Geoff Keighley’s Summer Games Fest kicked off today, and, like it was for Sony’s last PlayStation Showcase, the comic book video game that stole the show once again was Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Bryan Intihar, the Creative Director at Insomniac Games, took to the stage to talk to Geoff where he showed off some new art featuring one of the major villains in the anticipated sequel: Kraven the Hunter.
The conversation then switched to Venom, who was revealed to be in the game in the first teaser trailer for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 via a brief glimpse of their face. The iconic character, voiced by the legendary Tony Todd, was shown for the first time in another piece of conceptual art and his look pays homage to how fans think of Venom but with Insomniac’s own take.
There won’t be much arguing over how Venom’s design, however Bryan did unveil that it won’t be Eddie Brock under the goopy alien skin which may disappoint some. Whether that’s a bait and switch remains to be seen, but Bryan stated the reasoning was that the team wanted to have their own take on the character and make the character’s identity a mystery that will play out over the course of the game. This time around players can not only explore Manhattan, but also Queens and Brooklyn using a combination of swinging and the new web wing traversal tool.
The gameplay reveal trailer that was shown during the PlayStation Showcase placed a vague “Fall 2023” launch window for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Along with the debut of the game’s cover art, which once again is a solitary color featuring some characters, the release date was is now set for October 20th, 2022.
Pre-orders for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 are set to go live starting on June 16th, and like a lot of modern games today, you need to craft an Excel chart to understand what’s in each one. There’s the collector’s edition which comes with a steelbook case to display the slip the digital code comes on as it doesn’t come with a physical copy. Among a few other costumes and perks, it also comes with a statue featuring Peter, Miles as well as Venom and comes in at $229 USD.
From the information on the PlayStation Blog, it’s unclear on whether this is coming to retail or Canada. Hopefully some clarification will come from Sony on this later.
There’s will also be a digital deluxe edition that comes with 10 unique suits, and all pre-orders, regardless of edition, grant early access to select costumes.
The suits that will be included have input from artists including Kris Anka, Julia Blattman, Sweeney Boo, Anthony Francisco, Raf Grassetti, Jerad Maantz, Joel Mandish, Darren Quach, and Victoria Ying. They hail from the world of comics, film, and other studios owned by Sony.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 arrived October 20th, 2023, exclusively for the PlayStation 5.
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