Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 reviews are finally here

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 reviews were finally published, so it’s time to find out what critics think about Insomniac’s latest project without reaching into spoiler territory.

It’s almost time for everyone to discover what Insomniac has crafted with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. We’re so close to the release date that pre-loads are already available on PS5 consoles, letting users download the entirety of the game so that it’s ready to be played as soon as October 20 arrives. However, one of the greatest perks of being just a few days away from the game’s release is that the review embargo has been lifted and we finally got to know what critics think of it. (Spoiler: things are looking good for Spider-Man fans).

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 debuted with a score of 91 out of 100 on Metacritic with over 122 reviews and counting. That’s a huge milestone for Insomniac, the developer behind many amazing titles that usually never get a higher score than 88.

For reference, the first Spider-Man game developed by Insomniac got a Metacritic score of 87, and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales debuted with a score of 85. That means the upcoming symbiotic adventure is the highest-rated Spider-Man project not only in Insomniac’s saga but in any video game where the wall-crawler is the main protagonist. As if it wasn’t enough, many critics are saying Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is the definite superhero game, elevating the genre as a whole and rivaling the heights reached by Batman: Arkham City.

It appears we’re in for an incredible time.

The positives and negatives of Spider-Man 2

The general consensus is that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 improves upon almost every aspect of its predecessors. One of the only negative aspects that many reviews highlight is the lack of unique side activities and a generic map that does little to differentiate itself from other open-world games. That may be a shame to hear for players who already disliked the New York map that Insomniac crafted in both previous games. However, that’s not to say some critics did think there was somewhat of an improvement in this aspect even if it wasn’t enough to make the game shine.

Aside from that, most reviews seem to agree on the same positives. Many are impressed with how much the game pushes the power of the PS5 since there are next to no load screens and the fast travel occurs in an instant. Additionally, graphics have drastically improved thanks to ray tracing (which is present in all graphical modes), and vehicle density/pedestrian density is higher as well. Besides, the frame rate is constant and the game rarely suffers a drop.

The boss fights seem to be greatly improved from previous entries as well. It’s great to know Insomniac learned from all of the criticism received regarding this aspect of previous titles and used it to craft challenging bosses that require more than just button-mashing to beat them.

Best of all, it appears the story is one of the game’s greater qualities. While it has a similar length to that of Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4 it packs more surprises, laughs, and dramatic moments that are sure to make players shed a tear or two. And the set pieces? Well, it looks like there will be plenty of them and they will be large in scale.

Review roundup

Things are looking very positive for the long-awaited game, and if you still want to know more, let’s take a look at even more social media reactions to prove it.

Here are some of the reviews published so far for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2:

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will be released on October 20 for the PS5.