With Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS5 just around the corner, we take a look at how the sequel can be greater than the already amazing first game.
Over the years, our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has appeared in many different video games that have been enjoyed by fans all around the world. While there was an argument to be had as to which one was the best, (with Spider-Man 2 being regarded as a serious contender) it wasn’t until 2018 when that debate was finally settled once and for all.
When Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4 launched, it instantly became a critical and commercial success. Critics praised the game for making you feel like the wall-crawler, not only by letting you explore his full range of powers but by also allowing you to experience the burdens that Peter Parker has to face in his daily life. The game managed to mix engaging combat, fun traversal, and a heartfelt story in a way few other superhero games can. So now that we are getting close to the release of the sequel, we have to ask ourselves: How Insomniac Games will manage to surpass what the original game managed to achieve?
More traversal options
If Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales proved something, is that Insomniac can definitely improve upon the traversal established in their first game. While Peter Parker could do tricks mid-air, swing through New York’s skyline, and run through the walls of buildings, Miles Morales could do all that and more. New animations were added to Brooklyn’s hero, making the web swinging feel more dynamic and seamless. Not only that, but the developers also took advantage of the character’s powers and allowed players to perform electrically charged jumps. This meant you could jump (or double jump) mid-air without any restrictions.
Even when the option to fast-travel was there, many of us preferred to swing our way across town just because of how fun it was. However, Insomniac can’t use the exact same traversal for Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS5 and expect it to still be fresh and interesting. Because of this, the swinging formula established in the previous games will need to be improved upon once again, and there are a few ways that can be achieved.
Now that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is using underarm webbing to glide across the city on the big screen, perhaps it’s time for Insomniac’s games to follow a similar road as well. Sure, it can feel a little derivative of the traversal used in the Batman Arkham saga, but it can always have its own unique spin. Spidey could web zip while gliding to achieve greater speeds than those of the Dark Knight, or in order to make sudden turns when maneuvering through the city landscape. Our friendly neighborhood hero could also seamlessly combine this new ability with running through the walls or web-slinging, making the traversal even more dynamic.
Many have also looked to Fortnite for inspiration as well. The wall-crawler first made an appearance in the battle royale game as a playable character back in 2021. It was there that a brand new web-slinging system was also introduced. Players had to manually aim and shoot towards a spot to perch the hero’s web, jump, and then choose another spot to swing from. This could be introduced as an alternative swinging method in Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS5 too. Maybe you could perch your web on a car and slide through the roads of the city. Not only that, but you could also perch on helicopters in order to gain altitude and speed too.