During the September 2023 State of Play aired a few hours ago, Sony and Insomniac Games showed off the expanded New York City available in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
According to the developers, the playable area is nearly twice as big as in the previous games, thanks to the additions of Queens and Brooklyn. Senior Creative Director Bryan Intihar said:
The first thing you’ll notice is that our city has nearly doubled in size with the addition of
two iconic New York boroughs, Queens and Brooklyn. And we’ve introduced the web-wings, an entirely new mechanic that, when combined with web-swinging, allows you to traverse the city in a whole new way and at faster speeds than ever before.
Whether it’s the neighborhood backdrop of Queens or the fireworks that light up the sky over Coney Island, exploring these areas will feel much different than the towering skyscrapers of Manhattan, while also delivering memorable locales like Peter Parker’s old stomping grounds in Midtown High and Miles Morales’ current place of learning, Brooklyn Visions Academy.
When roaming the open world of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, players will have the chance to switch between Peter Parker and Miles Morales seamlessly. Each ‘Spider-Hero’ has separate stories and activities, though some can be tackled as either Peter or Miles.
Completing the various activities and side content not only provides rewards but also builds upon the district progress system, which ties into the game’s new fast-travel system.
Of course, the rewards include the ability to unlock various skills and gadgets to be used in combat but also feed into the hero customization layer. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 features 65 suits inspired by comics and films, and players may also unlock alternate color shaders for some suits.
As previously announced, the Digital Deluxe Edition will provide 10 extra suits, which have now been detailed:
- Apunkalyptic Suit – Designed by Jerad Marantz
- Stone Monkey Suit – Designed by Victoria Ying
- Tactical Suit – Designed by Bend Studios
- Aurantia Suit – Designed by Raf Grassetti
- 25th Century Suit – Designed by Anthony Francisco
- The EnC0ded Suit – Designed by Kris Anka
- Biomechanical Suit – Designed by Jerad Marantz
- Red Spectre Suit – Designed by Sweeney Boo
- Tokusatsu Suit – Designed by Julia Blattman
- Agimat Suit – Designed by Anthony Francisco
Insomniac has recently claimed that narrative and payoff have been a focus when designing the game, though the combat toolbox has expanded, too. We’ll be able to check out everything for ourselves in a little over a month, given that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is scheduled to launch on October 20 for PlayStation 5.
With Sony’s current port policy, it’s fair to imagine the game will land on PC in around two years, perhaps a bit less.
