Step into the next evolution of web-slinging action with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on PS5 and PC, where cutting-edge ray-tracing technology and refined gameplay mechanics bring New York City to life like never before. From enhanced reflections shimmering off skyscrapers to the thrilling new Web Line mechanic that lets you craft your own high-wire paths, this update sharpens every swing and fight. Whether battling iconic villains like Venom and Kraven or mastering the distinct powers of Peter Parker and Miles Morales, Spider-Man 2 continues to redefine the superhero experience with stunning visuals, smoother performance, and deeper combat strategies.
As you prepare to don the tights of both Miles Morales and Peter in Spider-Man 2, the biggest thing you should know is that it’s not exactly like the previous games in the series. Below, we’ve cobbled together what’s new in Spider-Man 2.
There’s more than one Spider-Man
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 for PS5 and PC introduces players to the thrilling experience of controlling not just one, but two Spider-Men: Peter Parker and Miles Morales. Each character brings unique abilities and distinct fighting styles, allowing for dynamic gameplay as you switch between them to tackle a rogue’s gallery of iconic villains. This dual-hero approach enriches the narrative and combat, showcasing the evolution of both heroes since their previous adventures and offering players a deeper, more varied Spider-Man experience.
Peter Parker and Miles Morales share the spotlight in Spider-Man 2. Each has a slightly different playstyle (although they share gadgets and some skills), with unique abilities and looks.
Story missions separate each Spider-Man, with each mission requiring you to swap to one or the other. Some of the game’s more cinematic campaign missions will even swap you between them mid-mission.
As for the open world, you can swap at (almost) anytime while adventuring around, with near-instant load times. Many side missions and activities are locked to a specific Spider-Man, but there are a handful of side quests that you can play with either character.
The best part about multiple Spider-Mans is that the one you aren’t actively controlling still exists out in the open world. And while we’ve never seen Miles swinging around while we’ve been playing as Peter, we swung down to stop a crime in-progress only to find that Miles was already there, kickin’ ass.
Abilities are more prominent
In Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 for PS5 and PC, abilities have become more prominent and integral to gameplay, enhancing the overall experience. The game introduces new mechanics such as the Web Wings for gliding and the Web Line system that allows players to create custom high-wire paths, adding depth to navigation and stealth tactics. Both Peter Parker and Miles Morales have evolved with distinct fighting styles and unique skill trees, allowing for personalized progression and combat strategies. The combat system now features improved gadget integration and a new parry mechanic essential for countering certain enemy attacks. Additionally, the symbiote abilities for Peter and bio-electric powers for Miles add dynamic layers to battles, making each character’s abilities stand out more than ever before.
The suit-specific Spider-Man super attack from the 2018 game has been replaced with a system more akin to Miles’ venom powers from the 2020 game. Each Spider-Man has a wheel of four abilities, which you activate by pressing down L1 and then hitting one of the face buttons.
Once activated, these abilities go on cooldown and you’ll need to wait a short duration until you can use it again. While each Spider-Man can only have four equipped powers to choose from, they’ll earn at least eight (two per slot) over the course of the campaign, with Peter wielding both his mechanic spider-arms and the symbiote suit and Miles still using his venom powers.
There are fewer gadgets, but they’re more impactful
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 features fewer gadgets compared to its predecessors, but each one is designed to be more impactful and integral to gameplay. Rather than overwhelming players with a large arsenal, the game focuses on a streamlined set of tools that enhance combat and traversal in meaningful ways. This approach emphasizes quality and strategic use over quantity, allowing players to engage more deeply with the gadgets they do have, such as the Web Line for creative navigation and the Web Grabber for crowd control. While some fans have noted that the gadget variety feels reduced, the ones included offer significant utility and complement the enhanced combat mechanics and symbiote abilities, contributing to a more focused and satisfying Spider-Man experience.
Insomniac Games injected some Ratchet & Clank DNA into Spider-Man on PS4 by giving Peter a ton of fun Spidey gadgets to play with. Almost all of these are gone in Spider-Man 2. Instead, Peter and Miles both wield their traditional web-shooters and four special gadgets.
These gadgets work similarly to the abilities, but are on a charge system instead of just a cooldown. By tapping R1, you’ll use the traditional web-shooter, but holding R1 and then hitting a face button will give you a special gadget, like the rad ricochet webs. This system sounds more limiting, but it actually works quite a bit better, as you don’t accidentally launch a spider-bot out when you’re just trying to web someone to a wall.
Suits are purely cosmetic
In Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, the large collection of suits available for both Peter Parker and Miles Morales serves a purely cosmetic purpose. While players can unlock and equip dozens of different outfits-many inspired by comics, films, or original designs-these suits do not grant any gameplay advantages, special abilities, or stat boosts. The choice of suit is all about personalizing your Spider-Man’s appearance as you swing through New York, with no impact on combat or traversal mechanics. This design keeps the focus on visual customization, letting players express their style without affecting the core gameplay experience.
In Spider-Man 2018, suits came with special powers, like the extremely powerful Web Blossom ability from the Classic Suit (repaired). And while you could decouple a power from its specific suit, you still had to unlock the Iron Spider suit to use the Iron Spider ability, just as an example.
In Spider-Man 2, buying suits is completely cosmetic. There are no powers or any kind of abilities tied to them, so you can unlock them (or not unlock them) at your leisure. Our list of all suits in Spider-Man 2 can show you how to unlock each suit.
Stealth is drastically improved
Stealth is drastically improved in Spider-Man 2, offering players far greater flexibility and control during covert encounters. The new Web Line mechanic allows you to craft your own high-wire paths across the environment, enabling creative and strategic positioning for stealth takedowns. You can now connect multiple web lines together, creating complex routes to silently approach or isolate enemies, and maintain up to six lines at once for maximum versatility. These enhancements eliminate the finicky, restrictive feel of previous stealth sections, making stealth gameplay more dynamic and rewarding for both Peter and Miles.
The protracted stealth sections, where you played as Miles or Mary-Jane, caught flack as being finicky and tedious in Spider-Man. Now Miles is fully powered up, so that’s not a problem anymore, but Mary-Jane is still a playable character, and thankfully much more capable.
MJ’s stealth sections are no longer instant-fail, and she starts with the stun gun she ended the first game with. In her handful of missions, she feels about as capable as any non-superhero can in each given situation, and her missions are actually enjoyable changes of pace, rather than an exercise in tedium.
Spider-Man 2 is more difficult than Spider-Man PS4
Spider-Man 2 is notably more difficult than Spider-Man PS4, offering a more challenging experience through its various difficulty settings that affect enemy health, damage, and stealth awareness. The default “Amazing” difficulty in Spider-Man 2 strikes a balance by increasing enemy toughness and awareness compared to the earlier game, making fights more demanding without being overwhelming. Higher difficulty levels further ramp up these challenges, requiring players to adapt their combat and stealth strategies more carefully. This increased difficulty reflects Insomniac’s aim to provide a deeper, more engaging gameplay experience than its predecessor.
The original Spider-Man is a blast, but it’s also a game where you can button-mash your way through normal difficulty with absolutely no penalties. Spider-Man 2 does not take the same approach.
In Spider-Man 2, enemies have heavy attacks that you cannot dodge – if you try, they’ll track you or delay their hit until you are vulnerable. To deal with them, you’ll need to use the new parry mechanic, which requires you to tap L1 at the right moment to counter or block an enemy. (Don’t worry if you aren’t a fan of games that have parries, Spider-Man 2’s timing window is generous.) Eventually, the game also mixes in crushing attacks, which instead must be dodged. If you fail, you usually end up taking massive damage from a grapple attack.
Bosses use both types of moves, so you’ll need to stay on your toes and be ready to defend yourself. Even if you upgrade your health, bosses can kill you in just a handful of hits.
Manhattan isn’t the only borough
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 significantly expands the game’s map beyond the familiar territory of Manhattan, introducing large portions of Brooklyn and Queens. This addition nearly doubles the size of the playable area compared to the first two games, which were confined to a truncated version of Manhattan. The new boroughs bring fresh gameplay dynamics with more residential neighborhoods and lower buildings, encouraging the use of new traversal mechanics like Web Wings for gliding and quicker swings. This expansion not only enhances the sense of scale but also offers varied environments that diversify exploration and combat within the Spider-Man universe.
Manhattan was the only playable space in Spider-Man and Miles Morales, but Spider-Man 2 adds two new boroughs: Queens and Brooklyn. Across the East River, both Miles and Peter can explore completely new areas, which includes some more residential neighborhoods, like Astoria.
This means you’ll be crossing the river a lot, but, thankfully, there are multiple bridges to swing alongside or under.
Moving around New York is even faster
Moving around New York in Spider-Man 2 is faster and more fluid than ever, thanks to refined web-swinging mechanics and the introduction of new traversal options like Web Wings, which allow players to glide across longer distances and add vertical dynamics to exploration. The game also features improved physics for more natural momentum and responsiveness, making swinging through the city feel exhilarating and seamless. Additionally, the latest updates optimize city rendering and performance, ensuring smooth gameplay even at high speeds. Fast travel has been enhanced to allow instant selection of any point on the map without load screens or cutscenes, further speeding up navigation across the sprawling urban environment.
With a bigger city must come faster travel, and Spider-Man 2 delivers. The Web Wings are easily the most impactful addition, and while they only allow you to glide for a few seconds at a time before you lose height, it’s more than enough to cross the East River or Central Park if you set yourself up well.
Spider-Man 2 also features wind tunnels around the open world, which will essentially carry you to another location at incredible speeds. Several of the bridges even have these tunnels above or below them, allowing you to basically auto-pilot your way to Queens or Brooklyn and back.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning here that fast travel is extremely quick in Spider-Man 2. Once you complete enough activities in each district you’ll unlock the ability to fast travel there, and it’s nearly instant. There are no loading screens, and you’ll instead simply zoom out from where you are and zoom back in on where you want to be. It’s one of the most impressive things we’ve seen on the PS5 to date – second only to Insomniac’s previous game, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.
What new visual enhancements can I expect in Spider-Man 2’s latest PC update
The latest PC update for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 brings significant visual enhancements, particularly improving Nvidia DLSS Ray Reconstruction to reduce noise in shadows on facial details and refine ray-traced ambient occlusion and reflections, resulting in cleaner, more realistic visuals. The patch also enhances screen space reflections to prevent flickering when viewing large water bodies from certain angles, further boosting immersion. Additionally, the game now supports DirectStorage 1.2.3, which helps reduce stuttering during traversal, contributing to smoother gameplay. These improvements, along with fixes to ray-traced shadows and reflections, elevate the overall graphical fidelity and stability of the PC version.
How do the new ray-traced reflections and shadows enhance Spider-Man 2’s visuals
The new ray-traced reflections and shadows in Spider-Man 2 significantly enhance the game’s visuals by adding realistic, dynamic lighting effects that bring New York City to life. Ray-traced reflections vividly capture the glass surfaces of skyscrapers as you swing through the city, creating detailed and lifelike mirror images that respond naturally to the environment. Meanwhile, ray-traced shadows provide better-defined and more believable shading, especially noticeable at steep viewing angles, adding depth and dimension to both interiors and exteriors. These effects are further improved by NVIDIA DLSS Ray Reconstruction, which combines denoising and upscaling to preserve fine details and reduce noise, resulting in a more temporally stable and immersive image. This technology also reduces ghosting and noise in ambient occlusion, enhancing the subtle interplay of light and shadow throughout the game world. For players with high-end hardware, increased ray-tracing geometry detail and extended object range settings deliver even richer reflections and shadows, elevating the overall graphical fidelity to a new level of realism.
