I remember walking out of the theater in 2018 after watchingInto the Spider-Verse, completely overwhelmed by what its creators achieved. Back then, I believed it marked the end of an era of forced adaptations that followed the well-known patterns about one of the most popular superheroes ever, who had already starred in eight movies and countless games. This year, with the arrival ofAcross the Spider-Verse, that feeling was reinforced, as it proved once again that captivating stories and characters could successfully break away from their past iterations.
And yet, following the beaten path seemsexactlywhatInsomniac Gamesis doing with its upcomingSpider-Man 2. Instead of taking risks, the game appears somewhat generic on the surface, lacking originality and imagination at every turn. It’s like the studio is playing it safe, sticking too closely to the established canon we’ve seen in otherSpider-Manfilms and games for ages.
I’m not saying Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 looks bad or will be a bad game—we can’t judge it fully until it’s released and we get to play it. However, based on what Insomniac has shown us so far, I’m not feeling very enthusiastic. The game appears to rely heavily on tired Spider-Man tropes from the past decade, with only minor changes to characters, villains, and their relationships.
Oh, look,there’s Venom in the game, how cool is that?! He even looks and sounds exactly like the Venom we’ve already seen in the 2007’s Spider-Man 3 and the Tom Hardy Venom movies. It would have been great to see a fresh take on this iconic anti-hero, but instead, it feels like the game is just recycling what came before, and I find little joy in it.
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The same uninspired approach seems to stretch to every other aspect of the upcoming title. Take Harry Osborn, who says the exact same lines (“We can literally change/heal the world!”) that Dane DeHaan already said in 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Okay, he appears to be Venom instead of Green Goblin this time, which makes more sense since an alien symbiote could likely have a more profound impact on a decaying human body than a cool armor suit with a glider.
Oh, look, there’s also Lizard, who’s just a tad bigger than the one we saw in 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man, portrayed by Rhys Ifans. And he likely can’t speak this time around, which is a relief, ‘cause it was terrible in that movie. Pete’s suddenly going all dark and mean as a symbiote takes over him? Whoa, isn’t that something fresh and unexplored before? And don’t let me start on Spider-Man 2being setin New York once again!
Another issue is how every character and villain is portrayed in Insomniac’s universe. From the Spider-Man suit on the box cover of the original (which I’m personally not a fan of) to Miles’s by-the-book costume and even the appearance of each villain, there’s a distinct lack of creative spark throughout. It’s like the devs settled for the first design that came to mind when thinking of these comic book personalities, resulting in a bland and uninspiring final look. I genuinely hoped the team would reconsider its approach for the sequel to make each character truly stand out from the crowd rather than falling into established visions seen elsewhere, and I was wrong.
All my complaints also hold true for the original 2018’s game, which I didn’t enjoy as much as other players seem to have. However, there’s a key difference: it was an original title developed and released in a pre-Spider-Verse world, and at that time, I wasn’t as spoiled by the creative Spider-Man projects that followed. The inclusion of Mister Negative as one of the main antagonists was also a unique choice, as he hadn’t appeared in any major works before. So, credit to Insomniac for that creative decision.
Yet in the follow-up, instead of him, we’re getting Kraven, who’s just an angry strong dude with a Russian accent. He looks as uninteresting as Aaron-Taylor Johnson’s portrayal in the upcoming Morbius-inspired Kraven movie, which I’m not sure anyone is excited about.
In a world where Across the Spider-Verse dares to challenge the very canon of the character who is destined to go through loss of close friends and family over and over again, Spider-Man 2 seems to completely surrender to those well-worn tropes, presenting us with a rehashed story of good triumphing over evil through the power of friendship. It’s a tale worth telling, no doubt, unless you’ve already witnessed it staged around the exact same individuals for some past 20 years.
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Even theMCUseems to grasp that people are genuinely weary of the same old Spider-Man clichés.Say what you will about Marvel’s latest films, but they totally nailed Tom Holland’s Spidey. From his dynamic relationships with Tony Stark as his mentor and the rest of the Avengers to brilliantly reimagined classic villains like Vulture and my personal favorite, Jake Gyllenhall as Mysterio in Far from Home, these films ranks among the best in the MCU. They’re not straying as far from the beaten path as Spider-Verse projects, yet they do offer enough thoughtful variations to the familiar formula, and they never feel overshadowed by the previous iterations of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. So far, I can’t say the same about Insomniac’s take on the iconic heroes, which truly saddens me.
Sonyand Insomniac are undoubtedly constrained by the immense brand value and can’t afford to take too many risks when releasing one of the most anticipated games forPlayStation 5, aimed at an extremely broad audience. Developing video games has become both costly and time-consuming, and I respect the incredible effort put in by all the talented people who worked on Spider-Man 2. However, despite the practical reasons behind their choices, I can’t help but feel totally unengaged by it, wishing it would end up as something much more daring. ThinkThe Last of Us Part 2, for instance, in whichNaughty Dogdidn’t just deliver what fans wanted; it took a huge risk and ultimately made the right call. I adore that.
There are definitely some promising aspects about Spider-Man 2 that I’m looking forward to. Playing as two Spider-Men with their unique set of abilities sounds like a great addition (but not as great asMarvel’s Avengers diverse roster), the expanded New York map opens the door for even more thrilling high-speed traversal sections, and Miles Morales’s wingsuit seems like a fantastic new mechanic to spice up the web-slinging experience.
But that’s about it so far, and I’m not sure whether it’ll be enough to keep me invested in the sequel for more than just a few hours. Hopefully, Insomniac will surprise us with some unexpected twists in the final game, and Spider-Man 2 doesn’t end up being just another big-budget action game that gives you little to care or feel about except for a nostalgic mash-up of familiar faces served under a slightly different sauce.
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