Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Gameplay Trailer Breakdown

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 gameplay reveal trailer unveils an action-packed sequence revealing first looks at the roster of villains while also hinting at a darker version of the friendly neighbourhood superhero.

BY Hardikkumar Joshi PUBLISHED MAY 25, 2023

The highly anticipated Marvel's Spider-Man 2 amped up the hype by releasing an intense gameplay while alluding to expository story details. Insomniac has delivered successful entries in the Spider-Man PlayStation catalogue. The studio has captured the rich essence of the web-crawling superhero.

Spider-man is typically perceived as a traditional fun superhero. His witty quips and light-hearted nature represent his core personality. However, his rogues' gallery contains a variety of terrifying villains. One of the notable and ruthless villains is Venom, which is quite easy to decipher within the beginning moments of the gameplay demo. Venom is an alien symbiote that forms a parasitic bond with its hosts. There are several iterations where Venom has taken control of Spider-man but is not limited to one host. The most prominent host of Venom has been Eddie Brock, who later develops into an anti-hero personality. However, Insomniac has debunked the rumours of Eddie Brock being the host featured in the game. The studio has assured the fans that their take on Venom is going to be fresh. Speculations aside, we will simply have to wait for the game to confirm any theory.

Kraven

Kraven, who was briefly teased in 2021, makes his menacing appearance in the gameplay. He is depicted as being one of the central characters, while existing as a grim antagonistic force. Kraven is an expert tracker, hunter and experienced mercenary. He is a formidable foe because of his unfaltering passion for hunting and a master at hand-to-hand combat. Kraven wants to assert his dominance by gaining the title of being an apex predator. That is one reason why Kraven considers Spider-man as his prey. At the beginning of the gameplay demo, Spider-man dressed in his symbiote outfit angrily lunges at the enemies berating them after initially warning Kraven to not go after the Lizard. (Special comic book info: In one of the comic book issues, Kraven became obsessed with becoming the best. Due to that, he deluded himself into thinking that he could be a better Spider-man than Peter Parker. The comic book was an interesting read, so I highly recommend it.)

Lizard

Another sinister villain is making his appearance in the game. The character has been adapted on the big screen with Andrew Garfield's Amazing Spiderman movies. Dr. Curt Conner's experiments go awry, transforming him into an amphibian creature. The Lizard has the reputation of being the most savage, agile and formidable foe of Spider-man. Insomniac imbued terrifying jump scares in the gameplay, especially with the spiked, bulky, tall design of the Lizard. Online fandom has been buzzing with all sorts of theories. Fans on Twitter are also drawing parallels between the Lizard and Killer Croc from the Arkham Batman games. Kraven is represented as leading an army to capture Lizard. Peter also mentions the reason for saving the Lizard from Kraven's hunt, implying Lizard's role in developing a cure for Harry Osborne, his best friend.

Verdict

New mechanics such as switching between Miles and Peter ramps up the excitement for fans. Improved graphics enhance the experience with new symbiote combat attacks. Gliding mechanics feel more polished and appear aesthetically pleasing to look at. The gameplay also showcases the solid teamwork between Miles and Peter. However, presumably as a result of the symbiote's influence on Peter, Miles is quick to notice the change in Peter's behaviour. It is quite possible that Peter will only be a temporary host for Venom, but this plotline opens up the possibility of tremendous character development for the web-crawling heroes. It will be an interesting dynamic to witness, that's for sure.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 releases exclusively on PlayStation 5 on October 20th, 2023.