Marvel’s Spider-Man 2will followMarvel’s Spider-ManandMarvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Moralesin an original canon, though there are certain similarities its chosen events and characters share with other wall-crawler stories.Kraven, Venom, and Lizardbeing together in the same game will undoubtedly have some fans thinking of parallels betweenMarvel’s Spider-Man 2and theSpider-Man 3game adaptation, for example. Likewise, these antagonists’ appearances inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2may produce nostalgia for olderSpider-Mangames that also featured them.
Marvel characters have obviously become overwhelmingly saturated in media and fans will probably already have their favorite iterations of most Spider-Man villains at this point. It will be interesting to see how Insomniac develops Kraven, Venom, Lizard, and any other previously unseen antagonists in the franchise, and it will also be fun to see how they compare to previous interpretations. In order to have a strong reference basis, there are several key games fans should play beforeMarvel’s Spider-Man 2launches in October.
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Spider-Man (Neversoft)
Spider-Manis one of the titular character’s most beloved games, but it wouldn’t have earned a spot here if it wasn’t for how prominently and iconically Venom is featured. If fans are looking for a classical rendition of the anti-hero with equal parts insidiousness and sass, the PS1 and N64 classicSpider-Manis absolutely essential.Spider-Manis a good point of reference in general for fans unfamiliar with the web-slinger’s gaming pedigree and even features lizard enemies in a massive sewer network that could end up inspiringnew enemy types inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Ultimate Spider-Man
Between an erratic control scheme and an egregious emphasis on mundane open-world activities,Ultimate Spider-Manwasn’t for everyone. Its cel-shaded comic book presentation would easily be what distinguishes it fromotherSpider-Mangamesif not for the fact that fans play as Venom for half of it. Venom’s gameplay and mission structure boils down to being relatively formulaic and repetitive, but it is still terrific to bound around and scale buildings as a hulking brute while needing to consume innocent passersby and enemies alike for health regeneration.
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
Spider-Man: Web of Shadowsarguably has the opposite problem fromUltimate Spider-Man, where its gameplay is still rallied behind by many fans while its presentation and acting in particular has been regarded as ranging from lackluster to awful. The ability to swap between the red-and-blue costume and the black symbiote is fantastic for moment-to-moment combat and narrative choices are made that much more entertaining for allowing players to tap into that darker side with fairly profound consequences.
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions’ inclusion here is twofold—there is no Venom, but it does prominently feature the symbiote as the Ultimate Spider-Man’s whole gimmick since this particular Peter Parker involuntarily wears it, and Kraven is featured as the game’s opening villain. Ultimate’s symbiote abilities are centered around an integral Rage meter and have wide-sweeping AoE attacks, which is mimicked a lot in whatUltimate Spider-ManandMarvel’s Spider-Man’sown symbiote abilities can achieve. It’s also been rumored thatMarvel’s Spider-Man 2could have a multiverse, which would make it wholly comparable toShattered Dimensions’ premise.
Honorable Mention - The Amazing Spider-Man 2
The Amazing Spider-Man 2was received about as well as the movie it was barely associated with, but it’s nonetheless important for how it implemented Kraven in his largest video game role yet. The impetus is now onMarvel’s Spider-Man 2to dethrone it with the most memorable Kraven, but for now Sergei’s motivations seem to be similarly elementary.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2launches on October 20, exclusively for PlayStation 5.
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