Insomniac finally revealed the first gameplay for Spider-Man 2. In an 12-minute long trailer, it showed off several new gameplay changes coming to Spider-Man 2, as well as some important new plot details. Without further ado, let’s swing into all of the big, new details we learned from the latest Spider-Man 2 trailer.
Peter Parker Gets the Symbiote Suit
Right off the bat, Insomniac confirmed that Peter Parker will get the Symbiote Suit. While we’ll get to his new powers in a bit, this turn of events poses some interesting questions, especially when taking into account the ending of the first Spider-Man game.
After the credits of Marvel’s Spider-Man, it’s revealed that Harry Osborn, Peter Parker’s best friend, is ill and fused with the Venom symbiote. He’s last seen floating in a green tank covered in the symbiote while his father, Norman Osborn aka Green Goblin, promises to find a way to cure him.
Naturally, this suggests it’s Harry Osborn, not Eddie Brock, who is the Venom that Peter Parker and Miles Morales face off against in the first Spider-Man 2 trailer. And at some point, Peter potentially takes the symbiote from Harry. This could be why Harry’s life is in danger during this trailer and why Peter and Miles must rescue Curt Connors / Lizard to save a weakened Osborn.
With Great Power…
Peter’s symbiote suit means he’ll be getting some new powers, which were on full display in the new trailer. While facing off against Kraven’s henchmen, Spider-Man is able to extend his reach and smash enemies against walls using the Symbiote. He’s also able to use the Symbiote to create multiple tentacles (Spider-legs?) to barrel into enemies.
At one point those tentacles can also be used to shield Peter from attacks and parry enemy blows to send them flying backwards. And lastly, he’s able to use his new arms to grab multiple enemies at once and slam them into the ground, taking out groups of enemies at once.
Kraven’s Hunt Begins
Kraven the Hunter’s backstory is revealed in the new Spider-Man 2 trailer and it’s not so different from his comic book origin story. A wealthy wild game hunter, this version of Kraven seems to already hunt people for sport. But having grown bored of his existing prey, his men suggests Kraven go to Manhattan where he can hunt not only Spider-Man, but several of New York City’s superhumans. Again, not so different from how he’s portrayed in the comics, but sometimes if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Kraven’s Targets
Speaking of New York City’s prey, it seems like Spider-Man isn’t the only one Kraven is looking to hunt. When shown a list of possible targets in Manhattan, Kraven’s men include Black Cat, Prowler, Wraith, Tombstone, Taskmaster, and Miles Morales. Later on in the trailer it’s shown that Kraven is hunting Curt Connors aka The Lizard. Rather than just hunting Spider-Man, it looks like Kraven is hunting every superpowered being, whether or not they’re Peter Parker’s allies or enemies.
Double Trouble
Would Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 star Peter Parker just like in the first game, or would it resume the adventure of Miles Morales? The answer is both. Insomniac confirmed that while there won’t be any co-op component, players will be able to switch between Peter Parker and Miles Morales during certain segments of the game.
In the instance that was shown in the gameplay trailer, Peter Parker realizes he’s too far away to help Lizard escape Kraven’s men, but Miles isn’t and it’s here players can switch to Miles and head to the dock before Peter can get there. This also raises some interesting story possibilities we’ll dive into in a bit.
New Suit Gives You Wings
Speaking of teaming up with Miles Morales, it looks like he’ll also be getting some new abilities in Spider-Man 2. Along with an upgraded suit with wings that lets him glide across New York (Insomniac confirmed both Spider-Men will have wingsuits), he seems to have mastered some new abilities with his venom blast, looks suspiciously like Goku’s Kamehameha from Dragon Ball.
Once in the warehouse, Miles shows off some new stealth abilities too including being able to spin a line he can tightrope across to sneak up on enemies.
New York, New York
New York City will be a little bit bigger this time around as Queens gets added as one of the new boroughs that will be explorable in the game. In the past, only Manhattan was available, but Insomniac is teasing multiple new areas for the sequel, including Brooklyn across the river. Just how big is this city?
What’s Happening With Harry?
Throughout the trailer Peter says Lizard is the only one who is able to save Harry Osborn. As we know, Harry’s not in a great place having been last seen covered in Symbiote goop. But with the Symbiote seemingly with Peter Parker, what’s going on with Harry Osborn? This appears to be the central storyline of the game that will likely connect Venom, Peter Parker, Miles Morales all together.
A Possible Showdown?
At the end of the trailer Miles and his best friend Ganke are visibly worried about Peter, who thanks to the Symbiote suit is acting more and more aggressive. Now that it’s been confirmed that you can play as both characters in Spider-Man 2, there’s a chance players will have to play as Miles to try and stop Peter from falling further and further into the dark side. Can you imagine the awkward conversation after that?
This is everything we saw in the new Spider-Man 2 gameplay trailer. Let us know what you noticed in the comments below.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s Senior Features Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.