Summary
Marvel’s Spider-Manreinforced why superhero games work so well in an open-world space, and even thoughMarvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Moraleswas a shorter experience in terms of its narrative offerings, its open-world activities were bolstered even further with the Friendly Neighborhood app. BothSpider-Mangamesmake traversal and collectible-hunting digestible in a way where it’s difficult to pass up an opportunity to snatch one up when it appears on the mini-map, and random crimes sprouting nearby when close to a destination are perfect for role-playing as the web-slinger.
It will be interesting, then, to see how that experience will translate inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2. Much has already been briefly prefaced about its open world, such as how load times will be exceedingly short while swapping between Peter and Miles, or when choosing to drop in anywhere in an unlocked district via fast travel. It has also been supposedly revealed thatMarvel’s Spider-Man 2will have some semblance of suit battle damage, though if true it is apparently only during missions, and points out a significant difference between why battle damage in theArkhamgames works so logically for Batman.
RELATED:PlayStation Could Have a Fun Tradition Following Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
The Batman: Arkham Games Each Take Place in One Night
Battle damage is a huge part of theArkhamgames, where the process of Batman’s suit retaining wear and tear is almost instantaneous. Batman doesn’t get to have a pristine costume for long before some scripted event mars the suit, such as when Two-Face gets a shot at Batman in the courthouse at the beginning ofArkham City. Battle damage may not be a feature that is necessary to portray progression, but it works so well in theArkhamgames because they take place over singular nights.
This way, it’s believable that Batman would be wearing one suit the entire way through—withArkham Knightbeing an exception—and the games are structured so that players feel like they have accomplished everything Batman has within one night, rather than having the games take place over a long period where Batman could presumably acquire more tactical strategies and be better prepared for whatever it is he is up against.
Instead, Batman must thwart supervillains and petty crime with what’s at his disposal and with what he’s able to retrieve from external sources, such as when he has the Batwing drop the Line Launcher into the Botanical Gardens’ secret lab inArkham Asylum. Therefore, it’s fun to see how far along players are in the game as indicated by how torn Batman’s cape may be.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Features Many Chances for Suit Swapping
Insomniac’sMarvel’s Spider-Manfranchisecannot compete with this level of battle damage, simply because there is an extraordinary number of opportunities where Peter or Miles get in and out of costume. Unlike Batman, Spider-Man relies on his mild-mannered alter-ego a lot more, and being out of costume has as much significance to the story as does being in costume.
Marvel’s Spider-ManandMiles Moralesdo already represent battle damage, such as in the first game’s introductory boss fight against Kingpin, which could then lead narratively to Peter substituting his classic costume withMarvel’s Spider-Man’s Advanced suit. That said, battle damage for each and every costume throughout the game would be a massive hassle and one that the wall-crawler could easily circumvent by simply slipping into a new copy of the suit each time he went back into the open world.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2will have this same issue if battle damage is truly a feature, and players might not see all the effort of that aesthetic for long if the tears, holes, and cuts are repaired by the time Peter and Miles return from a scripted mission. This isn’t a make-or-break kind of feature, but it does help sell some fun immersion.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2is out on October 20, exclusively for PS5.
MORE:One of Arkham Asylum’s Best Features Can’t Be Denied in Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad
