Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is the best playable superhero film of 2023
Since the release of the original Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune In 2007, PlayStation’s first-party lineup gradually evolved striking cinematic affairs. Like tentpole blockbusters or the old HBO original series, you are destined to do this feel The effort that has gone into these productions, and many of them often have a lot of effort technically or a storytelling hook attached to reflect this.
In this context, the newly published Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is no different. How Original game for PlayStation 4 and his independent adventure Spider-Man: Miles Morales, The superhero sequel is pure bombast, but has even more to offer thanks to a larger New York and the presence of two Spider-Men instead of just one. Sony’s formula is yet to break it does eventuallybut it has never felt as good as in Insomniac Games’ superhero saga.
Spider Man 2 begins with a brief nod to Harry Osborn’s relationship with the Venom symbiote, before cutting to Peter Parker as the science teacher at Miles Morales’ school. Within minutes, the two are kidnapped to save New York from a Sandman rampage. They quickly change out of their civilian clothes, jump off the roof of the school and jump into action, matching the hip-hop theme of EarthGang’s game “Swing.” This opening puts the game firmly in the blockbuster film category, as it draws on current Spider-Man media – if not current Marvel films in general – to showcase its two heroes and highlight the personal struggles that will happen to them in the game’s story mode.
The actual Sandman fight itself is a frenetic, chaotic affair, as Peter and Miles balance a giant Sandman with his sand copies and phone calls from their loved ones, who check in and generally strategize on how to take down the villain. Both Spider Man 1 And Miles Morales had quite long opening action sequences, but this one is much more extensive – it’s intended to show how the two Spider-Men function as a unit and what new movesets they have, and it succeeds. After this 20-minute sequence, the game establishes that Kraven is coming to New York to perform his “Great Hunt” title card: Spider Man 2.
As a character, Spider-Man has always been well suited to cinematic spectacle. Sam Raimi’s trilogy from the 2000s did this impressively with impressive shots of Peter Parker by Tobey Maguire He swung through New York while great operatic music played and he pulled off crowd-pleasing stunts and parades. Over the years, as films have become louder and more expensive, this sensation has never quite faded: Miles Morales does his best Leap of faith In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse evokes a different (but still very strong) kind of majesty that is both unique to this character, but also reminiscent of what came before. The Peter Parkers starred in live action Andrew Garfield And Tom Holland eventually get their own exciting web-swinging moments, as do Spider-Gwen, Pavitr Prabhakar, you get the idea.
It’s virtually impossible to watch Spider-Man swinging around, looking uncool in any way, shape or form. The character simply fits well into the world of video games, be it in his own titles or as a single player among many. And it helps that Marvel has found a great partner in Insomniac Games: the developer has done a great job of striking a good balance between the cinematic prestige that PlayStation has gradually become known for and the feeling that their games are feel like real video games. It’s early Spyro Games have always had a fun children’s movie vibe, and that goes for them too Ratchet & Clank Games from 2007 Tools of destruction. This has never been truer than in 2021 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart; The game openly draws on animated films as a source of inspiration and gives things its own cheeky touch – with great success.
As much as PlayStation has become synonymous with these cinematic games, it can sometimes feel like they’re being developed as prestige projects first and games second. Naughty dogs The last of us is the most criticized for this, but it is a criticism aimed at other series like God of War or Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima. Being called an “interactive movie” can sometimes be a backhanded compliment, especially since PlayStation has made it clear that it will simply be making a U-turn into films And shows in the coming years. Insomniacs have managed to avoid this, partly because their works are by nature more reminiscent of video games: Ratchet & Clank is about a duo of buddies hopping around the galaxy with an ever-growing list of ridiculous weapons, and Sunset Overdrive wears his comic book and Adult Swim sensibilities on his sleeve. If there was a developer capable of making games that felt like movies and were fun at the same time, it would be him.
The studio has been open about taking inspiration from all areas of Spider-Man media for its superhero games, so this is hardly surprising. Spider Man 2 Throughout its 25-30 hour runtime, it really feels like a proper superhero movie, with numerous set pieces, a number of emotional character beats, and the occasional threat of collapsing under its own weight. What makes the game so good is that it doesn’t really feel like it’s of much importance, nor does it try to sell itself with a big technical or narrative gimmick: it just knows it has what it takes has a fun superhero story to tell and does so with two beloved superheroes and some fun villains to face off against.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is now available for PlayStation 5.
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