Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Review
Jason Saldivar
jsaldivar@lc.edu
***The following article contains spoilers about the game. Proceed with caution!***
After the release of “Marvel’s Spider-Man” in 2018 and “Spider-man: Miles Morales” in 2020, the release of “Marvel’s Spider-man 2” in 2023 has been long awaited. Unlike the prior games, you can play as both Peter Parker and Miles Morales, each with their own abilities and similar but distinct traversal methods. Both swing with webs, but Peter now has retractable spider arms that can propel him in the air while Miles uses his Venom powers to do the same, this time as a more travel-oriented mechanic. The main plot of “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” is that Kraven the Hunter has come to New York with his army of Hunters in the hopes of finding “The Perfect Hunt” so he may die from a worthy challenge instead of the cancer attacking his body.
Harrold (Harry) Osborn, who was absent in the first two games, makes his physical appearance now with an organic exosuit that is keeping his Oshtoran Syndrome at bay. During the rescue of Doctor Conners, Parker is mortally wounded by Kraven. Osborn transfers the exosuit to Parker, saving the hero’s life. It is revealed that the exosuit is actually a Venom Symbiote, an alien parasite known for corrupting its host.
As Parker’s trauma and baggage combine with the symbiote, making him more aggressive and violent, Morales finds his own powers evolving from his past encounter with Martin Li’s strange negative energy abilities.
While Osborn is slowly dying from his disease once more, he becomes furious with Parker who seems to be ignoring his well-being to keep the exosuit as Parker believes it “Makes him a better Spider-Man.” Due to this, when Harry gets the symbiote back, the combined corruption of the alien and Harry’s hatred make the suit evolve into the hulking Symbiote: Venom.
The final act of the game has Parker and Morales working to stop Osborn, now Venom, as he starts a symbiote uprising where citizens are being hunted by or turned into hosts of Symbiotes. In a twist to even the odds, Parker gains the Anti-Venom Symbiote after being cured from an attempt of being infected by symbiotes.
The final mission in “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” is a tag team of Morales and Parker taking turns fighting Venom to keep him away from the meteorite that is causing the Symbiote infestation through New York City. Not only is this a physical battle between them, it is also an emotional battle for Parker. He has the power to kill Osborn’s symbiote, but doing so would cause Osborn to die from his illness. The game ends with the Spider-Men succeeding in stopping the Venom’s invasion, but Osborn is now in a comatose state. His father, Norman Osborn, is now set up by the game’s ending to become the Green Goblin in attempts at reviving his son.
