Marvel’s Wolverine is set to release on September 15, 2026, built in the same Insomniac universe that gave us Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 — and with that connection in mind, this felt like the perfect time to go back and properly review the game that raised the bar for what a superhero game can be.
Two Heroes, One City
The biggest structural change from the first two Insomniac Spider-Man games is that Peter Parker and Miles Morales are both fully playable from the very start — not one main character with the other as an occasional detour. The story is genuinely built around switching between them, using the contrast between an experienced hero starting to burn out and a younger one still growing into the responsibility to say something real about what it means to carry that weight for years.
Web Wings: Traversal Redefined
Web-swinging was already the series’ strongest feature, and Spider-Man 2 finds a way to make it feel new again with the addition of Web Wings — a glide-and-boost traversal option that lets you cover huge distances across the expanded map without touching a building. Combined with the refined swing physics from the earlier games, getting around this version of New York remains one of the best traversal systems in any open-world game.
Venom, Kraven, and a Darker Story
This entry brings in Venom and Kraven the Hunter as major antagonists, and the story goes to noticeably darker places than either of the previous games — particularly once the symbiote storyline takes hold. Without spoiling specifics, it’s the most emotionally heavy entry in the series so far, and it commits to that tone rather than pulling punches to keep things lighter.
What Works
- Two fully-realized playable heroes, not one-plus-bonus
- Web Wings make traversal feel fresh again
- Venom and Kraven storyline delivers real stakes
- PC port is complete and well-optimized
What Doesn't
- No story DLC, unlike the first game
- Map expansion feels familiar rather than fresh
- Some side content repeats earlier structure
Combat: More Options, More Style
Combat builds on the combo-based system from the earlier games, with separate skill trees and gadgets for Peter and Miles that make each hero feel meaningfully distinct in a fight rather than reskinned versions of the same moveset. The story-tied Symbiote Surge ability adds a genuinely powerful, satisfying option during key sequences without overshadowing the core combat loop.
On PC: The Port
The PC version arrived on January 30, 2025, ported by Nixxes Software — the same team behind several other PlayStation PC ports. It’s a complete, well-optimized release that includes everything added post-launch on PS5: New Game+, extra suits and color variants, and Photo Mode features. One thing worth knowing going in: Insomniac has confirmed there’s no story DLC planned for Spider-Man 2, unlike the first game’s episodic “City That Never Sleeps” expansion. What you see at launch is the complete story.
What’s Next: Wolverine and Beyond
Spider-Man 2’s ending left some fans wondering how much Peter Parker would feature going forward, but Yuri Lowenthal, his voice actor, has since confirmed Peter isn’t stepping away from the series. With Marvel’s Wolverine — set in this same shared universe — arriving September 15, 2026, and Spider-Man 3 confirmed to be in early development after that, this feels like exactly the right moment to catch up on Spider-Man 2 before the universe expands further.
JoystickVerse Verdict
Spider-Man 2 takes everything that worked about Insomniac's first two games and genuinely builds on it rather than just repeating the formula — two real playable heroes, a darker story with actual consequences, and traversal that somehow tops what was already the best swinging in gaming. The lack of story DLC stings a little, but it doesn't take away from what's here. With Wolverine about to expand this universe even further, there's no better time to either replay this or experience it for the first time.