The calendar says that autumn is nearly here and that means that it's almost time for the season's unexpected mascot to swing back into our lives. That's right, folks, a new 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Spider-Man game is just around the corner.
I didn't feel this way earlier this month. It’s cliche to say that weather in the Midwest is unpredictable, but two weeks ago I was hiding in my apartment to avoid going out in 99 degree heat, and this week I started wearing layers, cuddled up under a quilt, and turned on the space heater under my desk.
This sudden chill in the air has me thinking about all the fun activities that come along with autumn. Making buckeyes and mulled cider on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Watching Gilmore Girls. Carving pumpkins. Picking apples. And, once October 20th rolls around, playing Marvel's Spider-Man 2.
Insomniac started a tradition with the release of Marvel’s Spider-Man back in 2018. That game launched on September 7, so it was the title I was playing as the temperatures and leaves began to fall outside. Two years later, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Marvel’꧅s Spider-Man: Miles Morales was the first big game I played on PS5. Though it launched in November, I didn’t start to play it until the end of the year, when I got a PS5 as a Christmas gift — which ended up working out perfectly because the game is set during the winter holidays. These games are emotionally t⭕ied to the holiday season for me, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is continuing that tradi๊tion, launching just 11 days before Halloween.
I’ve spent this summer playing the kind of games you lean forward for. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Baldur’s Gate 3 is the biggest example, consuming my time and brain power in equal measure. But 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Metroid Prime Remastered, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Marvel’s Midnight Suns, Pikmin 4, and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdo✨m also pushed me to engage with their systems and exploration. I’ve ✅loved going deep on RPGs recently, but the Spider-Man games are perfect when you want to lean back and get cozy on the couch.
That isn't to say that I think the Spider-Man games are "dumb fun." I've enjoyed their stories quite a bit, and love thinking through how to stealthily approach taking out a warehouse full of goons. But they're games that give me a visceral thrill and don't demand too much in return. I love messing around in open-world games, and there's no open-world game that feels as good to mess around in as Marvel’s Spider-Man.
Just as importantly, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 looks like it's carrying on the Miles Morales tradition of being set near the end of the year. The extended gameplay trailer Sony showed off earlier this summer was set entirely at golden hour, which gave it a soft, autumnal look. Unlike a game like, say, Dead Island 2, the world doesn't seem hot. It looks like you might need a sweater in the evening. The story trailer is more obviously set at this time of year, with Peter, Miles, Mary Jane, Ganke, and Harry Osborne all meeting up at a carnival wearing sweaters and jackets.
During the first year of the pandemic, this kind of seasonal signifier became very important to me. When you’re barely leaving the house, finding some way to mark the passage of time is crucial, and playing autumnal games like Bully and Pumpkin Jack in the fall of 2020 helped me get through the dual anxiety amplifiers of COVID and the presidential election. I don’t need the new Spider-Man the way I needed mile markers back then. But, not needing 🐎it wi🀅ll make it all the sweeter to kick back and start swinging.