Although still not officially confirmed by Sony or Insomniac, a direct sequel to Marvel's Spider-Man is sure to be in development considering the success of the series so far. The original game ranks as one of the highest rated PS4 exclusives while the spin-off Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales helped developed the titular hero into his own incarnation of the web slinging superhero. With the impressive capabilities of the PS5 and gaming tech in general advancing by the day, the next Spidey adventure is sure to be an impressive leap forward.
While moving ahead is always important, it is often just as valuable to look back to the past for lessons and guidance on what to do next. Even before Marvel's Spider-Man took the world by storm, the Marvel character was no stranger to video games, with many quality releases over the years. A highly notable and classic example is the simply titled Spider-Man as well as its sequel Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro on the original PlayStation. While certainly dated in some respects, these retro Spider-Man titles do feature a good number of elements that Insomniac should study up on.
Embrace The Comic Book Craziness
Although the tale of a more experienced Peter Parker's many ups and downs in life was definitely a gripping narrative in the first game, Insomniac could do well to embrace the wild world of the comics a bit more. The story in Marvel's Spider-Man for sure included trademark Marvel comics goodness, such as Doctor Octopus and the wall crawler's many quips, but the overall presentation was taken with a certain level of seriousness. This is not to suggest it was a bad decision at all, but this is after all based on a character who dresses up in red and blue spandex and fights a rogues gallery predominantly made up of villains basing themselves on animals.
Compare this to the 2000 game and it's own storyline, which felt directly like an adventure ripped from the pages of a classic Spider-Man comic book. In summary, Doc Ock has blanketed New York with a fog to unleash an army of Symbiotes to usher in a new world order and naturally, Spider-Man jumps into action to stop him. It is absolutely ridiculous but at the same time, wildly entertaining from how outlandish it all is. This was of course, a different time and the Marvel's Spider-Man sequel doesn't need to inject as much campiness as the 2000's game, but embracing just a bit more of that charming playfulness wouldn't hurt.
The Villains
Marvel's Spider-Man was a big surprise in how it included the iconic Sinister Six in the first game of this new Insomniac Series. The studio certainly pulled no punches in terms of including Spider-Man antagonists, with Doctor Octopus, Vulture and Rhino all making appearances. It's not so much the quantity of villains that is a slight issue however, as it is the pacing in how they appear and are utilized. The Sinister Six only appear in roughly the final third of the game's story, and are limited to spectacular albeit brief encounters.
For a large portion of the game, the main threat is Mr. Negative and the many gangs wreaking havoc within New York City, while all of these other villains are confined to the final section of the experience. It could help to space these battles out a bit more, especially considering how stunning Insomniac manages to make them. Both the 2000 game and it's sequel Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro carefully introduce the villains, with each one being the focus for a certain amount of time until an inevitable boss fight. It could make for an interesting gameplay loop if certain sections of the city have been taken over by specific villains, causing the player to go after each one at a time, similar to the approach often taken with the bosses in the Mega Man series.
Marvel’s Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Miles Morales are available now on PS4 and PS5. A sequel has not been officially announced.