It’s only May, but the year has been crazy for almost every publisher. Microsoft started with some hope and delivered the excellent Hi-Fi Rush before fumbling with Redfall. Square Enix baffled everyone with Forspoken while simultaneously releasing one of its best titles in years with the mystery horror Paranormasight.
Aside from promising to fight anyone and everyone hindering their acquisition by Microsoft, Activision has been quiet, but Blizzard Entertainment is delivering with Overwatch 2.
Capcom is having an incredible run, bringing Monster Hunter Rise and Sunbreak to PlayStation and Xbox. Of course, no one can forget Nintendo and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which is already the highest-rated game of the year. It’s already outsold Breath of the Wild’s launch week physical numbers by 2.7 times in the UK.
However, there’s one publisher conspicuous by their absence, at least in terms of first-party console releases. PlayStation has belted out hits left and right after releasing the PS5 in November 2020. Horizon Forbidden West, God of War Ragnarok, Returnal, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Gran Turismo 7, and The Last of Us Part 1 are just some of those titles.
Yet, 2023 has been bereft of big releases so far. Horizon Forbidden West’s Burning Shores was pretty good, but it’s still an expansion and a stop-gap before the inevitable sequel. Final Fantasy 16 is releasing in June and while it looks fantastic, it’s developed by Square Enix. What about Sony’s first-party offerings? What are its plans for the future?
So far this year, it’s put a lot into PlayStation VR2, which had Horizon Call of the Mountain and other big titles which reportedly under-performed. Sony denies this, of course, but there’s no denying the lack of hype after its launch compared to the lead-up. As such, there are undoubtedly several more PS5 consoles out there (over 38.4 million shipped as of March 31st) than PS VR2 headsets, and fans are waiting for what’s next.
A PlayStation Showcase is rumored for the week of May 25th (edit: Confirmed for May 24th). If you remember, the last PlayStation Showcase was in September 2021. Since then, Sony has leaned into the State of Play format to great success – it had one last year that announced an array of titles, including Team Ninja’s Rise of the Ronin. However, a Showcase is a bigger deal. It will reportedly set up phase 2 of the PS5’s release line-up, so we’ll probably see many titles, including Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Ironically enough, it was announced at the last PlayStation Showcase and hasn’t had any gameplay since.
But we all know about Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. We’ve known that Insomniac’s sequel would happen back when the first game was released. Aside from Peter Parker and Miles Morales being present, Venom making his debut, and a darker story than previous titles, very little is known. Actor Yuri Lowenthal describes it as a “massive” game, while lead engine programmer Elan Ruskin spoke about some “very cool” dialogue technology. That’s more or less it.
However, one thing is for sure – Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is probably Sony’s most important release this year. One could assume the existence of other titles, but currently, it’s the only one we know of. Considering its Fall release, with September rumored to be the month in question, it’s primed to spearhead the PS5’s second phase of releases. It makes sense, considering the series has sold 33 million copies. On a commercial scale, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is looking to be Sony’s biggest hit yet.
But it’s also meant to be an extraordinary release, especially in a year filled with massive hits like Tears of the Kingdom and upcoming blockbusters like Starfield. It’s a chance for Insomniac to flex its understanding of the PS5’s hardware, set a benchmark for other games and once more redefine what a superhero game can be.
This is a lot to aspire to, especially considering the output of Sony’s first-party studios over the years (Insomniac included). Nevertheless, when the studio rises to the challenge, it’s always incredible to see, such as when it first brought Spider-Man to life in video game format and proved that a stellar single-player experience with the web-slinger is possible.
Its commitment to visual fidelity and attention to detail is also noteworthy, as is its ability to deliver narratives that emotionally resonate with players. If nothing else, the amount of work it put into the web-slinging to make you feel like Spider-Man (yes, it’s a cliché, but also true) is still worth praising to this day.
Of course, this is without knowing about the narrative or how the gameplay (including the web-slinging) has changed. There were some complaints about the open world and some side missions, despite how fun it was to run around and beat down criminals or gather all the collectibles and unlock new suits. How does Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 improve on that? Does it completely change the formula? Or does it stick to what’s comfortable and build on that?
Whatever the case may be, Insomniac has been tight-lipped, only promising that it’s working hard to create “the best game we’ve ever made.” Again, a very lofty statement, especially by the company’s standards. No single developer is infallible, and Insomniac is no exception. However, its words carry so much weight precisely because of its pedigree. Historically, its biggest games – from Spider-Man and Resistance to Sunset Overdrive and Spyro the Dragon – have all delivered on or surpassed expectations.
With the PS5’s power, Sony’s support and enough marketing muscle, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 could easily stand out on name recognition alone. However, it’s because of the talent working on it that there are expectations of something greater. The jury’s out on whether it could topple the biggest games of the year in sales or critical success, but it’s still poised to be a game that expands on its predecessor while catering to fans.
It’s difficult to predict the success of some titles, especially those which haven’t had a chance to show up and strut their stuff. It’s even tougher to have blind faith in some developers and publishers, considering the sheer number of high-profile failures over the years. Yet Insomniac, and to an extent Sony (let’s not forget those problematic PC releases over the past few months), have defied that trend. It’s to a degree that many fans aren’t thinking over how many copies the sequel will sell – just that they can see it soon and hopefully play it this year.
From that perspective, they’re not too different from your average Zelda fan celebrating Tears of the Kingdom as a triumph and a reward for their years of waiting. There’s a good chance that Insomniac could have such a moment with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and it’s well aware of this. There’s a lot of pressure to deliver, but at the end of the day, its release will be another industry-defining moment for the PS5.
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