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The PlayStation Showcase 2021 showed off a lot of both previously announced and new IPs on the way for PlayStation fans and beyond. Some of the biggest announcements came in the form of updates on three big Marvel properties. Marvel has a lot of new games on the way, and now Wolverine and Spider-Man 2 are in the works. Fans of Insomniac Games' major releases were likely delighted to see that a full sequel to Marvel's Spider-Man is on the way, and the recent trailer made the arrival of franchise mainstay Venom official. Hopefully Insomniac will take a queue from one older PlayStation 2 title and allow players to take control of the often-violent symbiote in the upcoming game.
Nearly nothing was revealed in the recent teaser for Spider-Man 2 beyond a short clip of Peter and Miles working together. The clip featured narration that can likely be attributed to Kraven the Hunter, and then a voiceover near the end confirmed Venom will be a character in Spider-Man 2. With Venom now confirmed to factor into the follow-up to Insomniac's hit Marvel game, a playable version of Venom in Spider-Man 2 could be a huge boon for fans. Luckily, there's already a solid framework from an older Spider-Man game that Insomniac can use as inspiration.
Why Venom Should be Playable in Spider-Man 2
A solid example of Venom working as a playable character can be seein in the PS2 title Ultimate Spider-Man. In that game, players were able to control both Peter Parker as Spider-Man and one of the myriad versions of Eddie Brock's Venom. Ultimate Spider-Man had some important features tied to Venom that could work well in Insomniac's new game. With how popular the character has become between movies and the excitement round Venom in Spider-Man 2, it would make a lot of sense to have the classic anti-hero become a playable character.
From a mechanical standpoint, it shouldn't be that difficult to add Venom as a playable character in Spider-Man 2. The anti-hero has a set of abilities that are very similar to those of Peter Parker, but with some fun twists. In Ultimate Spider-Man, Venom started out as a character driven by his baser instincts, as consuming civilians was a big part of Venom's gameplay loop in Ultimate Spider-Man. With the popularity of the Venom movies, this would likely be a crucial mechanic to sell to fans. Although it would be tough to pull it off without reaching an M rating due to the much higher fidelity that Spider-Man 2 will feature, it would be worth the effort.
While Miles and Peter will seemingly both be playable in the new game, Venom could add even more diversity to the gameplay. Though his abilities are aped from his nemesis Spider-Man, Venom's shapeshifting and visceral power compared to Spider-Man could make for an interesting shake-up of the formula. One of the fun mechanics in Ultimate Spider-Man was a super jump that Venom could use to easily reach the top of a skyscraper. While it's more likely Venom and his relationship to both Spider-Men will be explored through the story though, it is fun to think about the possibility. The suggestion that Venom and Kraven could be fighting only adds to the potential that would come with the former being playable.
Playing the villain (or the anti-hero) isn't new to video games. Games like Elder Scrolls or Mass Effect have long given players the ability to skew one way or the other in terms of the moral spectrum. Even the announcement that players will be controlling Logan in Marvel's Wolverine means that Insomniac is betting on the idea that players want to explore a degree of moral ambiguity. Seeing that idea come to fruition in the rock-solid foundation of Marvel's Spider-Man could pay off in a big way. Hopefully Insomniac will take that into consideration, providing fans with a playable Venom that helps make Spider-Man 2 even more memorable.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will launches on PS5 in 2023.