Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Review

An action-packed spectacle

Reviewed by A.J. Maciejewski playing a PS5 on October 16, 2023 🕸️

• Share
• Tweet
• Reddit
• Save
• Post

It's been a while but Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is here and it's one incredible experience that makes current gen hardware really shine.

All of the screenshots in this review were captured via Fidelity Mode. Performance Mode is also available. 🖼️

Welcome back, Spider-Man

From its opening minutes to its finale, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 remains a stellar experience that'll give your thumbs a workout as well as consistently delight on a presentational level. You may have expected this if you enjoyed the previous games but things really turn up to 11 here. The story follows Peter Parker and Miles Morales who team-up to take down 3 distinct villains and their underlings with the first one emerging at the very beginning while the other 2 eventually reveal themselves to be threats to the city as the story moves on. Swapping between the characters as you fight and explore is fantastic and even though they play similarly, their combat abilities are unique enough to set them apart. Plus, watching them automatically tag-team in certain battles will always put a smile on your face. 😄 v1d30chumz 202-61-239-70

Grab your popcorn

Considering Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is the first game in the series made exclusively for PlayStation 5, it looks and performs so phenomenally well that simply playing it in your living room will likely garner an audience as watching the action is almost as entertaining as playing it. Some personal favourite aspects include how smooth fast-travel is as the camera moves into the map then you simply keep playing, the fact that you can see inside windows as you zip around, and witnessing mid-boss cutscenes makes each battle more grueling and visceral. It all looks so incredible and seamless that I'm surprised it's even possible, especially considering how huge the city is. 🏙️

Now, I must say that I experienced some jankiness but it is rare. Some issues include my controls locking-up twice then having to restart from the checkpoint to fix it, how some dark areas make it super-tough to see anything, and it's too tricky to perform small movements whenever you're navigating a tight space. One funny thing I noticed is that citizens react to you. However, they'd sometimes duck and dive away when I merely trekked past them then once, I was beating up a bunch of goons and folks were just standing around in the middle of the fight enjoying their day. As I said, these moments are rare and I'm sure most will be patched eventually. 🩹

Fight for a better New York

Alright; let's discuss the core gameplay of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 where combat takes center stage. To my surprise, both Spider-Men have a lot of abilities and tools at their disposal from the get-go so fighting enemies is an involving and challenging experience right off the bat. Miles' electric abilities and Peter's ever-evolving array of attacks are extremely satisfying to decimate enemies with and as you progress, their repertoires will expand and become more specialised. It might just be me but the level of difficulty seems ramped up from the previous games; so much so that I actually had to enable accessibility options for a couple of late-game encounters because they proved to be too frustrating. This is not a bad thing, though, and I actually love that the challenge level is as substantial as it is. 💪

One aspect that did annoy me, however, is that some combat encounters simply last too long. After you have a rough time with a wave of enemies then more unexpectedly arrive and you're on the verge of defeat; it can be exhausting, especially whenever you're trying to take down a damage sponge boss. With that being said, the combat remains exhilarating the vast majority of the time but these more taxing scenarios may make you lower the difficulty like I had to even though doing so made me feel like I was missing out. 😅

Explore the city

New York City is expanded and enormous in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and it feels a lot more personal this time around with increased amounts of citizens and vehicles in the streets as well as plenty of distinct sights within each area of the city. Getting from place to place is always a treat whether you're swinging, gliding, or skipping across a river and once you check off enough missions in an area, you'll unlock fast-travel which lets you spawn anywhere within that location. Even with this option available, I still found myself preferring to travel manually as taking in the sights as you zip by is such a consistent thrill which is definitely a rarity in gaming. 🗺️

Mix things up

Finally, the amount of variety packed into Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is outstanding when it comes to both story mode missions and side content. If you simply play through the story, you'll end up doing so much that your brain will think half of the things you partook in were from different games. From stealth segments to zany mini-games and a chase that feels like it's from a horror game to trippy otherworldly events; you'll constantly be amazed as to the amount of variety on display. 🤯

Meanwhile, the optional content will have you work through significant side-stories, help with scientific research via an assortment of activities, infiltrate enemy bases, discover treasures, snap interesting photos of daily life in New York, and respond to crimes that range from chasing speeding vehicles to putting out fires and rescuing folks. That last task will always make you feel like a bona fide hero. 🚑

With oodles of variety, rewarding combat, and eye-popping cinematic visuals, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is undoubtedly a game worth buying a PlayStation 5 for. It's one of the best action games ever made.