Highlights

  • Insomniac Games has become Sony's go-to Marvel game developer due to the success of Marvel's Spider-Man.
  • Venom: Lethal Protector, unveiled in the ransomware hack, will involve Venom fighting to save New York City from a Symbiote invasion.
  • The presence of Peter Parker and Miles Morales as playable characters in Venom: Lethal Protector could potentially take away from Venom's role in the game.

As hacked information from the recent Insomniac Games ransomware attack implies, the studio’s success with Marvel's Spider-Man has turned it into Sony's go-to Marvel game developer. Most of Insomniac's upcoming games involve Spider-Man or the X-Men, so it's fortunate that it has proven capable of doing these major Marvel IPs justice. The next announced title is Marvel's Wolverine, but it could be beaten to market by a smaller leaked game tentatively known as Venom: Lethal Protector. Given the character’s popularity, a solo Venom game makes a lot of sense, especially if it bridges the gap to Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 like Miles Morales did for Spider-Man 2.

Details on Venom: Lethal Protector are scarce, which is for the best, but give a good idea of what the game will be. After being seemingly dealt with by the end of Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Venom returns to New York City, but this time is fighting to save it from Carnage’s Symbiote invasion instead of leading his own. Considering the stable of Symbiote powers built up in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Venom should be a good fit for a larger playable role — even though his solo outing may not entirely be his own.

Venom fighting Peter Parker and Miles Morales in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 key art
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Venom’s Game Could Still Have A Lot of Spider-Man In It

Spider-Man 2 Venom

The other main detail from the Venom: Lethal Protector leak is that Peter and Miles will both return as playable characters. It makes sense that these two are around, especially if New York is threatened again, but a Venom title could get cluttered with that many heroes. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales was noteworthy for featuring Miles as the only playable character. After Miles and Mary Jane’s controversial segments in Spider-Man 1, this was enough of a selling point that the game's creative director, Brian Horton, confirmed it shortly before Miles Morales' launch. But now, it seems Venom won't be extended that level of independence.

Advantages of Venom: Lethal Protector Having Three Protagonists

This isn't necessarily bad for Lethal Protector, as the character-switching system in Spider-Man 2 was unobtrusive and resulted in lots of fun character moments for both Spider-Men. It also gives Lethal Protector’s gameplay something to fall back on when Venom isn’t available for story reasons. How the Symbiote will return and to whom is unclear, so Peter and Miles could steer the game’s opening before Venom is playable. Finally, keeping this arrangement could demo triple-character switching for Marvel's Spider-Man 3, which was implied to include Silk. There are advantages to keeping Miles and Peter around, even if the game's title clearly states the spotlight should belong to Venom.

A Shorter Venom Game Can't Waste Time On Other Characters

spider-man 2 venom smiling

Of course, the disadvantage of having the Spider-Men around is that Lethal Protector has less time for Venom. Even within the popular Spider-Man IP, Venom is an especially beloved character and a game named after him needs to do him justice. If Peter and Miles get too much screen time, then it will feel like Marvel's Spider-Man 2 again, even with Carnage, or another villain, replacing Venom as the antagonist. Lethal Protector can't repeat Ultimate Spider-Man’s mistake of only letting Venom into the open world in its post-game, despite dividing missions between him and Peter.

How To Keep Venom In Lethal Protector’s Main Role

The best way to avoid Peter and Miles stealing the show is to maintain control of Venom for as long as possible. Exploring the open world as the Symbiote anti-hero will definitely be a part of this, and should feel distinct considering Venom’s powers and poor public image. There could also be stretches where Venom cannot switch to other characters, as even a nicer Venom can't tolerate Peter Parker forever. If Peter and Miles’ playable time is short, potentially as brief as Venom’s was in Marvel's Spider-Man 2, then Venom: Lethal Protector should earn its name.