Marvel's Spider-Man 2 PS5

Penn

The game can be a bit buggy at times (not in the spider way). The suits with the capes are useless as half the time the cape ends up sticking through your body. I've also had to exit and re-enter the game three times because the game would get stuck.

Other than that I'm really enjoying the game, especially the new features like gliding. Also a lot easier to use abilities/gadgets than picking them from a weapon wheel like the last game. A lot of the side stuff seems more engaging too.

Potential-Monke

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121271608#Comment_121271608

I was coming on to say how I'm already hating some side missions because they're not Spiderman things. I just cycled a bike for a bit, then took a load of photos for students, help someone set up the opportunity to ask someone to homecoming even though they're already dating... its just very jarring to go from fighting Sandman on a huge scale to that. Early days, so I'm sure there's loads of fighting and actual Spiderman things to do.

Traversal is sublime. So smooth, crazy speeds and I've hapes to unlock to improve it more. Fast travel is basically instant, as is swapping characters, Insomniac really getting the use out of the SSD, and masterclassing how it's done. It's not a perfect game, but it's far better than most AAA releaes these days.

Only about 10 hours played, so plenty to come.

J. Marston

Was I imagining things in the trailers and deep dives when they showed you switching Between Peter and Miles with the press of a single button, the map zoomed out and went to the other's location and zoomed in on them while they were mid-swing etc, almost instantaneously.

But now it's open the app, hold square, black screen for 2 or 3 seconds and then they're in an idle animation before you take over.

It's a minor nitpick because it's still quite a quick switch but the first one was far more impressive and fluid.

McFly85

Played it pretty much all of yesterday, really enjoying it. The parry mechanic seemed a bit tacked on at first but is very handy once things get a bit more chaotic.

I agree with one thing Eurogamer mentioned, the boss fights do go on too long. Most of them would still be enjoyable if you shaved one health bar off.

Overall though, loving the story and the side quests - especially the smaller ones that feel more neighbourhood Spider-Man. Can’t wait to get back at it tonight!

EoinMcLovin

https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/1716439458419974366?t=k6mhaOIvHx0yK8UYttt-bw&s=19

Spider-Man 2 has sold over 2.5 million copies in its first 24 hours, fastest selling PS Studios game in PlayStation history

Penn

Got a good bit more done last night. Loving all the side stuff, some of it is a bit of a collect-a-thon but I'm hoping there'll be a decent payoff at the end. A lot of the new enemies and attacks in the game definitely make you have to switch up your playstyle a bit (especially hampering my usual tactic of just staying in the air for as long as possible). Upgrades coming in thick and fast because of how much side stuff I'm doing too.

There are some things that can be a bit of a drag though. In particular one side mission involving graffiti at a florists.

Spoiler Warning

As bad as the MJ sections in the first game was, at least she has a bit more utility and combat skills this time. But there are TWO Spider-Men in this game as well as other heroes.... Why the f*ck am I playing as Banksy? At the very least, they could have had Hailey teaching Miles how to do spray art and you play as Miles having to help Hailey get up to the roof, if they really wanted to show off their graffiti mini-game. But actually playing as Hailey... I don't get it. That was a lot of effort for so little payoff because even the graffiti thing was pretty boring.

McFly85

Finished the story last night. It’s definitely short but I did basically spend 2 days straight at it, couldn’t put it down!

I agree that the weakest part is when you’re not one of the Spider-Men, especially that graffiti one(I can see why they wanted to do it but it was a really poorly executed side quest).

Combat near the end of the game can be really chaotic so having a good handle on parrying, dodging and which abilities to use is an absolute must.

Boss fights are spectacular, but the colour coded warnings for attacks can turn them into a bit of a rock paper scissors affair. I haven’t checked but an option to turn those off and learn the enemy attack by movement only like a Dark Souls could be more rewarding.

Anyway I still have plenty to do. Think I’ll go for the platinum as it’s an absolute joy to play.

Regarding the ending:

Spoiler Warning

I like the idea of Peter taking a little time off and seeing how Miles gets on by himself.

With Doc Ock making a return and the likelihood of Green Goblin in the next game that I can see him being pulled out of retirement.

Theyve also put in a reference to Silk in the post credits, so Spider-Man 3 might have you control 3 spider people. If that’s the case maybe leave the MJ missions off this time!

Oh, and not about the ending but that short section controlling Venom was a blast. Would have loved more of those sections.

EoinMcLovin

https://youtu.be/fuu_wseJnIE?si=2KFTMXsdvJy0FN5Y

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https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfoundry-2023-inside-marvels-spider-man-2-the-digital-foundry-tech-interview

J. Marston

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121272068#Comment_121272068

I've found out you unlock it. I feel silly now.

Penn

Coming closer to the end. A few more main missions to go, but most of the side stuff done bar the few things you unlock late in the story.

Enjoying it about as much as the first game. Boss battles are much better and the new traversal and combat abilities work well. Better variety in the combat too. It's still a small improvement of the formula rather than anything too groundbreaking though, and I can't point to anything that really changes anything or introduces anything interesting. But it's still an incredible amount of fun just swinging (and now gliding) around, and the city is huge and looks amazing.

The timing window for the parry is awful though.

TitianGerm

I'm surprised this thread is so quiet considering the first game was so popular and this was the big exclusive for Sony before Christmas.

My big fear is it'll suffer from the same repetitiveness as the first game for me so I'm holding off for a big discount.

EoinMcLovin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121295086#Comment_121295086

I'm guessing some people are waiting for it on sale, Christmas or are playing other games atm. Once you have everything done there is zero replay ability. I just got the platinum last night. They need to bring in new game plus and the option to replay Hunter bases like in Miles Morales. Loved the game though.

Also what are people's go to suits for Miles and Peter. For me Scarlet III in red and black for Peter and Brooklyn 2099 for Miles

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121295761#Comment_121295761

Scarlet III in red and blue for Peter (far left)

Crimson Cowl in red and black for Miles (far left)

I like the hoods....

EoinMcLovin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121296095#Comment_121296095

LOL same with me

flazio

I stuck with the suits they introduced in the story I.e. Their upgraded suits, the black and white Venom suits on Peter and that glowing jacket thing on Miles.

Penn

Actually, I changed my mind on my favourite suit for Peter. Venom suit, far right, with the red and blue shading like the 90's cartoon. If you don't get the reference, f*ck you for being young.

I'd been buying as few suits as possible, saving all my upgrade materials for actual upgrades, so after beating the story I started buying all the suits. A bit late to have discovered this suit, as I just had a few trophies to clean up for the platinum which I've now done.

Potential-Monke

Not far from the end I reckon. Just did the chasing this mech birds side missions, and now Insomniac should automatically have the rights to any Superhero franchise where the main character flies. Iron Man, Wonder Woman, Superman, any of them. Was just stunning flying around after them, felt properly next gen. And haptic integration is very good too.

Just a shame about those side missions... would be a solid 9 otherwise. So far, I'd be giving it a solid 7.

Potential-Monke

And that's the Plat. Strong ending to the story missions, the last 5 or so were great, but that's probably because I had everything done at that point so they weren't interrupted by stupid FNSM requests. That whole Venom thing happening, but excuse me for 10 minutes while I find a home for some pigeons...

Anyway, overall I thoroughly enjoyed it. The traversal is amazing, the fast travel is insane, it really does a great job at making you feel like Spiderman. But it's not perfect, I had a crash in the closing cutscene (it loaded back into the cutscene thankfully), and a few small graphical issues throughout. If they weren't there, and those non-Spiderman missions weren't in it, I'd probably give it a 8. But I'll stick with a solid 7.

Won't be getting any DLC. I'll wait for eventual + inclusion. But there are worse ways to spend €70. I got it for €37 adter trading AC Mirage for cash in CEX. They're offering €54 cash right now, so I technically got paid to play the game...

With all the suit options, I kept going back to the Superior Suit, first option for Pete. And Miles I kept switching between the first version of the 2020 suit and the white version of The End suit. The rest just didn't look right most the time imo. And I'll never be OK with an all blue, green, yellow or any other colour than red, black and white spidermen!

Corvo

Not far into this, really enjoying it, especially the traversal.

Can I just ask with regards the Plat - does it involve combo trophies etc?

Also - some of the side missions absolutely suck.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121309202#Comment_121309202

No, the platinum is far easier than the previous game. You don't even have to get gold in all the Mysteriums. The main combat ones I remember are just using abilities/gadgets a number of times, but they don't have to be in a big combo or anything.

The only 'combo' type trophy is doing 30 air tricks without landing, but you can swing/glide in between tricks (also doing 4 backflips in a row counts as 1 trick, so you have to move the stick in a different direction between each trick). It's an easy enough trophy to get.

Corvo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121309233#Comment_121309233

Cheers Penn, might give it a go so.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121309278#Comment_121309278

Only maybe took me an hour or so to clean up all trophies that I hadn't gotten though normal gameplay (though I'd finished all the side missions and upgrades etc before doing the final mission anyway). There are a couple of combat/ability related trophies I had to get, but the random crimes that pop up had plenty of enemies that it didn't take too long.

The first game had some tricky enough trophies, and Miles Morales you had to play NG+ to get the platinum, but this game definitely has the easiest platinum.

shrewdness

Really enjoyed this, got my first ever platinum on it during the week - I've played a ton of PS games but rarely play on to clean up trophies and do extra bits after I "beat the game", but this game was so enjoyable to play and the trophies easy to get. Seems like an unpopular opinion here but I enjoyed the side content, they actually had story behind them and set up other aspects of the Spidey universe that could be explored in the future. So it was more intriguing to me than the typical checklist stuff you get in many open world games.

Potential-Monke

That's just a personal preference. For me, it takes away from the game as I didn't buy a Spiderman game to do normal everyday stuff, and it just really stood out from the rest of the game in a bad way for me due to the looming threats of everything else, but shur always time to chase a few pidgeons (over and past in-progress crimes btw) or talk to an old man about the fagility of life and how everything just dies in the end... Stop trying to humanise people who are not human. I'm human, I can't stick to walls or swing/glide through New York. They're superheroes, they do superhero stuff, not relocate pidgeons! I did like the Graffitti mission for what it was trying to do, but what they did with it was poor and irrelevant in the end.

Also, FYI for anyone chasing the Miles combat trophy; the Mysterium in Chinatown is a finisher challenge, enemies will keep coming as long as you don't finish, and most are killed with 3 regular hits so it's easy to build up that challenge. I had to do 27 more moves to complete it, started the challenge, wailed away and still managed to get gold after the trophy popped. The Peter one was harder as I had everything done so had to fly around and find the random crimes. Had to do around 17 I think, took about half an hour.

Rumours that this will tie into the Wolverine game or vice versa, so not sure how they'll keep it teen friendly without ruining Wolverine. I also think the next game needs a new setting. With the speeds you're flying, all of NY feels the same to me. Thinking back, it definitely added to the "been here done that" feel of the game. I know he's the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman, but I'd like somewhere else for a change.

Penn

I loved the smaller, more humanising side missions in the game. Ultimately, that's always been a huge part of what Spider-Man (and many other heroes) is about. Those missions in particular are specifically about being the Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man.

Getting to do something interesting, thematic, character-focused and thoughtful makes for a decent break from just another group of Hunters on a rooftop, or the Cultists attacking a different building.

Sure, if the whole game was about those types of missions, it'd feel like "This isn't really a good use of my abilities", but as a break from just punching goons, I thought the FNSM missions were fun little asides and, although somewhat cheesy in places, were very much in fitting with what Spider-Man has always been about throughout his comics history.

Plus it's tradition at this stage. The previous best Spider-Man 2 game had you chasing down a kid's balloon.

Alipiama

The storyline again is kinda weak and not interesting at all. The gameplay is still fun though

Beta Ray Bill

Quick one

Years ago, I bought the PS4 specifically to play Spiderman. I waited for Miles Morales to come out on Steam as I felt it was a very similar game. Over all the purchase of the PS was 100% worth it to play the game and still now its the only PS4 game I own. (Note: I got the PS4 2nd hand)

Is it worth buying a PS5 to play Spiderman 2? I should I just wait for it to come out on Steam/PC (mid 2024)?

There seems to be 0% value PS5's second hand at the moment though. (Prices are within 20% of new)

Or is there a Playstation software you can use on PC to play PS5 games? (Similar to the the XBOX set up)

johnny_ultimate

Just started the game and, oof, that wing-suit. I'm not sure how Spider-Man it is, but boy does it make it maybe navigation delightful. The thing that has always given these Spider-Man games an edge over a mountain of similar open-world games is the speed of the game - you can navigate to and complete a side activity in the space of a minute, and be back on your way without taking a breath. The wing-suit supercharges that already enjoyable cadence.

McFly85

I think the wing suit is implemented perfectly. Enough to be enjoyable to use, necessary in some points but never to overtake the action of swinging as your primary method of traversal.

It does feel great to use in tandem with swinging too!

bennyx_o

Finished this last night. Enjoyed it overall - some parts of the story did drag on a bit but still very enjoyable. Gameplay has evolved well from the original and Miles Morales and 100% agree with what others have said about the wing suit, it's implemented very well and not overdone