Highlights
- Marvel's Spider-Man 2's open world may not be as expansive as other games, but it doesn't need to be, as its simplicity adds to the charm.
- The New York City backdrop is a familiar but fresh open world that players will love, with new areas and changes that show the passage of time.
- While some may critique the limited activities in the open world, the focus on Spidey's traversal system and the city's realistic atmosphere make it a stellar backdrop for the game's story.
Over the years, the open-world genre has become so popular that almost every AAA game seems to need one now. Players just love to be able to explore every corner of these massive worlds and engage in all sorts of shenanigans as they do. That is what has made games like Grand Theft Auto so popular, especially since each entry takes the concept to greater heights. And while Marvel's Spider-Man 2's open world may not be on the level of some industry titans, it doesn't need to be.
Just like its predecessors, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 gives players free rein to explore New York City to their heart's content. However, unlike some open-world games, this city is pretty bare-bones if players look too hard at it. That does not ruin the experience one bit because sometimes simple is better, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 feels like the perfect representation of that idea.
Spider-Man 2's New York is the Perfect Backdrop
Instead of crafting a brand-new open world for players to explore, Insomniac Games has just expanded upon the New York City it crafted for the first two Spider-Man games. This time, it has thrown in two new areas of the city while also tweaking many parts of the original. Not only did it fill it with whole new collectibles for players to find, but many of the buildings also saw changes to show the passage of time. This leads to a familiar but fresh open world that players will surely love.
However, some players may notice that there really is not much to Marvel's Spider-Man 2's open world when it is looked at closely. Already, people on social media are critiquing the fact that Spider-Man cannot engage in everyday activities, explore the insides of buildings, or even enter a subway station. That may all seem like Insomniac held back when designing New York City, but it actually works out very well for a Spider-Man game.
In Marvel's Spider-Man 2, players will spend the majority of their time swinging through the streets of the city. The traversal system that the studio crafted truly makes players feel like Spidey, which means that it is a fantastic treat for fans. Because of that, the actual city serves as more of a backdrop rather than an actual expansive world akin to those found in games like Starfield. Many players will be spending more time in the skies doing tricks than they will be walking through the city streets, so the studio really had no reason to make it more advanced than it needed to be,
The New York City that Insomniac Games crafted may feel limited compared to other open-world games, but it also feels a lot like the real New York. The city streets are packed with cars, people go about their day in a hurry, and the city itself is filled with noise.
While it may have been nice to have a bit more to do in Marvel's Spider-Man 2's New York City, part of its charm is in its simplicity. Not every game needs to have this massive realistic open world to explore, some can simply use it as a backdrop. And this city makes for a stellar backdrop for the entirety of Marvel's Spider-Man 2's story. It is so fun to traverse that some Spidey fans may never want to leave, and those who do may find themselves crawling back just for another swing since there are many activities to complete within it.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is available now on PS5.
