saving them, which all suggest that Peter is succumbing more and more to the symbiote by the minute.
1 Character Swapping
Rockstar Studios' Grand Theft Auto 5 showcased the mainstream potential of utilizing character swapping to improve a story. While probably not directly inspired by that open-world project, Insomniac Games seems to be implementing this feature within the sequel. Within multiple missions of GTA 5, players have to swap to other characters as they all play major parts in clearing the overall objectives, and Spider-Man 2 might go down a similar route.
That said, it is not yet evident whether this character swapping will be also available at any time during free roam. If that proves to be the case, it will most certainly satisfy fans of either Miles or Peter. This would essentially combine both titles in Miles Morales and Spider-Man (2018) into one, providing the ultimate web-swinging experience.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is in development and set for release in the Fall of 2023 on PlayStation 5.