Marvel's Spider-Man 2: PS5 Review

Developed by Insomniac Games

Published by Sony Interactive

Platform: PS5

Spider-Man's sophomore outing swings onto consoles which as much of the Marvel mayhem and emotion as has become the norm for the CGI-led movie franchise.

Following a similar trajectory in parts as Sam Raimi's darker Spider-Man 3, much of what Insomniac Games has committed to the screen is a very combat heavy game that doesn't initially feel quite as joyous as the 2018 game or the Miles Morales spin-off.

Juggling both multiple villains and the mundanity of daily life, Yuri Lowenthal's Peter Parker is facing losing his Aunt May's house as well as the inability to hold down a day job due to constant threats to New York. It's equally bad prospects for Nadji Jeter's Miles Morales, whose continual putting off of his college application has his mother worried.

Things get worse for the Spider-Men when new threats arise in the city - including the mysterious Kraven the Hunter, and the damaging darkness of Venom...

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has much to keep up in the air - and while it's true to say Insomniac Games has deepened the world and managed to do so admirably, there are some faltering moments in the game.

It's extremely combat heavy in its 20 hour story mode with a lot of emphasis on beating hordes of bad guys in various forms. And given you have to learn the basic skills again from the ground up, the game can be more punishing than it needs to - or should - be at times. (Though it must be noted it's a common laziness with AAA Games series that have their heroes conveniently "forget" their skills for a new outing.)

Secondly, the narrative at times is too overstuffed (much like Raimi's darker Spider-Man 3 was). It leads to some having their moments to shine muted and at least one threatened character arc feeling like it's cut short and dismissed simply for narrative necessity.)

Thirdly, there are a few bugs that have been encountered in the review build - from bottles floating randomly in the air after a fight to NPCs left floating mid-air, the game occasionally stutters and stumbles frustratingly from its own ambition and scale.

But these are minor niggles that don't stop Marvel's Spider-Man 2 from achieving its great responsibility - being an incredible team up that tackles guilt, destiny and also emotional frailty of all its leads.

While there is a feeling some of the side quests in this game feel like do-overs of the first (finding backpacks has been replaced by hidden Spider-bots scattered throughout NY for example), the developers have simply deepened the gamer's relationship with already beloved characters.

The universe has been expanded too, and the options for interaction widened (to say more is to spoil) but there's a definite feeling this game is placing some pieces in line for a future set-up hopefully to come.

In amongst it all though is Yuri Lowenthal and Nadji Jeter's voicework. While Lowenthal's Parker becomes more sullen and angry as the Venom symbiote bites, Jeter's quiet hurt and frustration at how his mentor is behaving toward him and others feels raw and emotionally damaging where it needs to be.

The game may concentrate on its bigger moments and set pieces among its technical achievements (the scale of New York's expanded districts that don't trouble the game's fluidity, the way the controller crackles into life with Venom's incursions), it's the smaller emotional moments in any Spider-Man game that truly shine - and Insomniac Games has been wise to not jettison those vital moments from its beating heart and core.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is thrilling and deserves to go down as one of the stronger Marvel realisations of the world. It may embrace the CGI carnage and chaos that's blighted some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but its ambition and execution prove this Spider still has plenty of bite left for exploration now and in any future installments.

A review code for Marvel's Spider-Man 2: PlayStation 5 was provided for the purposes of this review, and the game was completed once in its Story's entirety.