Spider-Man 2 PS5 Review
Image of PS5 Controller. Photo by Erik Mclean via Pexels
Within the past 20 years, we’ve seen a massive amount of Spider-Man content. Eight movies, four cartoons, a failed Broadway adaptation, a theme park ride, and several comic runs make Spider-Man always in the spotlight in every form of media.
Another branch of media Spider-Man has been a part of is video games. While “Spider-Man” (2018) isn’t the first Spider-Man video game, it brought Spider-Man onto the PS4 for the highest quality graphics yet in a Spider-Man game.
Beyond graphics, the 2018 game also had a well-constructed narrative that brought together a bunch of Spider-Man’s classic villains – Doctor Octopus, Vulture, Scorpion, and Rhino. It also is one of the first pieces of media to include Peter Parker interacting with Miles Morales, another Spider-Man who was introduced in 2011. Miles Morales got his own original story in the half-sequel to the 2018 game, “Spider-Man: Miles Morales,” which was released in 2021.
Both games had great stories, and beautiful graphics and gave a chance to swing around Manhattan. So when “Spider-Man 2” was announced for the PS5, the question was how will they expand upon the world the games have given us before.
In “Spider-Man 2,” the player can still explore all of Manhattan, as well as the newly added parts of Brooklyn and Queens. This almost doubles the size of the original game. Every inch of the map is filled with missions and tasks for the player to complete, giving constant content to the player. Each zone also feels unique from one another. Manhattan is full of massive skyscrapers to swing around on, and Brooklyn has a good mixture of taller and smaller buildings for complex travel. Queens are mostly small buildings and neighborhoods that require a heavier focus on the newly added spider wings, which act as gliders.
The spider-wings are one of several new additions to the gameplay. With the larger game map, there are more transportation methods to get around the world faster. Wind tunnels are used to boost the character while using the spider wings to keep players going further for longer.
Beyond movement, combat also sees some changes. While most of the movements, power-ups, and finishers are copied from the previous installment (most of the time using the same animations, which makes the actions feel somewhat repetitive), new powers for both Miles and Peter allow each character to feel truly unique. Miles expands his bio-electricity; Peter gains access to four metal arms that allow more unique power-ups.
As of the time of writing this, I’m around 80% into the main story and halfway done with a lot of the side missions, yet it always feels like I’m running into something new no matter where I turn. I’d recommend this game as a must-play if you have a PS5.