Summary
Even after an absolutely incredible year for high-profile game releases, 2023 still has the upcoming launch ofMarvel’s Spider-Man 2in store for fans, and recent hands-on play sessions with the title have been received with high praise. From what’s been revealed so far,Marvel’s Spider-Man 2looks to occupy a similar space asGod of War Ragnarokwhen compared to its predecessor. It’s providing just enough innovation and expansion to an already incredible formula, and one of these expansions is an entirely new method to traverse the city that never sleeps—the web wings.
In addition to the borough of Manhattan from 2018’sMarvel’s Spider-Manand the introduction of Queens inMarvel’sSpider-Man: Miles Morales,Marvel’s Spider-Man 2includes the borough of Brooklynto bring the largest and most varied version of New York City seen in Insomniac’sSpider-Mangames yet. To help both Peter and Miles traverse these varied environments, players can of course still useMarvel’sSpider-Man’s absolutely phenomenal web-swinging but now also have the added bonus of using the web wings to quickly jet through wind tunnels and get around spaces where there are no buildings to latch on to. In terms of getting both around and between the new boroughs, this mechanic is a literal game-changer.
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Spider-Man 2’s Massive Map Makes New Methods of Traversal a Necessity
Compared to the self-contained boroughs of bothMarvel’s Spider-ManandMiles Morales,Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s version of New York Cityis absolutely gigantic. Instead of one borough, players now have three to contend with, complete with true-to-life representations of the architecture and layouts of each. Peter and Miles can easily rely on web-swinging when there are plenty of skyscrapers and other tall buildings to latch on to, but in an area like Queens that is known for its slice of residential bliss in the midst of the city, skyscrapers all of a sudden become a luxury.
Similar to Queens, Brooklyn isn’t known for having a plethora of high-rise buildings, with most of the architecture on display being mid-rise buildings and apartment complexes. In these new spaces, it’s now necessary for both Peter and Miles to utilize new methods of traversal to get around them. With the web wings, players can quickly jet through the natural wind tunnels that exist between buildings and then quickly resume web-swinging after picking up substantial speed. As one would expect from the studio that somehow perfected the feeling of being Spider-Man,Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s web wingsreportedly feel nearly as great as the wall-crawler’s signature mode of transportation.
Beyond getting around the boroughs themselves, though, players will need to traverse both bridges between boroughs and the spaces without buildings that exist between them.Marvel’s Spider-Man 2expands on the various crime activitiesof the first game and even goes so far as to provide plenty of helpful cues on the HUD that can direct players to these events without needing to pull up a map. With a greater emphasis on emergent gameplay and a UI built to support it, having yet another way to quickly get around a massive open-world map is an excellent addition.
From what’s been shown so far, players can also likely expect to have plenty of traversal challenges built around the web wings, with several hands-on impressions so far noting that their sense of speed is essentially unparalleled. Web-swinging inInsomniac’sSpider-Manfranchisehas already somehow perfectly captured what fans have imagined it would feel like to be Spider-Man for years, and the new abilities granted by the web wings only add to that legacy. With only a month left until the game’s launch, it’s an exciting premise to not only have a map that more than doubles the size of the firstMarvel’sSpider-Manbut also makes it an even greater joy to dart around.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2launches on October 20, exclusively for PS5.
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