Five years later and I’m still in awe of how good and complete a Spider-Man story the PlayStation Spider-Man game is. A thorough experience all around, but add the three-part DLC and the spinoff game Miles Morales and you’ve got one of the best Spidey stories in any non-comic medium. Because of that, the hype for the sequel has been off the charts. Happily, we now know the Spider-Man 2 game will officially release on October 20. And with the news comes the reveal that Venom is not Eddie Brock in this universe. Venom’s origins in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will be an original tale we haven’t yet seen before. Of course, interestingly enough, there was no denial of Harry Osborn becoming the villain.
As to what else the game will entail. Well, we’ve known for a while the Spider-Man 2 PlayStation 5 game will feature both Peter Parker and Miles as playable Spider-Mans. A new, lengthy gameplay video for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 from the latest PlayStation Showcase also gives us a lot more to chew on. Pun intended.
The first video begins with an introduction to Kraven the Hunter, the formidable new foe for the wall-crawlers. He’s bored hunting people in the literal jungle. Now he wants to hunt people in the concrete jungle, with his army of guys with massive weapons. Hardly sporting, but I digress.
The Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 gameplay footage (below) begins with Peter—now sporting a brand new black-goo suit. Hmm, wonder what that can be all about. He tries to stop the Kraven cronies from hunting Dr. Curt Conners, who has become fully, monstrously Lizardish.
We get to see some of Spider-Man’s new Venom skills before we swap to Miles. He now has a very good sense of his own powers. Stealth will still play a part in the new game, and one can hope they’ve upgraded the AI of the thugs to make it a bit more sporting. Not long after, Miles, Peter, and Miles’ friend-and-guy-in-the-chair Ganke control a drone as they chase down Conners and try to keep him (and everyone else in NYC) out of Kraven’s crosshairs.
As with the first Spider-Man game, a large amount of plot and character comes during dialogue during gameplay. Here we learn that Conners’ research is integral to helping with Harry Osborn’s condition. If you’ll remember, the end of the first game showed Harry deep in the throes of a debilitating disease. No way that will turn him into Green Goblin. Can’t imagine it will.
Those of us who know the Spider-Man mythos know the black suit and Peter’s gruffer attitude will lead to some problems for his loved ones. However, he’s not likely to remain John Goo for very long. And while Sony has confirmed the game will not be two-player co-op, we have full faith that Miles Morales will provide the player with plenty of opportunities to save Petey Pie.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will be out on October 20, 2023.
Originally published on May 24, 2023.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
