Spider-Man 2 reveals first gameplay at the PlayStation Showcase and we gather all the important new information.
This is a double and triple whammy for every Spidey fan”s spider-sense! At the big PlayStation Showcase, development studio Insomniac finally revealed a full 12 minutes of pure gameplay from Marvel”s Spider-Man 2 for the PS5. The sequel to arguably the best Spider-Man game ever made to date.
And my goodness! In this gameplay, it really cracks! But besides the brute action, there are of course also a lot of big and small details about the story and the new features. We summarise every little hint in this article. Ready? Let”s swing!
Ach, and the game has a release frame by now too: It is scheduled to be released in autumn 2023.
1. In gameplay, there are four new supervillains
Spider-Man gets active support in the sequel in the form of Miles Morales, who also brings spider power and even has a few more tricks up his sleeve. Accordingly, the two also have to deal with even more opponents. Some of the new villains were known, others have now been revealed. Some even only in passing.
- Kraven the Hunter: At the very beginning we see Kraven, or Sergei Kravinoff, a world-famous but unscrupulous hunter who chooses New York as his new hunting ground. Kraven is a cunning big-game hunter who has enhanced physical attributes thanks to a magical herbal tincture. In the game, he probably also has an army of henchmen with him.
- The Lizard: Dr. Connors was once again hot to regrow his lost arm. The result remains the same – he turns into a brutal lizard. This one seems to be even bigger than in other versions.
- Venom: One of Spidey”s most iconic antagonists was already known as a villain and does not actually appear in the gameplay. But we do see Peter in his symbiote suit, who later merges with Eddie Brock to create Venom.
(Kraven is probably not only hunting Spider Man, but also has his adversaries in his sights.) In addition to these four new villains, there are also more enemies to be discovered on Kraven”s map, although not all of them have to appear. But we do at least see Black Cat, Tombstone, Shocker, Scorpion, Doc Ock, Taskmaster, Rhyno and Kingpin from the predecessor. We also see the Prowler, Miles” uncle and adversary.
The Open World is now even bigger
In the predecessor, New York consisted mainly of Manhattan, with its massive skyscrapers and network of streets and alleys, through which Spider-Man loves to swing. Apparently, the map will be even bigger in the sequel. After all, it also goes to Queens, the neighbourhood from which Peter Parker originally comes. Queens has more of a suburban flair and makes swinging a little harder, but actually belongs to Spider-Man like web fluid.
(In Spider Man 2, it”s not just Manhattan that”s open to us.) 3. New powers for Peter and Miles
As mentioned earlier, throughout the gameplay Peter is in his black symbiote suit, which is made of a slippery alien mass. The suit not only makes Peter stronger and faster, it also gives him new active abilities. Peter uses these immediately and takes apart a group of hunters in seconds. In total, we see four new Venom powers that Peter can use in his suit with L1.
- Symbiote Strike: A slimy, black fist shoots out of Peter”s arm and thunders an opponent backwards.
- Symbiont Ball: Peter rolls up into a ball of slime and then bowls opponents over like a bowling ball.
- Symbiont Grip: Peter grabs several opponents at once with black tentacles, lifts them into the air and thunders them to the ground.
- Symbiont Sun: The fourth icon looks like a sun, but is not yet used in gameplay.
(Thanks to the symbiote, Spider Man looks even more powerful but also more ruthless.)
But it”s not just Peter who has new abilities, Miles also seems to have changed a bit since going solo, his bioelectric powers have increased. Miles” electricity is now white and no longer yellow and also seems to work a little differently. Namely, he can now hurl it at his opponents like lightning. Miles also has an action wheel with four abilities, but only two of them have been used.
- Current Stomp: Miles jumps from above to the ground and unleashes a massive electricity shockwave.
- Chain Lightning: Miles shoots a lightning bolt that flings an enemy backwards and then jumps on more enemies.
4. Two new movement options
One of the greatest joys of a Spider-Man game is always moving through the city. In the gameplay we saw two new movement options that both Miles and Peter can use.
- Glide: Both Spider-Men can unfold small sails under their arms, which they use to glide through the air. These
wings
used to be an integral part of Spidey”s design in the comics, but were later removed. However, they made a comeback in Spider-Man: Homecoming and now they are also in Marvel”s Spider-Man 2. - Super slingshot: Anyone who was a Spidey fan 19 years ago will certainly remember Spider-Man 2 for the PlayStation 2, where Peter could catapult himself through the urban canyons with his web by simply attaching them to two poles and pulling them taut. Now that”s exactly what”s possible again in the new game.
(If you see two aerials anywhere, you can use them as a giant slingshot.) 5. New gadgets are included
In addition to his spider powers, Peter also likes to use homemade gadgets, of which there were quite a few in the predecessor. In the gameplay, we see a selection wheel at the bottom right, on which two new gadgets can already be seen. However, only one of them is used. For example, Miles places a mine on the ground, which pulls three enemies to the same spot and makes them crash against each other. The other gadget seems to be a small rocket of some kind.
(With these hunter drones, Kraven searches for the Spider Men, but one of them joins the group.)
Also, Miles” best friend and tech expert Ganke has acquired a hunter drone to accompany the Spideys on their excursions. An exciting detail: it is revealed that Ganke did not build the drone himself, but simply stole it from Kraven”s hunters. He even says so in a conversation with Miles, and shortly afterwards we see Miles take out the same drone from ambush in a sneak passage.
Did you notice anything else in the gameplay that you were excited about or anything you didn”t like? What wishes and hopes do you have for Spider-Man 2 and are there any super villains you would like to see? Do you like the costumes of the two heroes? Let us know in the comments!
