Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has finally revealed gameplay, and the footage shared by Insomniac Games has certainly lived up to fans’ expectations. Peter’s Symbiote abilities look incredible, as do the character designs for Kraven and Lizard. Graphically, the game is a massive jump forward for the franchise, with the power of the PS5 on full display and new parts of New York City becoming accessible. However, outside of looking great, the gameplay demo also teases some minor villains for the sequel.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 fans will be happy to know that Black Cat and Prowler are making a comeback, two characters that provide some exciting storytelling opportunities for Peter and Miles respectively. However, there is one character shown that casual players may not be all that familiar with: Wraith. If Insomniac wants to get Wraith right, it should strive to give her a proper side questline like Tombstone in the original game.
Tombstone’s Questline is the Perfect Style for Wraith Missions in Spider-Man 2
Most Marvel’s Spider-Man fans shared the belief that it would have been nice to have a few more side villains in the original game, especially with the wall-crawler’s rogues’ gallery being as deep as it is. Still, the few major side quest lines tied to named villains certainly delivered, with the battles against Taskmaster proving entertaining and Tombstone’s missions feeling as good as anything in the main story.
While Wraith - the vigilante name for Peter Parker’s former police ally Yuri Watanabe - could appear in the main story, she could be used a lot more outside of it. Like how Tombstone appeared in an MJ stealth mission before eventually being pursued by Peter outside the events of the main game, Peter or Miles could have a run-in with Wraith during a main mission. She could then flee after being defeated, with players encountering her once again at the end of a long quest chain.
Part of what made Tombstone’s questline special was that it felt like it was building up to something from the beginning. Players go on a few side quests to track a drug Tombstone is peddling that gives his fellow criminals tougher skin like he has, with Peter beating down the thugs before eventually making his way to Tombstone’s hideout. Once there, a unique boss fight plays out that is different from the game’s other fights, and players are rewarded with an interesting cutscene at the end that highlights what makes Insomniac’s Tombstone unique.
This exact format could be borrowed for a Wraith quest line, with players tracking her crimes throughout New York City before eventually confronting her in a unique boss battle. Special enemies could even be added for these side missions, with Yuri potentially recruiting her own faction of rogue police officers that are sick of the city-wide corruption and want to take justice into their own hands. They could use some of the same gadgets that Yuri wields to provide new challenges for players to overcome, easing players into the Wraith fight where she wields stronger variants of the same tech.
Ultimately, the main takeaway of the Tombstone missions and the thing worth copying is their high level of quality. So long as Wraith’s part in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 culminates in a boss fight, introduces some unique gameplay, and tells an interesting story, it would be some of the best side content in the game. With the main plot already having a lot going on between Symbiote Peter, Kraven, and Venom, treating Wraith’s content like Tombstone’s seems like the best approach to take.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is currently in development for PS5.
