Marvel's Spider-Man 2 review

pcgamer.com:

What is it? A web-swingin' superhero sequel.
Release date Jan 30, 2025
Expect to pay $60/£50
Developer Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
Publisher PlayStation Publishing LLC
Reviewed on Nvidia Geforce RTX 3080, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, 32GB RAM
Steam Deck TBA
Link Official site

In its first Spider-Man game, developer Insomniac already got the most important thing right: the feel of being super-powered. That was most evident in the excellent traversal, which set a new high watermark for web-swinging, but also in the smooth and agile combat. Where it struggled was in giving you anything interesting to do with all that power, its visually impressive but largely empty open world offering only tired old side activities and filler.

My hope for this sequel was that with the core action already perfected, there would be the space to improve on the wider formula, creating a more interesting New York playground. Instead, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 simply has more stuff—a bigger story, more pointless collectibles, sprawling skill trees, and double the Spider-Men.

The result is a cinematic but messy experience that not only still bears all the same flaws as its predecessor, but in many areas—particularly the storytelling—feels like a step backwards. The ropiness of this PC port is a sad addition to the issues, resulting in a flawed version of an already flawed sequel.

The set-up is as straightforward as ever. You swing freely around New York, taking on whatever missions and activities you choose. The main story has that mix of slick but very linear action setpieces and quiet character moments common to almost all the modern PlayStation first-party titles—outside of those, the city is scattered with optional side missions and things to find. The big twist in Spider-Man 2 is that… well, there's two Spider-Men.

Where the first game starred Peter Parker, and its spin-off starred Miles, this one has both. Story missions choose for you, but often swap seamlessly between them as the action