Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has a lot going on, whether it’s the new villains like Kraven, the world map being roughly twice as larger as previous games, or freely switching between Miles and Peter. However, the Symbiote suit is the other big headliner, granting Peter new abilities while altering his personality.
Speaking to IGN, director Ryan Smith shined a bit more light on the Symbiote suit and how its gameplay is all about “power and transformation.” “What really powerful moves can we imagine? How can we imagine them working with the Symbiote tentacles and changing the gameplay feel.”
Two examples include the Symbiote punch, which can ” impact a single target [and] stick them to walls.” The Symbiote strike, meanwhile, launches a crowd of enemies into the air. “And so, that’s something that lets you shift gears in Spider-Man combat… It’s something we didn’t have before that we could bring with the Symbiote.”
Creative director Bryan Intihar is also aware of how expectations are for the Symbiote. “We understand that the expectations for the Symbiote are high and we wanted it to feel different than what you would normally see. Peter and Miles, so much of their move sets are based on fluidity, speed, acrobatic, and the Symbiote is power, is strength, aggression, and I think we wanted to make sure that from a gameplay standpoint that was represented.”
There are “much more aggressive and borderline brutal” finishers that Peter can execute. Don’t think the suit is too powerful, though – Insomniac is balancing around the power fantasy, but the game won’t “feel like a cakewalk.”
In Marvel’s Spider-Man, the Symbiote was spotted in connection with a different character. What is its impact on the sequel’s story? Intihar said, “We try as much as we can in everything we do, whether it’s in gameplay, there is a narrative reason for doing it. It’s obvious, as you saw in the gameplay reveal [the Symbiote] affects combat a lot, but it’s going to impact the story and how the story plays out.
“And I think, you know, if you look at the Symbiote lore from the comics, it definitely has that aggression, that addictive elements to it, that you can see changing [Peter’s] personality. But I think what we’re gonna continue to explore more in this game is how does that impact the people around Peter? Impact Miles, impact MJ, impact others.”
While Insomniac didn’t reveal how Peter gets the suit, Intihar said it’s respecting the franchise’s “DNA,” while not being afraid “to mix things up.” However, it’s more organic, and the origins will “tie into why it looks a certain way.” “I will tell you there’s more to that suit than we’ve shown in terms of visuals, than we’ve shown in that gameplay reveal. It’s that blend of really wanting to have that familiarity, you know, of being black and the [white] spider symbol, but at the same time add elements to it, some expected, some unexpected, and some yet to be revealed,” said Intihar.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is out in Fall 2023 for PS5. A release date will be announced “soon” stay tuned for more details in the meantime.
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