A little over a year now since its release on the PS5, Sony, along with Insomniac Games and Nixxes Software, has released Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on PC. With its initial release on PS5, we gave it a 9.5; it was even one of our Top 10 Games of the Year in 2023. I loved the PC port of the first game, so the sequel shouldn’t be any different. But of course, with any new port, there might be some problems, considering the first game wasn’t without its issues. Regardless, the ability to play the original on PC was cool, and the experience is still largely the same with Spider-Man 2. But when it comes to the sequel, are the issues at a greater expense, or is it still fun to play regardless?
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 takes place two years after the first game, and nine months after the side Miles Morales adventure. Here, players get to play as both Spider-Men, as they figure out how to be superheroes, but also, as themselves. Peter wants to get a job and keep it while also, wanting to move in with MJ. Miles, however, wants to finish his college application and get the girl. Alas, crime-fighting always gets in the way. But then when you introduce new foes, old foes, new friends and old friends… life gets a little tricky for the two. How will Miles and Peter go in their civilian life, as well as their superhero life? Will it get too complicated, and they have to walk away, or will there finally be balance?
If you’ve played this on the PS5, you’ll get the same story. As with all games that Sony has ported over to the PC, it’s all about the technological leaps that differentiate between the PS5 and its PC counterpart. The obvious difference is the PC-optimised graphics. While the PS5 has different modes from performance to quality. PC allows for greater choice in customisation, and thus, playing on PC will give you wider options. There’s ultra-wide monitor support too, which is neat for those who like that. Of course, with any Sony port, you get unlocked frame rates, and upscaling from specific hardware like NVIDIA and AMD. Another form of graphical difference is ray tracing, which is nice, but considering how good the PS5 is already, I didn’t notice a large difference between the two.
Again, I did notice some issues while playing. There were moments when some visual irregularities occurred, such as signs beaming too much light on it. Or textures will disappear in the image preview of skins, only for it to pop back up again. There are also some other lighting inconsistencies, specifically when finding a tech part crate in the dark alley. Once Peter or Miles opens the crate, the blue light emitting from it goes out, and the alley gets darker than it should. Nothing really to hinder my enjoyment of the game at all, but it definitely was noticeable.
Another concern while playing, is there’s some weird pixelation on reflective surfaces, like on water puddles, electronics like computers or tablets, balloons, and even windows. Not only is there pixelation on reflective surfaces, but it also happens during the Marko collection/side mission. During it, sand would explode into particles when attacking the sand Marko’s, and thus, there would be that same weird pixelation happening as well. However, it’s different compared to the earlier mentioned pixelation; the issue with reflective surfaces looks more like Insomniac is trying to censor something. The sand particles are as if you’ve compressed a JPEG image way too many times, and it becomes grainy in the end.
“…the accessibility options will always impress me when playing modern PlayStation games; and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is no different…”
One great thing about PS5 games coming to PC is the use of the DualSense controller. When I reviewed Marvel’s Spider-Man for PC, the DualSense was quite underwhelming. Yet, this time, it’s actually pretty great; it’s still awesome being able to feel the resistance the triggers have when swinging. But, when using the DualSense, if you connected it after you started to play the game… it worked strangely. Some buttons would register the press, but other buttons wouldn’t. Of course, the keyboard and mouse worked fine, it was only the DualSense not acknowledging the buttons. Once restarting the game again, with the DualSense connected beforehand, it’d work fine.
Other problems experienced while playing include the UI and audio. When Spider-Man is doing a stealth mission, the text pop-up declaring if an enemy is safe or dangerous cuts off. But it would only be for danger and not safe, as if there is too much text for that box. This is similar with subtitles too, as they’d either show up incorrectly or well after the character has spoken. It’s jarring, and disappointing, especially if you’re someone who needs subtitles. Some of the audio will cut out in the earlier missions, so all you hear is the ambient sounds of birds or cars. When using speakers instead of headphones, the audio is too quiet. When using headphones, the levels are fine even if it’s low. But if the output’s changed to speakers, they need to be louder than normal.
These issues, while quite minuscule on their own, do stack up in the end. For a while, I was impressed that Spider-Man 2 hadn’t crashed during my playtime, but I spoke too soon. During one scene, it’s evident how much my PC was struggling; cutscenes started to get glitchy, characters started T-posing, objects would disappear then reappear, and inconsistent frames. And then, crashes. Nixxes has always been pretty great with getting patches out as soon as possible, so there’s no doubt that the team working on the bugs and glitches will fix them. However, some have reported more crashes in their playtime, so your crash rate might vary.
The accessibility options will always impress me when playing modern PlayStation games, and Spider-Man 2 is no different. There isn’t much to comment on it, except for the fact that it’s always going to fill me with joy. Admittedly, removing the quick-time events completely does make the scenes that include them disconcerting, as the character will pause for a moment before the game realises, “Oh, you’ve removed the QTEs, right” and then turn back into a cut scene. It’s sort of goofy as well. Because of the optional removal of QTEs, it doesn’t allow you to even hold the button like it was in the first game. Overall, it didn’t hinder my enjoyment, but it might be something that bugs you. To each their own.
The last major concern is the price point. Right now, the game retails for $94.95AUD, like other PlayStation to PC games have (bar Miles Morales). This was an alright (albeit steep regardless) price point for the first Spider-Man port because you were getting 3 DLCs for no additional cost. But with Spider-Man 2, you only get the game. Unless, for an extra $15AUD, you can get the digital deluxe upgrade, which includes 10 skins (5 for Peter & Miles), 5 extra skill points, additional photo mode items, 2 early unlock skins and a web grabber gadget. Ultimately, because of the lack of DLC, it’s a shorter game altogether, which is a shame, because Spider-Man 2’s story and tech upgrades are a major improvement from its predecessor.
All in all, it’s been great fun with Spider-Man 2 on PC. While there are some hiccups that might be annoying and frustrating, and the price point is a bit of a sore point for some, I’ve enjoyed web-slinging through New York City and replaying some of my favourite side missions (that one with the missing grandpa always gets me to cry). Why not give it a go if you’re keen to save cats from trees, Nana’s crossing the street… or saving the city from a giant alien symbiote?
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is available now through the Steam and Epic Game Stores on PC.
About the Author
Missy Taylor
they/them
Missy is a disabled writer on Boon wurrung land, who is obsessed with Garrus Vakarian and Captain America. You can find them talking about the art of Drag and eating Korean and Japanese food.
