Overview
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is an action-adventure game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, released on October 20, 2023. It serves as the direct sequel to Marvel's Spider-Man (2018) and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020), completing an informal trilogy that has defined PlayStation's flagship single-player output. The game puts two fully playable Spider-Men on the streets of a more expansive New York City, with a story that pits them against Kraven the Hunter and the alien Venom symbiote simultaneously.
The symbiote storyline is the emotional core of the game. When the Venom symbiote bonds with Peter Parker, it amplifies his power while steadily corroding his judgment and relationships. Miles, meanwhile, carries the weight of protecting the city while watching his mentor change in ways that feel genuinely unsettling. The writing treats both characters as equals rather than forcing one into a sidekick role.
Gameplay and mechanics
Switching between Peter and Miles is the defining mechanical feature of Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Each character has a distinct combat identity:
- Peter's symbiote abilities add brutal crowd-control tentacle attacks
- Miles retains his bioelectric Venom powers and camouflage
- Both characters share a web-wing traversal system for gliding
- Parry timing and dodge mechanics add depth to combat encounters
- Skill trees for each hero remain separate, rewarding full playthroughs
The web-wing gliding system transforms traversal across the expanded map, which now covers Queens and Brooklyn alongside Manhattan. It reduces reliance on web-swinging for long-distance movement and opens up aerial combat options that weren't possible in the earlier games.
World and setting
New York City in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is noticeably larger and more detailed than in its predecessors. The addition of two boroughs gives the open world more visual variety, moving from Manhattan's dense skyscraper corridors to the wider streets and residential blocks of Queens and Brooklyn. Kraven's presence transforms sections of the city into active hunting grounds, with enemy encampments and super-powered targets scattered throughout.
The map also features environmental storytelling tied directly to the main narrative. As the symbiote influence spreads, certain districts reflect that change visually, which makes the world feel reactive rather than static.
Technical achievement
Built exclusively for the PlayStation 5, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 takes direct advantage of the hardware. Load times between character switches are effectively eliminated, the DualSense controller's haptic feedback distinguishes between Peter's symbiote attacks and Miles' electric powers at a tactile level, and the 3D audio implementation tracks web-swinging and combat in ways that hold up even on standard TV speakers. The game later received a PC port, bringing it to Steam and the Epic Games Store with support for higher frame rates and resolutions.
Impact and legacy
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 sold over 2.5 million copies in its first 24 hours and reached 5 million copies sold within 11 days of launch, making it the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game at that point. It received strong critical scores on release, with reviewers consistently pointing to the dual-protagonist structure and symbiote arc as the standout achievements. The PC release extended the game's reach beyond PlayStation hardware, giving a new audience access to one of the most polished open-world action games in the Marvel's Spider-Man series.