Sony has give us our first look at Marvel's Spider-Man 2 gameplay, since it was first announced just under two years ago.
Last night's PlayStation Showcase was packed to the brim with new reveals, like the new PlayStation handheld Project Q, the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, and release dates for titles like Alan Wake 2 and Assassin's Creed Mirage. But there was one game that everyone was there to see, and that was Marvel's Spider-Man 2, which showed off gameplay for the first time since it was revealed back in September 2021.
The trailer opened with a gruff man walking through a dark and dingy jungle – not exactly the most evocative of Spider-Man – revealing that Kraven The Hunter is set to be one of the primary villains for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 alongside the already revealed Venom. Kraven – bored with his hunts in the jungle – makes his way to New York to hunt the two Spider-Men and a host of Spider-Man villains, including one Dr. Curt Connors AKA Lizard, who this gameplay demo focuses on.
The gameplay opens with Peter Parker facing off against Kraven's goons, donning the Symbiote suit. Something is obviously not right with Peter as he's adopted a far more brutal fighting style thanks to the Symbiote suit. Eventually Kraven's squad pinpoint the location of Dr. Connors, with Peter too far away to reach him in time we're introduced to the newest mechanic for the game: the ability to switch between Peter and Miles Morales in a manner akin to GTA 5.
What follows is a huge set piece chase not unlike what we saw in the original Marvel's Spider-Man, where Miles and Peter chase down the Lizard while all manner of destruction goes on around them, all while busting out some new moves like a wingsuit to throw some gliding in alongside the swinging.
I'm seeing double! Four Spider-men
The most shocking thing about last night's PlayStation Showcase was the lack of a release date for Marvel's Spider-Man 2, instead opting to run with a generic "fall 2023" release window. Considering rumours had pegged the game to be releasing around September, many – including myself – had assumed we would find out the exact date we could swing back into New York, but we'll have to wait a bit longer it seems.
I'm looking forward to Marvel's Spider-Man 2, I loved the first game and Marvel's Spider-Man Miles Morales. But truth be told, I didn't see too much to really push the hype into overdrive for me, it all seemed extremely similar to the first from a gameplay standpoint. That being said, I loved the story of the first game, and if this game is adapting Kraven's Last Hunt like some people are speculating we're in for another great storyline in this one.
