Insomniac became associated with PlayStation consoles from an early age of their existence as a company. The Spyro games started as PlayStation exclusives and their sequel platformer series, Ratchet and Clank, became entirely exclusive to PlayStation. Then, in 2018, they made big waves as they released their first game starring everyone's favorite web-slinging hero via Marvel's Spider-Man.

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They then released a standalone sequel starring Miles Morales, which was a launch game for PS5. Five years later a proper sequel is here, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, to shake things up. What improvements has Insomniac made since the first game and Miles' solo adventure? There are too many to name, but let’s run down the biggest changes at least.

7 Two Spider-Man Heroes

Miles was in the first game, but he only just got his powers. He became playable as a Spider-Man in his solo game, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, but Peter was absent on a mission across the seas with Mary Jane for a much-needed getaway from New York City.

Prequels aside, at long last Marvel's Spider-Man 2 brings Peter and Miles together as a joint team to stop crime in New York City. The game lacks co-op disappointedly, but it was still great to see their two storylines intertwine with each other.

6 More Varied Powers

Most of the powers Peter had in the first game were web-related. In Miles’ solo adventure, he had some cool shock abilities, but they were made even cooler in in this new sequel. That’s because both heroes get spliced with villains to create a new set of powers.

Miles gets zapped by Mr. Negative in Marvel's Spider-Man 2, giving his electricity a boost. Peter, on the other hand, dawns the classic black Spider-Man suit made from Venom’s symbiotic membrane. Players get a lot more to tinker with, making combat more engaging.

5 A Bigger City

New York City represented in the first two Insomniac games were big, but limited. The sequel gives players more areas to explore. The best thing about the bigger chunk of the city is that it doesn’t feel like a chore to get around.

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Swinging around is just as fun as ever, but the sequel also brings flight into the equation. Not only that, but fast travel in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is lightning fast. It’s unbelievable as if Insomniac used literal magic to make it work on PS5.

4 The Quips

One of the things that fans of Spider-Man like most about the hero are his quips. Miles is not as funny as Peter Parker tends to make more obvious, corny jokes. For example, there’s a later fight with one of Kraven’s men in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 who is dressed like a bear and Peter feels bad for not having honey.

He uses dad jokes whereas Miles’ humor is more awkward and yet genuine. They are both charming in their own ways and the sequel recorded a lot of dialogue for the heroes, making encounters rarely feel repetitive.

3 MJ’s Missions

MJ has rightfully never been a playable character in most Spider-Man games as she isn’t normally a web-slinging hero. Insomniac seemingly wanted to change that and added stealth missions to the first game. Players couldn’t do much with MJ while controlling her, but the sequel made her a lot stronger.

According to the game’s lore, Silver Sable gave MJ a stun gun, and she trained her in combat too. It can be assumed this happened in Symkaria, Silver Sable’s home country, which Peter and MJ visited in Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The training helped a lot because her solo missions are less stressful in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 with her more adaptive skills.

2 More Spider-Man Lore

The overall lore is more fleshed out, giving fans more Spider-Man characters to have fun with. There are more core villains like the opening with Sandman. Kraven the Hunter isn’t a top-tier character, but he is a menacing one and centralizing all storylines around him made sense. Then there was the inclusion of Peter’s best friend Harry, and the beloved Venom.

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Even smaller encounters like with Mysterio were appreciated. Plus there was a lot of setup for the future which is always great to get excited over like the inclusion of certain characters that could have a long future after Marvel's Spider-Man 2, felt like it was a game for the fans made by the fans.

1 The Flashbacks

One unexpected thing that may have had fans jump for joy was the flashbacks. There are some instances where the flashbacks were just in cutscenes like when Aunt May tells Peter some life lessons about balance. Shortly after there is a playable segment where high school versions of Peter and Harry break into their school to retrieve a zip drive.

This isn’t the only flashback mission either and every time the perspective changes, it’s a great window into what young Peter’s life was like before the first game. The only thing missing from these flashbacks was Uncle Ben. Overall, the game does a good job of making all missions matter from main ones to side quests. Everything comes around and sometimes even the oddest missions, like collecting spider robots, will have big payoffs.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Platform(s)

PS5

Released

October 20, 2023

Developer(s)

Insomniac Games

Genre(s)

Open-World , Action-Adventure