A full sequel to Marvel's Spider-Man featuring both Peter Parker and Miles Morales is set to be released next year, but the Marvel gaming franchise could get a much-needed shake-up by introducing some form of the Spider-Man 2099 universe. The neon-drenched world of Nueva York would provide a lot of great gaming content, especially on the PlayStation 5 It could also provide some valuable fodder for Spider-Man's impressive photo mode, shaking up the tried and tested modern NYC setting for something more sci-fi in focus.
Marvel's Spider-Man and its mini-sequel starring Miles Morales have been endlessly praised for a number of reasons. One of the things that players have appreciated about these titles is its in-game rendition of New York City. The attention to detail present in these virtual versions of The Big Apple have stuck with players, especially when rendered on the PlayStation 5's powerful hardware.
Still, New York City is perhaps the most common real-world location to be featured in big-budget video games, with numerous Spider-Man games already taking a swing at the urban metropolis. By getting a bit more creative and experimental when it comes to Marvel's Spider-Man's world design, Insomniac Games could provide fans with a truly unique sandbox to explore. Many gamers love the futuristic aesthetic, with fan art depicting cyberpunk versions of Spider-Man, so a 2099 game would likely land well with players for a number of reasons.
A Marvel's Spider-Man 2099 Game Would Look Amazing On The PS5
A PlayStation 5 remaster of Marvel's Spider-Man launched alongside the next-gen Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, serving as a showcase of what the advanced tech of the console was capable of. 4K resolution brought to life many of the intricate details Insomniac Games worked so hard to implement, with NYC itself getting a snowy makeover. One of the most talked-about aspects of this game's next-gen presentation, however, was its ray-tracing, as the dynamic lighting system allowed for stunning reflections from New York's modern skyscrapers and the high-tech suits of Peter and Miles.
The high-fidelity graphics of both Marvel's Spider-Man games would be well-suited to a Spider-Man 2099 game. While Spider-Man: Miles Morales teased a map change, specifically the addition of the Queens borough to Marvel's Spider-Man 2, a more dramatic alteration would open the door to more interesting visual opportunities. Spider-Man: 2099's Nueva York sports a classic cyberpunk look, with the city drenched in neon and filled with sharp, glossy buildings. The combination of dynamic, lush lighting and reflective neo-urban surfaces would put the PS5's ray-tracing to good use - arguably much better than another current-era New York City would.
As it happens, developer Insomniac Games already has some experience creating next-gen cities of this type. Last year's best-selling Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart featured a memorable level set in a futuristic alien city, filled with the whirring of flying cars, deep thumping of house music, and breathtakingly large architecture. Rift Apart was a great action game with satisfying platformer elements, but it was also a more linear, segmented title. Combining this sci-fi aesthetic with Marvel's Spider-Man's thoughtful open world design could lead to a truly one of a kind gaming experience, not to mention that fun that players would have swinging through Nueva York.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2099 Could Improve Open World Gameplay
The smooth animations and thrilling mechanics of Marvel's Spider-Man's web-swinging struck a good balance between approachability and depth. This system was polished up a bit for Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which added new animations and tricks for Miles, along with minor gameplay tweaks like the Venom Jump, which allowed players to execute a mid-air boost for extra height and speed. These were welcome changes, but the series will need to continue to innovate and improve the web-swinging system in more meaningful ways to keep the web-swinging from getting stale.
Whichever web-slinger joins the universe of Marvel's Spider-Man next, setting a game in 2099 would once again allow for a number of new possibilities when it comes to gameplay. There are only so many realistic buildings that players can swing around and crawl on before they get bored, but a futuristic city filled with never-before-seen architecture and advanced air-bound vehicles could offer unique challenges and opportunities for expressive and fun gameplay. Currently, the Spider-Man games are tethered to reality when it comes to the majority of their world design. A Spider-Man 2099 game could change that, serving up new obstacles to traverse or suit powers to make use of.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2099 Could Take The Series To A New Level
The narrative and world of Insomniac's Marvel universe are already pretty out there, with plans to get even more creative with the addition of the black suit to Marvel's Spider-Man, but that doesn't mean it can't get even wilder. A Spider-Man 2099 story could feature Miguel O'Hara, but it could also work in some time-travel shenanigans to carry over the characters that fans of the games are already attached to, along the lines of Spider-Man: Edge of Time. Even better, a Marvel's Spider-Man in 2099 could segue into an in-game Spider-Verse scenario, with even more Spider-People getting introduced, each with their own, comic-accurate story and perhaps even gameplay segments.
Mission design could also see a massive overhaul in this hypothetical game, making Spider-Man 2099's story more experimental and unique. New technology could make for a more threatening central villain and enemies, which could lead to more drastic, dynamic changes throughout the narrative. A Marvel's Spider-Man story in 2099 could, in theory, be more inventive than its predecessors, focusing on characters who up until recently haven't appeared outside the comics.
Marvel's Spider-Man sets up villains like Morbius, so it doesn't seem like the game series is afraid of steering into the weirder side of the character's lore. While it's unlikely that players will get a chance to see the world of Nueva York in next year's Marvel's Spider-Man 2, future games in the series could conceivably go in that direction. This next installment is shaping up to be quite interesting, introducing famous characters like Venom and Kraven the Hunter, and it wouldn't be surprising if a third installment arrived following Marvel's Wolverine. However, to keep things fresh and exciting in future entries, Sony and Insomniac Games may wish to consider taking a crack at a Marvel's Spider-Man game set in the Spider-Man 2099 universe.