Insomniac’s Spider-Man swings onto the PS4 next year, new game footage revealed

By Garrett Hulfish June 12, 2017

Sony first revealed a Spider-Man game for the PlayStation 4 last year. This year, Sony’s E3 2017 press conference revealed a lengthy gameplay demo for Marvel Spider-Man, which will be released in 2018.

Shown at the end of the conference, the gameplay trailer showed off Spider-Man’s abilities including takedowns, spider sense, web swinging, and the all-important wisecracks. All the footage appears to be running in-game, in-engine, with seamless transitions between cutscenes and gameplay.

Based on the gameplay shown, Insomniac looks to have drawn inspiration from Rocksteady’s Arkham series. Spider-Man’s arsenal includes web traps, environmental takedowns, and stealth attacks. Movement through New York City also looks silky smooth. Spidey swings, wall runs, and vaults to ensure that he never stops moving.

Also notable in the demo was the use of quick-time events. They showed up more than once throughout the demo, suggesting portions of the game might be more scripted than others.

Other than Peter Parker as Spider-Man, other characters that were revealed include Wilson Fisk (Kingpin), a gang called the Demons, and their leader Mister Negative. Aiding Spider-Man is Captain Watanabe. Currently, Watanabe is known as Wraith in Marvel’s comic books. After the title screen, a short teaser also hints at the appearance of Ultimate Spider-Man Miles Morales.

Also shown off during the press conference were previously announced games such as Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Detroit: Become Human, Days Gone, and God of War. New announcements included a remastered Shadows of the Colossus, Monster Hunter Worlds, and numerous games for PlayStation VR. For a full roundup of every announcement from Sony’s E3 2017 press conference, check out our complete rundown.

Marvel Spider-Man has a release window of 2018 for the PlayStation 4 systems. Pre-orders are already available.

For the latest information about E3 2017, check out our complete coverage all week long.

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The best skills in Spider-Man 2

Miles checking his phone in spider-man 2.

Now that Peter and Miles are sharing the spotlight as dual Spider-Men in Marvel's Spider-Man 2, you probably expect each to come with their own skill trees. You wouldn't be wrong for thinking that, but it isn't just two sets of abilities you need to juggle -- it's three. Not only do Peter and Miles each have their own bespoke skill trees to upgrade their specific abilities and powers, such as Miles' Venom abilities and Peter's Symbiote ones, but there is a shared tree that grants both Spider-Men new attacks and moves. This gives you more skills to choose than ever, but not necessarily more skill points to spend on them. Unlike Hero or City Tokens and Tech Parts, you only get new skill points when you level up. Here are the best skills on these new skill webs that you should unlock in Spider-Man 2.
The best shared skills
For the most part, all three skill trees are linear. However, unlike the Suit Tech upgrades, the points where there are branches are not mutually exclusive. If you've got the skill points to spend, you can fill out an entire branch without having to pick and choose between abilities.

Web Whip
We can't really blame enemies for packing ranged weapons when the alternative would be to duke it out face-to-face with a superhero, but it doesn't make them any less annoying when you have to interrupt your combo to dodge a shot from far off. By hitting triangle and R1, you can snag that pesky gun and throw it back at your attacker to even the playing field.
Bounce Up
It isn't super realistic, but you can't deny how fun air combos are in Spider-Man 2. If you want to really juggle your prey for as long as possible, adding the Bounce Up skill lets you slam an enemy down with triangle and bounce them back up into the air to reset your air combo.
KO Recharge
Abilities take a long time to come back, but there are a few skills that can speed things up. The best of the bunch is KO Recharge, which restores some of your abilities for every KO, finisher, or stealth takedown you pull off. There are other ability recharging skills you could invest in, but you will always be KOing enemies, so this is the most reliable.
Web Line Double Takedown
Speaking of stealth takedowns, the only downside to stealth is that it can be a little tedious webbing up criminals one at a time. This is especially true when multiple goons are hanging out near each other and will notice if you try and snag their buddies. This move only works when you're on a web line, but does let you stealth takedown two enemies at once rather than just one.
The best Peter Parker skills

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Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 sets an incredibly high bar for future PS5 games

EMBARGOED FOR 9/15 8 AM PT Miles leaps through the air in Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

When Sony set out to highlight the power of the PS5 and its SSD, it did so with a modified version of Marvel's Spider-Man. We were treated to a flythrough of the city from end to end at speeds greater than even our web-slinging hero could hope to match without a hiccup or drop in graphical quality. That makes it fitting that the first game that feels like it fully lives up to the promises the PS5 was sold on is none other than Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

This generation has had a notably more drawn-out separation from the previous. Nearly all of Sony's first-party releases, including God of War Ragnarok and Horizon Forbidden West, have seen dual releases on PS4 and PS5. Having played the technically astounding Spider-Man 2, it now seems clear that developers had been holding back to get their games to run on older hardware. Even Insomniac's own Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, a PS5 exclusive, now feels like an opening act that was warming us up for the headliner. Spider-Man 2 finally feels like the first game that could not exist on any console other than the PS5.
Tipping the scale

Gaming

Spider-Man 2 preload guide: release time, file size, and preorder

Peter and Miles leaping in the air in the city.

Peter and Miles are all suited up and ready to take on Kraven, Venom, and any other villains that threaten the new and improved New York when Spider-Man 2 arrives on October 20. This PS5 exclusive is shaping up to be one of the fall's biggest titles, which is saying something considering the competition. Still, everyone is waiting to finally feel that sensation of swinging through the buildings once again, and the wait is finally almost over. Even though the game will let you fast travel and switch between characters instantly, downloading the game itself is another story. We'll help you swing right into the game by sharing all the preload information you need on Spider-Man 2.
Spider-Man 2 release time

There's no concrete time for when Spider-Man 2 will unlock as of yet, but it could possibly be 12 a.m. PT or ET on October 20. Once Insomniac or Sony clarifies the specific launch time for the game, we will update this article.
Spider-Man 2 file size
Spider-Man 2 will take up a good chunk of your storage space at 98BG in size. If you need to make some room, do so now.
Spider-Man 2 preload options