While it hasn't been confirmed, there is no doubt in fans' minds that Insomniac Games will make a new Spider-Man game for PlayStation 5. The first game was a smash hit critically and commercially, along with the Miles Morales-led spin-off game. The first of Insomniac's Spider-Man games on PS4 was lauded for its use of characters, story, and combat, but there is one area that should be improved for the next game. By taking a look at Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham series, Insomniac Games could make better use of Spider-Man's rogues gallery.
The Batman: Arkham series is commonly recognized as the best superhero series in gaming. One of the most acclaimed aspects of the series is Rocksteady's use of Batman villains. The developer used some of the most familiar names like The Joker, Two-Face, and The Riddler. At the same time, Rocksteady leveraged lesser-known villains like Professor Pyg, Hugo Strange, and Mad Hatter. By looking at how Rocksteady used a wide selection of Batman villains, Insomniac Games can improve its usage of Spider-Man's foes.
Spider-Man's Rogues Gallery
Spider-Man, just like Batman, has a huge range of iconic and familiar villains. A lot of these bad guys have been seen in the Spider-Man games so far, as Dr. Octopus, Electro, Vulture, and more have made their presence felt. These characters were key to the main narrative in Marvel's Spider-Man and posed a great challenge to Peter Parker in the story. So far, only a portion of Spider-Man's villains made appearances in Insomniac's games.
Outside of the main story, the Spider-Man games on PlayStation have features some villains as part of side content, though not to the same level as the Batman: Arkham series. The likes of Taskmaster and Screwball are featured during side missions, but villain appearances in side quests in Spider-Man have yet to feel as significant as the Batman: Arkham games. In the Arkham series, many of Batman's villains were featured in varied missions befitting of their characters.
Spider-Man Villains in Side Quests
Marvel's Spider-Man features several side missions, but few actually feature Spider-Man villains. With the next game, Insomniac Games has an opportunity to improve its side missions and also show off more of the Spider-Man pantheon of villains. While some of the biggest bad guys have appeared, some could be a perfect fit for entire questlines. Kraven the Hunter, for example, is motivated by killing Spider-Man to prove he is the world's greatest hunter and could be a great fit for side missions.
A series of side missions could see Kraven attacking Spider-Man by surprise to claim his trophy. Similar surprise tactics were seen with Man-Bat in Batman: Arkham Knight, and in this scenario could fit in with the Kraven character well. Another popular Spider-Man villain is Mysterio, the master of illusion. Thanks to his abilities, Insomniac could have a great chance to craft some themed side missions. The developer could play to the character's strengths, and have Mysterio trick and confuse Spider-Man, not unlike The Scarecrow from the Batman: Arkham games.
The biggest takeaway from the Arkham games villain-led side quests that Insomniac could have is how appropriate the missions are to the characters involved. The Mad Hatter's quests in Arkham City and Arkham Knight might be relatively easy to complete, but it's the psychedelic influence of the character on the quests that make them memorable for gamers. This same logic could be applied to the next Spider-Man game from Insomniac, and help the developer create noteworthy side content, featuring some of the familiar and unused villains from the Spider-Man rogues' gallery.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is rumored to be in development for PlayStation 5.