The storyline of Spider-man 2 just feels off despite its great gameplay. Plus the rushed third act of the game just feels wrong and forced to see.

Craziest thing was when I found out that Peter only had the symbiote for 3 days Which is incredibly short and just feels rushed

Something I noticed recently is what happens immediately after Venom gets his hands on the meteorite in a cutscene. Half of NYC getting covered in alien goo in a matter of seconds is hilarious to me and showcases how rushed that part of the story was.

Peter has no self respect I swear💀

If sony hadn't rush marvel spider man 2 and let insomniac finish the rest of the story then none of this wouldn't happen

just did my second playthrough (about to finally fight venom in endgame) and i can’t tell you how many story points happened that made me say “damn i forgot that happened” and i just did my first playthrough in november last year.

It doesn’t have the same effect because this game’s missing the “one element” of that’s basically essential to every blacksuit symbiote story (The Spider-Canon if you will) that is missing is the consequences, specifically the potentially permanent fracturing of the entire core cast specifically Peter losing everyone that he has called an ally in his life & everything that he has built up since the beginning of the first game for the villains in the game to be able to establish a permanent foothold on the city’s criminal underworld.

As a kid I never really understood that the symbiote was a metaphor for addiction, and it's something that Spider-Man 3 represented perfectly. How someone is not acting like himself and how that starts to push away your loved ones.

Despite loving this game so much, I will admit that I had a lot of anticipation and excitement going into it based on how the symbiote storyline was setting up from the previous games. Most of the things that were done I predicted would happen in the game’s storyline but I think it comes back to it lacking enough risks or long term consequences for each character. I feel like the foreshadowing of Norman inevitably becoming the Goblin has been very underwhelming personally despite appreciating that Insomniac is taking their time with building him up. I also think that Harry should’ve died in order to seal Norman’s descent into madness and insanity which would’ve made the impact more chilling, heartbreaking, and unsettling to witness. Doc Ock is also my favorite villain out of Spider-Man’s rogues followed with Green Goblin as a close second so I’m hoping Sony will allow Insomniac to deliver a much better story for the third game that’s not lackluster and more memorable like the first game. I’m crossing my fingers that they’ll be able to manage both of the villains respectively and not rush their future arcs compared to Venom.

Completely agree. Symbiote peter should absolutely have murked someone or many people, including miles. The whole game was played far too safe. I also think that the entire premise of peters "balance" storyline is bad. I dont want to play a spiderman game that has peter half assing it because he cant be bothered anymore. This ties into peter getting his ass kicked for the majority of the game, and people love to say its because hes tired of being spiderman. Is that true? Maybe, but if it is then its lame as fuck. Spiderman 1 was so enjoyable because I felt like spiderman, 2v1 ing some of the sinister six for example. Now peter gets shit on nearly every fight when he doesnt have the symbiote, I mean he gets 1 shotted by Kraven ffs.

Idk if this is case, but the game feels as if some parts were cut out to make a deadline. Both the Kraven and Venom Arcs just feel really empty even tho there are great moments it just feels like an incomplete story

I agree 100% and feel like I had previously had a hard time putting my finger on why I like the first 2 games more. You hit the nail on the head - It’s the irreversible consequences as you said that were missing. Especially since they teased this was a much darker story like empire strikes back of MSM1. Hoping DLC can improve that feeling but doubtful

I remember reading somewhere that the game was originally supposed to have a "Infinity War level cliffhanger" Other than the Doc Ock post credit scene, I'm pretty sure it was cut

First game was 10x better imo. The swinging feels fine after adjusting to it and it’s so much fun trying to chain together animations which I swear make you go faster. The combat feels grounded and simplistic enough to be fun but also with many ways to fight giving more depth. It also doesn’t break immersion and focuses on making you feel like spider man rather than a crazy alien ripping armies to shreds which yes I get is the point but to me it just felt like a ps5 remake of Prototype. Story is the best part of the game which everyone already agrees on.

MJ dying would’ve felt so impactful, especially with how OP her character was lmao

I think this game could have been better if the game ended with Peter killing Kraven and leaving it on a cliffhanger with Harry about to die, and then they could make every other part of the game longer

The hilarious and sad thing about current reviews of the game is that you can see the clear shift in the general audience about the game. People were being too hardstuck fanboys when it first came out and were essentially trusting a year of upcoming dlc to make it the best game ever. But now, 9 months later, we’ve all had time to properly dig and replay the game and see its big problems with gameplay (not swinging or combat, everything else about it tho) and story. A lot of people were shitting on IGN for giving it -1 score than the first one but I always thought they were absolutely valid with it. It’s an improvement in many aspects, but as a whole, the first game is more memorable, polished and overall a better video game and story

Yeah. The worst that symbiote Peter ever gets is he tells Harry to pop some pills and like that’s it! That’s like me after a bad day of work lol

It’s too safe as well. It doesn’t push the boundaries, just does what the first game did but slightly better

The game needs a directors cut, I definitely agree

The one thing I hate about Venom is how Harry seemingly embraced the symbiote. Then when his head pops out during the final battle, he's suddenly back to his normal self and wants to be "saved". I think the symbiote should've had a permanent impact to his character, much like Octavius. It felt cheap to kill off the symbiote so easily, put Harry in a coma and call it a day.

One of my most disliked parts about this game is in regards to how the symbiote is framed. That the source of the addiction is also the source of the bad behaviour which is 0% the case ever. It frames addiction as something dangerous and harmful which is true but makes it out to be that we go back to normal after we stop using this 'substance' for a day and basically sides with the 'blame the alcohol' type of thinking. The symbiote as a source of substance abuse shouldn't be that it corrupts Peter but that Peter corrupts it through prolonged use. The anger and reckless rage we see him give into should be his own, not the symbiote's. The symbiote should only exist as a suggestive that brings more irrational emotions to the forefront. Insecurities, rage, regret,etc. all things that Peter has are amplified by the symniote but they are still his words. Had the game hinted towards these things with Peter, that he was jealous of Miles' powers and that despite being the more experienced and more intelligent Spiderman in regards to raw power he can't match Miles, that he was ashamed that MJ had to cover his bills, that he was angry he wouldn't be able to join Harry and fix all of Peter's problems with that job offer because of his responsibility to be Spiderman, maybe I would've understood. But the game doesn't do any of this and instead by the end of it makes it really easy for everyone to forgive Peter. MJ takes like a day to forgive Peter even though he almost ended her life. It just makes no sense.

I have quite a few things to say but I mostly agree with you. They played it too safe and it didn’t match the hype they were getting and the hype they were giving by saying it would be “darker” and the “empire strikes back”. It did not reach that level respectfully. There’s a reason why Spectacular and TAS are considered the blueprints for symviote arcs. Even Spider-Man 3 Raimi’s black suit arc is memorable even if it is through memes and edits and hype, they managed to solidly the impact and changes Peter was going through on a high level. They even tried to imitate Tobey Maguire’s bully thing with Yuri Lowenthal and respectfully, it did not match up. I understand Sony rushed Insomniac and they had leaks but Insomniac themselves made decisions to write the game the way they did and chose to include and exclude elements of what they wanted and didn’t want and ultimately it just left the game feeling okay in the sense it was good but at the same time disappointing in the sense you get left feeling, is that it? Wait, is that what you guys decided to do? There’s a lot of things I could say but I will list some of it here: 1. Peter’s short black symbiote arc. One of the most important arcs and the central aspect of the game and yet it wasn’t the central aspect. Peter didn’t have it long enough and it didn’t feel as impactful, we didn’t get to see enough of him story wise interacting with civillians/normal people and with street thugs, criminals and other villains. Raimi Spider-Man 3, 90s, Spectacular are the blueprints and did this aspect very well despite how you may feel about the adaptations specifically as a whole. They showed how he was slowly changing or becoming different. Other than his popping pills line and arguing with MJ and that “I said I’ll find him” with Rio Morales, Peter changing doesn’t really get explored on a level with as much depth as the other adaptations. 2. Peter not having a mental battle symbiote boss fight and lack of red and blue boss fights. Insomniac has decided that Peter Parker requires Miles Morales to beat the symbiote for him, not once but TWICE mentally. Miles has a boss fight with him which is a whole other can of worms and he also goes in Peter’s head to fully free him and cleanse of him the remaining symbiote. In the other adaptations and in the source material, Peter chooses to take off and/or decides to fight the symbiote by himself. His own indomitable will and mental fortitude and choice to be responsible. But no, Insomniac replaces that and Aunt May and Uncle Ben as his voices of reason and doesn’t give us a boss fight with Peter against himself by giving the glory to Miles, TWICE. They then defeat the message of Peter taking off the symbiote and themes of addiction by giving him the anti venom symbiote with all the benefits and no downsides instead of him fighting on his own and with his own mind and body. This isn’t the only flawed message and unfaithful direction they’ve taken Insomniac has taken in their Spider-Man games especially in this sequel but I digress. Peter needed more fights with his Red and blue base form, they really focused too much on the symbiote being his crutch (and the execution was still respectfully underwhelming and poorly done) instead of letting Peter shine by his own will. A fight with the Lizard in his lab coat and normal form before the mutation into the bigger one, a fight with Venom and Miles by his side like they showed in the trailers where they were chased but they decided to not have that (false advertising?) and a fight with himself in his mind instead of having Miles and Li do his mental battles for him. 3. MJ missions and her portrayal. She’s a lot better than she is in the first game but they pushed her to be the gun wielding almost unstoppable force (when she only had a few weeks or a month stay in Symkaria and only trained with a gun for a bit by Sable) that she can take down beings that Peter and Miles struggle with. The message Insomniac sends with her character is MJ isn’t the normal girl in Peter’s life who is still capable and badass like she is in the comics but she’s a Lois Lane copy and a gun lover and she needs to be that to shine or stand out in the story and she needs to be able to do all of those things solo. What a rest message to send to all the normal girls and women who love MJ in the comics because she’s a loving housewife or girlfriend that doesn’t have to have superpowers or be peak human to be amazing. Forget having her team up with Wraith, Black Cat, Sable (characters that were immediately thrown away or not expanded upon or handled poorly) or other actually trained or peak human female characters in the game, Insomniac MJ can do everything herself. Most importantly, Bryan Intihar said “I don’t give a shit” in terms of the MJ missions and MJ feedback from the fans. People blame Sony and use them as a a scapegoat but Insomniac themselves with a director like that aren’t innocent or immune from criticism. What a mature way to respond to your fans. 4. Balancing Peter and Miles. They did a poor job, fans of both characters felt like either one didn’t get to shine enough or one was nerfed etc. The fact both characters are getting that feedback shows Insomniac needs to do a bette job of balancing the characters and writing. I don’t have high hopes for when they introduce a third Spider that being Silk, when she joins them in the next full game. 5. Stripping Peter and Miles of their abilities from previous games. The new gadget mechanics are a lot more smoother and streamlined than the gadget wheel, however an option between choosing the two would have been nice. But more importantly and the main thing, the gadgets, suit techs and stuff that made both Peter and Miles unique in their gameplay have been stripped away or watered down, they both have the same gadgets and Peter is reduced to spider arms that are lacklustre and not an accurate representation of his abilities. Pete doesn’t have his gadgets that he built and designed. Miles has his flashy abilities and upgraded flashy abilities but he doesn’t have his own tech and meters and mechanics from his solo game. The sequel game has severely limited gameplay styles and freedom of player expression when they could have expanded upon it and added to it and combine them with the sequel’s added features. From a story perspective it makes no sense why Peter and Miles would limit themselves from their abilities and tech and also from a player’s gameplay perspective. It’s like if the Arkham games took away some gadgets or limited Batman’s abilities in his newer Arkham games. Arkham Knight took everything from City and Asylum and expanded upon it, Origins too in some ways. Insomniac Spider-Man 2, failed to do that with Miles Morales and Marvel Spider-Man 2018. 6. No training or challenge modes and such. We had multiple bases or enemy types and training and challenges in the first game and in Miles game. With the added tweaks to combat and the vastly improved traversal system especially with web wings, Insomniac didn’t think to give us a fighting training simulation mode choosing enemy types from this game and previous games. They didn’t think to do things similar to Taskmaster or Speedball’s challenges even if you disliked them. Having a timer or a system where you get given bronze, silver or gold and have Peter and Miles Race with web wings and elements like these would have added so much to the replay ability of this game and it wouldn’t feel so empty with just crimes or hunter bases. So much missed potential. Arkham games have replay ability because they have these challenges as well a combat system that expands upon and includes and adds on to previous games’ elements like the number of gadgets and such. Those are just a few points, sorry for the long read. But it just goes to show this sequel had so many opportunities and they blew it. The game is good but it’s not going to leave as much of an impact as other adaptations have in terms of being a sequel, a dark Spider-Man story, a symbiote spider man arc and a Venom story. They rushed things and respectfully they got carried away with trying to do things a lot different than staying faithful . Harry being Venom could have been good even if you did prefer Eddie but they rushed too quickly into the symbiote invasion instead of keeping it grounded. Those are my thoughts. Feel free to agree or disagree. I won’t be having a back and forth should anyone seek to be argumentative but I’m open to feedback anyways. Good day.

The end of the sandman side quests was disappointing asf. I was like really that’s it? No end big boss fight?

imo the storyline starts moving way too fast after the lizard fight. i feel like the boss fights that happen while playing as symbiote peter should've been more consequential, like i wish they went darker and had peter severely injure (or kill) curt connors or kraven, it would've done more for the plot and been more of a reason for peter taking a break from being spider man. you put it into words really well when you said the story ends in a similar place that it starts and there were no permanent consequences for peter and miles

This game was supposed to be the darker chapter, but it doesn't really feel like one at all. Web of Shadows, Shattered Dimensions' Noir levels, even the Turf Wars DLC felt darker than this. Also, am I the only one who thinks the Hunting Martin Li storyline should've been in Miles' spin-off game instead?

I always said it would be way more interesting for Spider-Man to be the twist villain with Peter getting fully consumed by the symbiote and becoming Venom himself. Miles would have to fight him and Peter is the central character to all of this so it would be a reason for Harry and Miles to come together even though their stories don’t really line up. In the end Peter could retire from being Spider-Man bc he sees how far he fell while being Venom and saw that Miles is the shining light the city needs now. The story ends the same but with actual consequences. And I mean Doc Ock returning seems like the only thing that would bring Peter back out of retirement for the 3rd game

What I feel was missing is the feeling of guilt when using the black suit and this was portrayed better in Web of Shadows because when you use the black suit you get addicted but also feeling guilty when using it

You didn’t mention how he still has the Anti-Venom suit lol

I wish i was 14 again when spider man 3 comes i will be 25 😢

The story is still good but I do agree more stakes would be good. Like harry in a coma just returns to base 1. While the character evolution is great the stakes could be improved.

Recently got a PS5 at the start of June and was so excited to play Spider-Man 2! It's been a while since I've finished the game. Idk what it is but I can't get myself to finish NG+ compared to the first game (Spider-Man PS4). I like the traversal more and while it does look, play, and feel better, i still can't figure out why i dont want to play it that much

Should’ve only been able to play as Peter. Give us the duo gameplay in another game. The symbiote deserved more game time, and Miles took that up. The story was all over the place. The gameplay is a 10/10, the swinging was superb, the voice acting, etc. But its such a shame how it all turned out story wise. Kraven should’ve had more screen time too, he was incredible.

i feel the best way for spider man 2 to make an irreversible change is if peter actually killed someone while wearing the symbiote. or if peter actually couldn't save that one woman in coney island, really emphasizing and broadening his reasons for his addiction towards the symbiote. this cant be far fetched, as the studio did state that they wanted a darker tone for the game itself, but this, alongside giving the third act time to flourish, would genuinely have great impact towards the story. what i'm really saying all in all is that they rushed this wayyy too much, we could've just waited at least one more year before they released this game 😭😭

I wish they would have let home truly embrace the suit. It felt like you blink and the suit comes off. He should have done some things that he can’t just come back from let him truly understand what he did. Not to mention the lack of things to do after the game is done

YES! I've been thinking very similar things about the game's story. I feel like the game's themes (which are usually the part that sticks with you after playing the game) are really mishandled because of this exact thing: Consequences. The game has 2 main themes/moral arguments: Not taking too much on and living a balanced life and moving on from things that bother you. Both of which are really good themes that have the potential to stick with people for, honestly, ever. Though this exact thing (consequences) really stopped these themes from having as much impact as they could have had. Let's talk about the first theme first: Balancing your life and not taking too much on. This is the theme that's meant to be reflected through Peter's story. Now, we are never ever shown any consequences for Peter taking too much on. Literally never. Imagine how much more impactful that theme could've been if he had so much responsibility that it caused him burnout (or something similar) and that stops him from doing any of those responsibilities, because he had too many of them and it burnt him out to a point where he can't do any of them. He has to deal with actual consequences and irreversible damage due to his flaw. (His flaw of course being that he takes too much on). This would make the theme more impactful because we're shown the consequences to taking too much on, and then when he learns not to do that and overcomes his flaw, we're shown that he no longer has to suffer those consequences due to growing. Now as to the theme reflected through Mile's story, moving on from things that bother you, I think a lot more could've been done here as well. It's similar to what happened with Peter, we're never shown the consequences to not moving on from (in this case) Martin Li. Miles never goes to hunt Li for revenge, he just says he will. This makes the moment where Miles finally puts Li behind him less impactful, by a lot. Because nothing is changing and nothing has changed due to Miles growing. What if Miles actually went off to hunt Li, and the city suffers because of it? That would've been a consequence. Now I also want to highlight one moment in the game that makes the game really suffer from not allowing their characters to suffer any consequences. It's the moment on the east river where Miles has to choose: Help Peter in saving these civilians or hang on to Li? Miles ends up choosing to save the civilians, but this is such a weird decision to me. Because this makes it so that Miles has already overcome his flaw in a way. It kind of makes it so Miles has nowhere to grow from, because his moral values already tell him to move on from what's bothering him in order to achieve what he wants (which in this case is to save the civilians). I LOVE Spider-Man 2, I think it's a great game. Though I think the story could've handled it's themes better. And these are just my thoughts, purely my opinions. Also sorry for the long comment, I just have some thoughts.

Where did the Scream Symbiote go? Did it melt in the rain? If you want my opinion, there were so many characters they all had to split 100% of the game between all of them to fit them all in, like it was 2 games in 1 Marvel's Spider-Man 2 should of been 50 hours at minimum! What is it 20 hours? I 100% it 3 times it's too damn short! Everything happens in the story so fast! Kraven didn't do any hunting, his hunters did everything! Yes he killed Scorpion and the other villains off screen that was it. The game was rushed!

I feel this! Spider-Man 2018 story is just better to me

I think one of the largest reasons I loved about the arkham franchise and SM1 is how they treat the characters realistically, the peoples reactions to the heroes, and how the story (specifically in SM1 is treated more realistic) the game also has a darker more realistic art style, while SM2 is bright and funny, and has an end of the world scenario, it is the same thing I have against modern MCU, the stakes are too high, and make it feel unrealistic, and I know this is a superhero game, it doesn't have to be 100% realistic, i would prefer for them to actually act as if they are real people thrust into the scenario, and have their emotions a more important thing, also I don't like in all of the symbiote storylines since the 90s show, the symbiote is shown to change Peter Parker's personality, it should be a misunderstood character which is upset with SM from abandoning it, which is why it bonds with Eddie Brock and become venom (also the symbiote isn't venom but the Symbiote + Eddie = Venom. just something that annoys me) also sorry for the long comment

i really wish they were given more time to polish the game more. We wouldve gotten things like NG+ on launch. The story feels like the rushed venom and other things and it just makes it so we barely get any venom.

For me it's like that: Story: Spider Man 1 Spider Man 2 Spider Man MM Gameplay: Spider Man 2 Spider Man MM Spider Man 1 Spider Man 2 has it's flaws but it gives me so much fun so for me it's good, although I hope they will fix some issues in their next game

Oh wow, so it's not just me. I agree with 100% of all your points. For Spiderman1 and Miles Morales, I played those games over and over and over. All the save slots are full and saved over several times. For Spiderman2 however, i only have 1 complete save file and 2 others less than 50%. And like 3 unused files.

Spider man 2 came out 20 years ago dude 😒

I think they should've cut the agent venom stuff, had the end of act 1 have pete really hurt and needing saving, where he's rushed to a hospital and harry shows up and transfers vemom to pete. That way, instead of showing all the agent venom stuff, you could focus more on his dependency on the venom suit in a arch where he is trying to remove it because dr connors is skeptical

I think the spider arms should have been removed from the game. That might sound crazy, but it would put more of an emphasis on miles gameplay, until you get the symbiote. That way, you’d feel powerful and destructive. And during this time, the symbiyote gameplay would evolve, with new harder hitting animations. Then when you lose it, you have no iron arms, and no symbiyote. Until anti venom. I feel like that would make you better understand the stakes, if a evil alien had the fully evolved symbiyote. I think it’s weird that Peter had the iron arms, symbiyote, AND anti venom, while miles got a couple new moves, and a new power color.

Outright I think they rushed it. A year’s worth of additional story and small dialogue additions and animation modifications would’ve made it feel like the game reacts to the story and the story itself becomes more in depth.

Happy one year hypeversary. This games hype last year was insane though.

Hold up look at the sliver lining. If we get an insomanic solo venom game, they could give us the depth of venom that 2 couldn't. Also considering the character himself the ante and violence will most likey but upped while possibly giving us eddie brock as the new host. If insomanic goes down this route and does it well it could very will fix a majority if not all of the probelms ppl felt spider man 2 had.🎉 Fingers crossed.

I feel the exact same way. In shorter terms i thought it was a solid game, i liked it, but i wanted to love it

I did like the game but it felt like it didn't have any cultural impact at all on the gaming landscape, which the first game had (and even the Miles Morales spin off had some of that impact too). I'm afraid to say that it just came and went. I think Insomniac played it way too safe + way too small. It just didn't have ambition and sadly I feel like it came down to the game's development and how things might have changed. Also, I feel like there’s some evidence of that when you look at Insomniac’s leaked schedule for their future games. I think Sony might’ve pushed them to do a Venom game and compromised the total vision of SM2, which is why it feels so lacking. Might even be that they shifted a bunch of content to the Venom game too - which is why might not be getting Story DLC for SM2 even though it was leaked (because at this point they would’ve announced it, and the silence from Insomniac is heavy).

game lost me the min miles almost let a bunch of people die because he was "so angry" at lee, and the fact Peter didnt flame him for this was the dumbest thing I have ever seen in a video game, dude almost let a crowd of people get shreded by a boat and Peter just says "no worries bro" "reforming your greatest villain (literally his only villian....)" "miles can do no bad" really dislike how they glaze miles in this game and let him do the most idiotic things and Peter says NOTHING about it. but peter tells harry to pop some pills and everyone's on his ass. really feels like they are making Miles out to be Perfect and faultless so that people are more open to him being the main spiderman. would have been insane if MJ died and we finally get introduced to Gwen. Gwen >>>>>>MJ (gwen has always treated Peter like he deserved)

Yeah idk what they were doing for this one. It was a major disappointment for me in terms of the story. Gameplay was great, but the story was too short for having TWO protagonists.

I think they cut alot of content in the game, and i think before the game even release, i felt someone is going to d!£. And I'm expecting it's Mary Jane and doing the Gwen event but in reverse.

to be fair, kraven kills a good portion of peter’s villains offscreen which is impactful but you don’t see it

I think that this game was released a year too early, it should have seen a year of more development, we see that there are things that were rushed and that Sony stops putting its nose into projects like That. I found the story very cool especially with Kraven, but once Venom arrives it happens too quickly, Venom and very cool really it's the Venom that I wanted to see but we don't see him enough. On the other hand, the Gameplays for me are a 10/10, so much fun to play.

SM1 is better .. sorry brother

"you’re lying to yourselves if you think the traversal is better in Spider-Man 1"

In short the story is so bad that I have a hard time even playing free roam without getting upset. That’s just my reason for dropping but yeah. IMO it’s the last Jedi of Spider-Man games. It has killed all hype I had for sequels, spin offs and other in universe games like Wolverine (which looks like it’s main character will be treated with the same lack of respect) I’m so disappointed man 😞 I don’t ever want to feel this way about my favorite character… I’m so sorry Spider-Man…

I wasn't a big fan of the Mysterio missions. Especially since you can only use Miles for them

please tell me you will do a full on review of this game in the near future? and a miles morales revisited or rereview too?

The storyline of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 really reminded me of Spider-Man 3 in the sense of how the beats played out in the film. I say that in the way if you look at the 2 villains of the game and movie. Kraven being the same as Sandman in the movie and Venom being about the same as in the movie as well. I say this cause a lot of people don't realize this sort of thing. Kraven being about the same as Sandman is to say that Kraven is THE villain for the game like how sandman was THE villain for the 2007 movie. Venom was a character that was added for whatever reason in the movie (Thank you Avi for your non-sense) but Venom in the 2nd game was a bit different but not really. Venom is more of the recent takes on the character in the way that he can't use webs (which is really annoying), He can't be invisible to the Spider-Sense like he should, and the thing about the symbiote HAVING to effect peter negatively is so over used since the '94 cartoon that people can't use what they did in the original comics or make up something else anymore which is also sad. But another thing I would say about Venom is this, The marketing was heavily pointed towards venom. What happens in the end.. We barely really get venom. Why market venom so much when he's going to be the last 3rd of the game (he's pretty much 1/3 of the game). It makes no sense to do that. You can keep the identity secret for the players but at the same time, they should've marketed more then just venom. They should've showed off more Kraven or other things (which they kinda did but not really enough). You can say it's because venom is more popular and that's fine. But look at it in the sense of the story. Kraven for the most part was 2/3's of the game. Venom is only 1/3 of the game. That's the difference when it comes to things.

Honestly I'm good with it all, i really enjoy the game and have alot of playthroughs already but I do feel the symbiote storyline could've been longer but I'm still happy with it, Spider-Man 3 definitely seems like it's gonna be the big one though as it's also insomniacs final game with the Spider-Man license

I’m replaying the game and tbh I still think they introduced Miles too soon into the universe, he should have been introduced in this game even more since Miles doesn’t add much in this game with his missions, the only worthy one was with Lee and that’s it.

in my opinion, the story (writing) was GOOD. my only issue is with the Miles's part of the story (he had a great spinoff game which made me think i loved miles more than peter), which was too weak, it feels like Peter is risking his life, going through struggles with Harry sickness, May's loss, Otto becoming a villain; meanwhile Miles has to get some drums and write an essay (the only good part in my opinion is with mr negative). the development of the story in my opinion was weak: they should have made each arc as long as the first act (12 missions): they had the best symbiote version of spiderman and just scraped that. also with venom and the possibility of having a symbiote miles, they really missed the goal. i really hope that maybe they can fix the story with the dlcs or with a director's cut

Anyone else feel they shouldn't have went symbiote in the first place? It makes the first game feel incredibly low stakes in comparison. + G serum? Don't tell me we're getting another sinister six where doc ock/venom gets something and turns the city into infected wasteland again. We get it insomniac played Arkham knight but the whole trilogy don't need to be Arkham Knights thrid act three times but in NYC.

Great video man,you explained your thoughts thoroughly in a very entertaining way.

personally I just think its because they simplified all the crimes and there's barley any crimes that have variation

This game needed to be 40 hours long

The problem with this game is that it was too safe. I remember Insomniac saying that this game was gonna have a more darker tone than the first game and I was expecting the symbiote to play a part in that. But instead, he had it for a very short period of time, faced no consequences for all he did while under the influence, and I was even hoping to have someone die or him accidentally kill someone so it could have added more depth to his symbiote arc. Oh and let's not forget the rushed third act with Sony once again showing that they are Spider-Man's greatest villains. While I enjoyed the heck out of the gameplay, and still do, the story was a collosal disappointment compared to the first one.

Think about it, im sure if the creators and developers care about how well they want their games to be, then theyll make the third game alot better

I love the game but now replaying ot its just ehhh now the first game i played it multiple times this one just like 3 times the story kinda gets boring and i gotta skip cutscenes now and some missions like the university and graffiti missions are bad and i noticed there are allot of multiple missed opportunities like giving miles the symbiote or driving mjs bike in the end more

The game was lack luster in gameplay and story. Gameplay had marginal improvements on a game that was overall simplistic and had no depth. The combat skill tree is cheap, full of fluff like every AAA game these days.swinging still feels hand holdy due to the nature of hiw it was designed. With its little improvement, its not enough to claim a sequel. Physics is still janky and Spidey spazes out when you swing anywhere other than forward or holding your web. Its a lazy game in general, they knew they didn't have to do much

This game needs another game mode

Honestly, the story was so bad, it felt personal. 😭

I think a Spider-Man 2 dlc would be better than a venom game or a dlc since it could make Spider-Man 3 a even better game

This game is still a 9 to me, but everything after playable venom just fell off, and on more recent play throughs, I just didn’t want to play anymore after playing as venom, the missions were boring and the story was rushed and just not as fun as everything else in the first 2 games and the first 2 parts of Spider man 2.

I’m making a few assumptions here, but I genuinely believe most of this game’s issues are due to Sony’s meddling. I love what Insomniac managed to do and I love the game… but it is rushed, at the end of the day. They cut out so many of Tony Todd’s voice lines as Venom and cut out features and story beats. Look at the layoffs Sony have been doing with their game studios! This game, given a bit more time could have been a 10. A true, solid 10. Instead, here we are. RELEASE THE DIRECTOR’S CUT!!!

I want to start by saying that your video is good. My opinion of Spider-Man 2 is really harsh. The Gameplay is great, I like it more than in the previous game, even though I prefere playing miles in miles morales because there is no CD. Traversal is fantastic, Combat is so much fun, we feel more powerful than we were in the previous game ( still not enough but it's nice ) I like the way the combat system was more focused on hand to hand and aerial combo more than gadgets. Symbiote surge is fun the first few times we use it but then you just see how poor it is to play while beeing in that state. There are more finishers which is cool. Stealth is... Well insomniac is not good at doing stealth at all, web zip is nice, double elim too but that's it and compared to Batman Arkham it's so poor. Miles is cool, less cool than his previous version in Miles morales imo. The side quests are so trash most of the time. Collectibles is just ok, I don't mind because it gives me a reason to enjoy the webswing haha There is a too many main quest that are just bad only because it's here to introduce side quests Spider-bot is awful to do though and the end IS even worse, I was so disapointed. Main story is bad imo and I'll explain. To begin with the symbiote, I'd like to say that I prefere when the symbiote is not the reason why Peter changes, his situation was enough to explain his lack of self-control and path to extreme violence. I like it better when Peter put himself the blame on the symbiote while all it was doing IS helping its Host. But ok Insomniac took the common choice of making the symbiote a bad entity. ( it's not well written because there is a lot of hint saying that the symbiote was pure before bounding with Pete and so Pete would have corrupt the symbiote. It bothers me because I do think insomniac's Pete is the kindest Peter we've ever seen. On the other and Peter is beeing corrupted by the symbiote, that's the two main interpretations. We can also say one more thing. Peter was beeing more brutal en violent against Conors that's for a fact, but he wanted to give back the symbiote to Harry, we can say he was under so much stress and pressure that he said something out of the line. Remember that Peter changed completly after the symbiote rebound with... The meteor, maybe just maybe, Knull corrupted the symbiote again and so Peter was definitly corrupted ok that could work but even then, it doesn't really explain the he threw that one archer through the window while saying it was not him. If the symbiote is already bad then why was it fine with Harry ? Peter was holding grudges, that's true however, it was all for Kraven.) whatever, another point that bother me a lot ! Pete was still dealing with Aunt may's grief and it was underdevelopped waaaaay too much, it's a shame and a waist. Like I said Peter turned " Bad " ( he did nothing that was so wrong tbh, his biggest mistakes was to not giving back the suit to Harry but it was all because of the symbiote manipulating him, hivemind and stuff ) It was way too fast, I just didn't see what I was doing that was so wrong while playing. I save people faster, I'm less of a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man but more like a distant hero, but I'm still letting criminals live, I still save people. The MJ chase felt forced because I don't get why the symbiote would be threatening MJ ( I get that she hurt him with the taser ) but the symbiote is supposed to help Pete and knows that Pete loves MJ and he won't hurt her. So the symbiote is doing Bad things, not Peter. I'd like too add one more things, we have two scientist, they wanted to test the symbiote and these guys who are geniuses, didn't discovered that the suit was alive ? I mean, ok they played like childs I get that but it's a little easy no ? I think it's strange. I won't talk about woke things because it's just not important, I don't mind woke things if it's well done, sadly, it was awful in Marvel's Spider-Man 2. The argument Peter and Mj had while she was scream was trash, through out all the game Pete feels weak and sorry. He says he's sorry everytime he can even if he has done nothing bad. Danikast, trash I won't elaborate lmao. Miles is portrayed as the perfect human beeing and the perfect Spider-Man, he forgives lee easily, he saves Pete an absurd amount of times and he also resists the hivemind effect and doesn't bound with the symbiote. He is strong and his venomblast is just a perfect counter to symbiotes. I also hate his " New evolved suit, it's time for a miles original " because he already had a Miles original lmao. The fact he took the time to rizz his girl and create a new suit while the situation was so messy... The worst of is that it's not a suit it's a Real life adidas sponsor and real life clothes lmao. Harry is well written, the game is too short so we can't really enjoy his company so much and it's hard to feel sad when he gets sick again ( as a player I would have wanted to give back the suit to him even though it's fun because I would have attached to him but nah I had no particular bound with Harry so I was having my fun with the black suit lol ) Kraven is great my only complain is the way he flawlessly humiliated Peter in their first encounter. Bro seriously ? Counter then stab ? Where's my chad Spidey who fought the sinisters 6 in 1v2 while beeing injured ( he had 14 broken bones lmao ) where's his spider-sense ? Where is his super strengh ? I also have mixed feelings about their choices of killing almost every classic Spidey's enemies. The idea is cool but it feels like they really want to rush their universe to an end as quickly as possible, also I would have liked to see the fights betwin them and kraven. I hate that anti Venom plot because Peter just wins for free symbiots power after doing nothing. But it was a nice scene for Martin Lee. If they wanted to give Pete a symbiote powerup I would have liked it better if they did wraped up the story around that, it would have suited ( suit hehe ) more with my idea of a symbiote that is not naturally bad but more hurt by Peter's rejection and unresponsabulity towards his actions. Then it would have been fine to see the symbiote or a fraction of it going back to Pete. Idk just an Idea. Ah yes I forgot Peter couldn't give the suit back ?? Lmfao bro just rip it off ? I mean this thing heals you, buffs you, can extend, changes forms but you think it would broke it if you do ? Nah he has no excuses not to try to rip it off to give it back immediatly after Harry gave it to him. Knull is a... Underexploit but still a fine reference for the fans, such as Venom's wings. I think Harry was a great Venom even if in the end it was the symbiote alone who was a great Venom because at the end we discover that Harry was not aware of what he was doing, it's a bit of a shame but I understand the fact they Wanted Harry to be a nice person up until the end. This game ruined my love for Insomniac's Pete. Miles is insipid by beeing so perfect. Mj is.. oh boy mj is trash but the worst is that we have two Spider-men in this game but we still have to play her and I'll grant you that she's funnier to play than before but it's still bad we don't want to play people with no powers in a Spidey game.. except for the MJ-Symbiote chases, it was nice. In conclusion, It was a game I enjoyed to play at first but now that I had time to think about it, I don't like it anymore. Don't get me wrong, Gameplay is fun as hell but that's it. Everything else is mid or Bad ? Game is too short and it starts way too slowly, the pacing is bad. I loved Insomniac's Spider-Man with all my heart and I still loves the John bubniak Spidey, the PS4 version that was saved from the disaster story of Spider-Man 2. But the main story that insomniac is telling and showing us is not what I like. I think it's bad but I won't judge people who loves it because I'm happy for you guys, happy that you can still enjoy Spidey media. So please guys, since I can't enjoy it anymore, do it for me. Because we all want to be that guy named Spider-Man, we want to be better and respect ourselves Thanks for reading, have a good life you all. Bisous de France.

Miles and martin definitely werent rivals lmao

The story is so bad I just pretend it never happened but the swinging is amazing though

the story is terrible and badly paced, the first one had a much better story, harry should've died at the end of this game it would've at least made it feel like there were permanent consequences, plus all of the side missions sucked apart from the mysterio side mission and most of the villains featured in the 2nd game just felt like they were glorified cameos/easter eggs and felt so wasted or they've experienced significant changes that we never actually get to see on screen like tombstone who was redeemed off screen, kraven and venom are the only memorable villains from this game and even then venom wasn't even in the game for that long. The story felt very rushed. And the resentment norman has towards both spiderman at the end of the game doesn't even make any logical sense cos they actually saved harry's life, it literally makes no sense for norman to want revenge on spiderman since harry is still alive.

if it was eddie i would be sm better

I think the point you made on how the symbiote leaves no lasting consequences for Peter after he takes it off is really true. I was hoping he would find a twisted coping with the symbiote especially after losing literally everyone he loves

Insomniac Ganke is the goat

We already have the best Spider-Man game. The 2018 game.

I wish I could forget that awful story

What about dlc 😢😢😢

This story was a mess that even had time jumps

You can tell when people don't know what something forgettable is, the truth is, and I think this video is an example of how they don't know what something forgettable is.

I was not expecting a video like this from you. Lol Let alone for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2! I guess you’re on to something. I love the game, but for some strange reason I haven’t felt encouraged to replay the game as much as the other games. And not even trying to say it’s to do with the quality of the game. Even though you made interesting points about how the story maybe contributed as to why. Even though I was mostly satisfied what we got. It’s oddly conflicting.

I mean it literally the game but u get to play the two characters and fight venom that it

I didn’t even finish the game lol

I really want spider-man 3 to adapt superior spider-man but then they would just be covering the same tracks that 2 did lol i still want that adaptation tho oh well maybe one day

I will say, this for me in my personal opinion your video is not terrible or in bad faith unlike other youtubers because I am a massive shill for all of the insomnic spider-man games. I am happy, you just spoke from the heart and I'm happy you just didn't say anything crazy but also I love some the issues you brought up and that was beautiful.

The soul just wasn’t there in the second one. Felt hollow to me. I didn’t like how they killed off so many of his rogues off-screen just to prop up Kraven as a bigger threat. Then have him just one-tapped by Venom.

Am I the only one who feels Miles and Marin lee feels forced af

i think they shouldnt be an symbiote invasion but a lizzard invasion abc i feel like the invasion ruined the venom history it feel less ersonalithink it was reserved for carnage

Peter should’ve been asking how MJ got uglier between two games

Your still criticizing a year old game

Why is it so hard to get a venom story right lol