Spider-Man video games have been around nearly as long as the medium itself, though perhaps none were as successful as 2018’s Spider-Man for the PS4 (and later PC and PS5).  It combined acrobatic combat, web-slinging traversal through Manhattan, and state-of-the-art motion capture into an adaptation worthy of its “amazing” protagonist.  Miles Morales built on the formula in 2020, iterating on the combat mechanics and further establishing Miles’s character.  Even if both games followed genre tropes here and there, Spider-Man and Miles Morales captured the essence of Spider-Man and made for some great games.  (Check out CGR’s review of the original here, by MicMan.)

2023 saw the release of Spider-Man 2, bringing together the heroes of the previous games for a new adventure. It’s undoubtedly a technical achievement, and builds on the solid foundation of its predecessors. Spider-Man 2 is often visually impressive and plays smoothly, but its story never hits the peaks of either Spider-Man or Miles Morales. Fortunately, it’s still an entertaining ride if you’re a fan of the series so far.

As you might expect, New York City is in peril once again in Spider-Man 2. Kraven, an oddly-named hunter seeking ever more dangerous prey, sets his sights on the city and its super citizens. Peter and Miles, now a true Spider team, are naturally the only ones who can stop his murderous pursuits. If you have a passing familiarity with Spider-Man, the game’s marketing materials have already hinted (or revealed) where the plot leads, but I’ll avoid detailed spoilers.

In broad strokes, you weave between two different stories, alternating mostly between Peter and Miles. Miles continues to be a stand-out character for me.  He’s a genuinely likable young man, striving to be virtuous, and aims to use his powers to protect his friends, family and city. He takes the office of Spider-Man seriously, and it’s fun to see him grow into that role.  He’s easy to root for, and fun to play.

Peter, on the other hand, is considerably less inspiring in this outing. He’s out of a job now and moves in with MJ, who helps support him while he seeks new employment. That’s laudable generosity from MJ, but Peter’s not off to a great start.  He’s apparently able to fix particle accelerators and build all manner of crime-fighting accoutrements, but can’t come up with a solution to his money problems that doesn’t involve cohabitation.  That’s a neighborhood that might be a little too friendly, Spidey.

In any case, Peter’s job search doesn’t take too long, as his old buddy, Harry Osborn, is well again, and offers Peter a job at his new foundation. Harry wants to “heal the world”, and figures there’s nothing their brains and the Osborn fortune can’t accomplish. Spider-Man 2 seems to really want you to like Harry – he’s friends with Peter, he made it through his illness, and darn it if he doesn’t just have the best of intentions.  To me, though, his aims are hubristic and his affect is replete with unexamined assumptions and secular pieties. I couldn’t really get invested in Harry, so the inevitable rifts between him and Peter fell flat.

That’s not to say Peter’s, or the story in general, is all bad – Spider-Man 2 delivers some memorable set-pieces and unique tweaks to commonly-known plotlines.  Whenever Peter and Miles get to work together, particularly for the major boss battles, it’s a treat.  When Venom shows up, he’s as cool as he’s ever been. It’s just that, even at its best, nothing hits the high notes of the previous games.
There seems to be a tension in Spider-Man 2 at the meeting between story and the expectations of an open-world game. An open world may very well be the best way to do Spider-Man justice, as you need a certain amount of geographical freedom to enable players to swing between skyscrapers and dart through the city in daring chases with criminals.  To do Venom justice, though, I’d contend you need something more intimately scoped.  What makes Venom compelling is the drama surrounding the symbiote’s temptations. You need time in the hero’s head, watching the initial rationalizations and failures, seeing how those affect his relationships and eventually the city at large, and ideally his ultimate triumph.

Spider-Man 2 makes an effort towards that end, but unfortunately still tries to force the game’s plot into familiar open-world tropes. As a result, the game’s opening act shoehorns in an unnecessary villain ostensibly just to have another series of open-world objectives. The limited story purpose he does serve could’ve been done with characters we’ve already seen, allowing more time for the story to simmer with the symbiote. In Spider-Man and Miles Morales, the conflicts between Peter and Octavius or Miles and Phin had real emotional weight, earned over the course of a game, and unfortunately that doesn’t happen here.

From a mechanical standpoint, all the elements that made the first two games fun return. The combat remains free, well-balanced, and satisfying. Whipping around the city continues to delight, and makes you forget about fast-travel. The Web Wings, a new addition giving you limited flight capabilities, makes getting around even more of a breeze. Given the city’s expanded size in Spider-Man 2, that’s a particularly welcome upgrade.

Similarly on the aesthetic level, Spider-Man 2 follows the high standards set by its forebears. The visuals continue to nail that comic-book blend of a modern-day setting with wild imagination, and their effect is often impressive. (My inner 11-year old will never not think Venom is awesome, so maybe I’m a sucker.) The animations are fluid, and the facial expressions captured in the dialogue-heavy scenes allow the talent of the voice actors to shine through. As for the soundtrack, while it isn’t something I’d probably find myself listening to on its own, it definitely feels right. As was the case with both Spider-Man and Miles Morales, it often looks and sounds like you’re playing a Marvel movie.

If you haven’t played the first two games in the series, I’d recommend starting with those first. Their stories are more satisfying and are better woven into the open world. For fans already on board, even with my criticisms of Spider-Man 2’s story, I still think there’s much to appreciate. If you’re like me, you may feel guilty about largely ignoring the city once the plot picks up, but you’ll enjoy the ride and still look forward to the next chapter.

Spiritual Value

Venom’s not just a pretty face – Spider-Man 2’s sinister symbiote is an apt metaphor for sin and the ravages of falling for the devil’s temptations. It’s a being with its own agenda, and one whose villainy lies in the twisting of the protagonists to its own ends, aiming to make villains out of them as well. Venom always initially presents itself as a boon: newfound strength, supernatural healing…whatever freedom a hero needs to achieve his or her goals. 

Venom’s gifts, though, have nothing to do with freedom.  They are instead a twisted inversion of love. If we consider love to be willing the good of the other, the beloved must be distinct from the lover.  Venom’s project is quite the opposite – its goal is to will the good of itself by means of enmeshment with its host and the eventual control of the host’s will. The process is even exteriorly visible. Those afflicted with the symbiote may look unique at the outset, but progressively become uniformly monstrous.

Do we not face similar manipulations and dangers in the case of sin? The devil tempts us to feel as if sin is a liberation from rules that constrict us. We are led to believe transcendent moral standards are oppressive fictions meant to keep us from getting what we want. Elevating our desires above other concerns may not take as dramatic a form as it does in the comic books – it could just be the small rationalizations we make to convince ourselves our sins are permissible or even justified. Either way, the more we sin, the more we abandon our freedom to be what God made us to be, because we turn ourselves away from God, the source of our being. 

God, as perfect love, does not operate that way or want that for us. It’s unfathomable, but He loves us uniquely into being in each moment not for his sake, but for ours. His will for us is to be loved, and to love Him, which must be a free act. In cooperating with his will, we become more completely what we are made to be. Therefore, we cannot fall for the fear that submitting our will to God’s is a negation or destruction of our own.

It’s worth keeping in mind how the heroes in Spider-Man 2 keep Venom at bay. The symbiote’s weakness appears to be particular sounds, and it’s similar for us. Let the sounds of your prayers, and those of the church, drown out the devil’s temptations. Remember your baptismal promises, and reject his empty ones.

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