Spider-Man 2 is, in many ways, a refined version of 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man - as it should be. Rather than reinvent the wheel, Insomniac spent its time improving existing combat and traversal systems, while adding gameplay variety and depth to side missions. Between the expanded map, the number of playable characters, and the meatiness of the optional content, Spider-Man 2 has far less filler and more actual game than 2018's Spider-Man - which is why it's so surprising that so much is missing.
Some cut content was to be expected. For instance, not all of the costumes from the original or Spider-Man: Miles Morales made it into the sequel. Some were replaced by better options, some by worse, and no one agrees on which ones are which (though most seem pretty disappointed by the "Miles original" that's actually an Adidas ad). Everyone has their favorite costume the same way everyone has their favorite Pokemon, and there's no way Insomniac could make everyone happy unless it included every Spider-Suit ever created. I wanted Bombastic Bagman too, but they had to draw the line somewhere.
Spider-Man 2𝓰 Fans Miss The Social Media Feed
It's 🔯a shame we never got to see NYC's𝓀 reaction to Spider-Man getting the Symbiote.
Other subtractions are more surprising, like the selfie pose in photo mode. I remember seeing Spider-Man selfies all over social media back in 2018, and again in 2020 with the release of the remaster. It's obvious that this was a beloved feature, so I don't know why it isn't in the sequel. I hope this isn't a case of holding features back for the inevitable Definitive Edition of Spider-Man 2, because unless there's a tech-related limitation, I can't fathom why this would have been left out.
Insomniac has confirmed that it's working on new features for photo mode, including the ability to shrink Peter and Miles down to the size of action figures.
Insomniac did a great job responding to criticisms about the first game, particularly when it comes to busywork. The side quests and collectibles feel more meaningful and engaging in the sequel, but there's one instance where it feels like the studio took the directive a step too far. While they may not have appealed to everyone, the newspaper headlines were a thoughtful collectible that encouraged you to see the city from a pedestrian perspective every once in a while. There wasn't a reward for collecting them, but you got a taste of how the city sees Spider-Man's deeds and how the events of the story are being perceived by the public. Some people may not have even known newspapers existed in the original, but those who did are surely missing them in the sequel.
The post-game also feels especially empty compared to the previous games. You can't change the time of day or weather, which means you only have a limited window to enjoy swinging around in the symbiote suit at night. You also can't redo any of the enemy bases, like the Hunter Blinds or Symbiote nests, and you can't replay missions like you could in Miles Morales.
Other features that were in the previous games but not Spider-Man 2 include the character bios, the podcast archive, New Game+ (thought that will likely come later, as Sony is wont to do), and the social media feed. A surprising number of people are very disturbed at the lac🍃k of the social media feed. I recommend they play 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Marvel's Midnight Suns.
It's tricky to critique this kind of thing, because it's easy to fall into an unhealthy value-based mindset over it. Insomniac never promised everything in the previous games would be included in Spider-Man 2, and different games ought to offer different experiences. Anyone who feels ripped off by the absence of the podcast archive probably needs a little grass-touching therapy, but it does feel a bit strange that there are so many little things in Spider-Man that didn't make it into Spider-Man 2. At least Screwball got cut. If this is the price we had to pay, maybe it was worth it.
