Joining the extensive family of PC gamers, Marvel’s SpiderMan 2 has proudly announced its new expansion. After its success on the PlayStation 5, this game’s debut on PC is marked with high expectations. It is equipped with an even larger open world, a stronger narrative, and more than one main character to play as, further setting the bar high for its predecessors. But how does the PC port hold up? Let’s break it down.

Gameplay & Mechanics

The developers at Insomniac Games have made Spider Man the game’s superior version when compared to its predecessor, and with their improvements to the already amazing combat, traversal, and movement systems, it has made the game far better than it’s predecessor. Players can now smoothly travel around the city using strategically placed wind tunnels. Now, you can go long distance gliding, which makes swinging around the city a whole new experience.

The combat system is like a more sophisticated version of everything we’ve encountered so far. New parries and symbiote skills add variety to new encounters. Switching between Peter and Miles is instantaneous, making it easy. New York is also more than double the size, now including Brooklyn and Queens with Manhattan. Although the increase in size is impressive, the open world still heavily relies on checklist-style objectives, which can feel monotonous.

Story & Writing

Spider-Man 2’s story feels emotional while still including lighthearted superhero action. The game includes intense action sequences provided by Kraven the Hunter and Venom, Peter’s internal struggles with the symbiote suit helps build his character, and Miles continues his journey in defining himself outside of Peter’s shadow.

MJ, Ganke, and Harry Osborne add depth to the world, but a few side characters are underdeveloped. While the side story content is plentiful and fairly paced, the repetitive crimes and activities within the districts do tend to lower the engagement levels.

PC Performance & Optimization

With that said, things seem to get problematic here. The PC port is fully powered by the PS5 version but there are some horrible technical issues. If the game has the proper hardware, it can look gorgeous with ray traced reflections and higher quality textures. Regardless, some high-end PCs experience occasional stuttering and texture pop-ins as part of the immersion-breaking dilemma.

The first 40 minutes suffer from noticeable performance dips. However, the game should be stable afterwards. Even with DLSS or FSR, some cutscenes exhibit stutters and have memory leaks over extended playtime. Near-instant load times with an SSD along with teleporting to any unlocked district remains one of the best in the genre.

Verdict

While performance issues may frustrate players expecting a near flawless experience, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 on PC is still an excellent game with fantastic gameplay and visuals paired with a gripping story. If you have a high-end PC, chances are you will enjoy the game smoother after the initial hiccups.

Every Spider-man enthusiast should certainly give this game a try. However, those on PC might want to hold back until the patches are out.

Final Score

Game (Story, Gameplay, World, Fun Factor): 9.5/10
PC Optimization: 5.5/10
Overall Score: 8.5/10