While The Last of Us, God of War, and Horizon hogged the limelight in 2022, the turn of the new year indicates the dawn of a new season for Sony and its plethora of first party studios. One of the company's newest acquisitions is also one of its most productive, as Insomniac Games has been at the helm of three games in the last four years, with Spider-Man, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and Spider-Man: Miles Morales doing well to keep PlayStation 5 users happy. Its newest project, the aptly-named Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is set to arrive in the fall, and its console exclusivity on Sony's newest hardware is an interesting choice, made at a time when PS5 units are only just becoming readily available, two years after its launch.
The first game released in 2018 to a host of positive review scores, and came to PS5 with a somewhat controversial character model change for Peter Parker. Being available on the system has done well to update it to take advantage of modern hardware, and the significant upgrades to Spider-Man: Miles Morales are beautiful, showing that the web-slinger's future on PlayStation is as bright as can be. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is one of the headline games of 2023, and being exclusive to the PS5 grants it more opportunities than drawbacks, as its predecessor only gets older, and the new console finally starts to find its way to stores.
Spider-Man 2 Can Take Advantage of the PS5's Power
The PlayStation 5 is significantly more powerful than the PlayStation 4, and Insomniac forgoing the old system in favor of pushing the boundaries of what is currently available is a welcome treat for PS5 players. The system is more readily available than it has ever been, and while it can still require a little bit of luck to secure one, finding a PS5 isn't as much of a fool's errand as it has been in the past. In a few months it may very well be as accessible as the Nintendo Switch, which is just in time to experience the next chapter in Peter Parker's story, and there is no better way than with hardware that can get the best out of its presentation and art style.
Slinging around the New York City skyline feels far more fluid when running at a buttery-smooth 60 frames-per-second, and the updates visuals and ray tracing goes a long way to making the setting feel alive. Spider-Man came towards the end of the PlayStation 4, and its visuals pale in comparison to Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart's glorious looks and seamless transitions.
This difference is also easy to see with Sony Santa Monica's new game, as one of the biggest problems with God of War: Ragnarok is its frequent invisible loading screens, with Kratos squeezing through narrow corridors on a constant basis. This is due in large part to the game also being out on old hardware, so for PS5 users the experience is hampered slightly when in reality it should be a demonstration of the PS5's immense capabilities.
Spider-Man 2 Could Be One of the First Great PS5 Exclusives
Spider-Man 2 skipping the PlayStation 4 is not just beneficial to the players, as it puts the project in the best position to succeed, but it benefits Sony, too. The PlayStation 5 is selling in healthy numbers, but its line-up of quality exclusives is thin, and Spider-Man 2 only adds to the system's appeal. Games like Returnal,Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and Astro's Playroom are carrying the first party, with Horizon Forbidden West, God of War: Ragnarok, and Gran Turismo 7 all launching on the PS4.
There has to come a time when the old is replaced by the new, and the PlayStation 5 has been on the market for two years. Now is the time for the baton to be universally passed to the PS5, and God of War: Ragnarok's limitations are proof that a change is needed. PS4 users have been spoiled by the amount of Spider-Man content they have received with two Insomniac-developed games being standouts of that system's library, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Peter Parker-led sequel instead looks to the future, making the most of the hardware it's on.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 launches fall 2023 on PS5.
