Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is finally swinging onto the PlayStation 5 later this year, and plenty of exciting details are already known about its release date, plot, and gameplay. Its predecessor, Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man earned near-universal acclaim when it launched back in 2018, with the Ratchet & Clank developer leaving its own mark on Peter Parker. Its 2020 spin-off, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, picked up where Marvel’s Spider-Man left off, and detailed the titular Brooklyn teen’s development into a capable crime fighter in his own right.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 was officially unveiled during the PlayStation Showcase in September 2021, and it's been confirmed both the creative and game director have returned for the newest web-slinging venture. The first trailer for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 featured Peter and Miles teaming up against new threats, including the previously-hinted-at Venom. A new look at the title was shown at the June 2023 PlayStation Showcase with over 11 minutes of gameplay, and a better look at some of the other foes the Spider-Men will face.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Releases On October 20, 2023
After much speculation, Marvel's Spider-Man 2's release date was revealed during the 2023 Summer Game Fest opening night live showcase alongside the official cover art for the game. The game will be released exclusively on PlayStation 5 on October 20, 2023 with three different editions: Standard, Digital Deluxe, and a Collector's Edition that features an impressive 19-inch statue of both Peter and Miles fighting Venom. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has been available for pre-order since June 16.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Story & Villains
With Marvel's Spider-Man 2's release date growing nearer, there will likely be further promotional footage such as a story trailer that will reveal more details about Peter and Miles' next adventure, but for now, it has been confirmed that the story of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will see Peter and Miles face off against the monstrous fan-favorite villain, Venom. Venom, in this continuity, is confirmed not to be Eddie Brock and is suggested to be Harry Osborn instead of the usual Symbiote hosts. Harry was largely absent from both Marvel's Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, as Peter and Mary Jane believed he was traveling around Europe, but post-credit scenes for both titles revealed that he was being treated for the same illness that took his mother's life in a secret laboratory hidden in Norman's penthouse.
In the post-credits scene for Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Norman demands that Curt Connors, who is helping him with these experiments, release Harry from his stasis tank where he was bonding with the Venom symbiote. Despite his objections, Connors complies - thus setting the stage for a recast Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Harry's emergence as Venom. So far, despite the revelation through notes left behind that Harry was sick, Peter and his allies are completely unaware of exactly what Norman has done to Harry, suggesting the fallout will be part of the new title.
Peter bonds with the Venom symbiote in the new gameplay footage, and it's clear that it has already made him more aggressive in his actions. This is something that Miles picks up on and could lead to a showdown between the two heroes as Miles tries to free Peter of the symbiote's control, especially as Insomniac has already stated that its take on the Venom story will have a prevalent theme of addiction.
When the Spider-Men try to save Connors - who has transformed into his Lizard alter ego - from Kraven the Hunter, a symbiote-fueled Peter exclaims that Harry is "still dying," implying that the reveal of what Norman has done happens relatively early and that part of the game will involve Peter and Connors trying to find a cure. If Peter fails at this, it will likely add to the drama of Harry's transformation into an out-of-control monster that Spider-Man has to stop, and it's possible that Marvel's Spider-Man 2 could end on a tragic note.
Aside from Venom, Kraven the Hunter will also have a prominent role as a Marvel's Spider-Man 2 villain, as his pursuit of the Lizard was part of the much larger "great hunt" that brought him to New York. Kraven seeks worthy prey, having grown tired of hunting animals and merely highly-skilled people, and has been advised to hunt superpowered and enhanced beings, with a list of targets that includes both Spider-Men, Lizard, and nearly every villain from the previous games who were sent to the RAFT prison. This list also revealed Wrath's appearance in the game, confirming that Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will pick up former police captain Yuri Watanabe's arc as she transformed into a violent vigilante during Marvel's Spider-Man's The City that Never Sleeps DLC.
With these previous villains appearing on Kraven's list of potential opponents, there is also the chance that Doctor Octopus could return following his incarceration at the end of Marvel's Spider-Man - perhaps in a Hannibal Lecter-esque role. The mechanical tentacles Peter wields during the Marvel's Spider-Man 2 reveal trailer bear a suspicious resemblance to the ones Octavius uses as the Superior Spider-Man in the comics and as Peter and Otto have a much more personal connection in Marvel's Spider-Man universe it's all the more likely that Otto might have some role in helping Peter create these tentacles to take on the greater threat of Venom.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Gameplay & Playable Characters
The 2023 PlayStation Showcase footage confirmed that both Peter and Miles will be playable in Marvel's Spider-Man 2. In the gameplay footage, it seemed like players will be prompted to alternate between the two heroes during certain sections of missions; however, Insomniac has since stated that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will feature a character-switching mechanic like Grand Theft Auto 5 when exploring the game's open world. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will retain the free-flowing combat and web-swinging gameplay that made the first two games such a hit, albeit with a few more tweaks and additions that take full advantage of the PS5 hardware, such as the addition of web-wings for faster traversal.
After some eagle-eyed fans had already noticed clues pointing towards Queens and Brooklyn being part of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2's bigger game map, these locations were confirmed in the gameplay footage, which started in Queens before seeing Peter and Miles pursue The Lizard along the East River. These real-life locations are significant to the Spider-Man mythos as the homes of Peter and Miles respectively, and Peter previously revealed that he is moving back into Aunt May's old house near the end of Spider-Man: Miles Morales, with the Marvel's Spider-Man 2 prequel comic teasing that he was struggling with money while applying for his teaching certificate.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has multiple skill trees - one for Peter, one for Miles, and a shared one - to upgrade Miles' special bioelectric powers, and Peter's symbiote abilities, there is still some speculation that the game may be hiding a third playable character and that these upgraded symbiote abilities could be passed to Venom after Peter's finished with the symbiote. For now, only Peter and Miles are confirmed as playable, but allowing players to take control of Venom would be a good way to transfer these upgrades while giving fans of the Ultimate Spider-Man game some nostalgia.
Source: PlayStation/YouTube