Where a Spider-Man PS4 Sequel Should Take the Series Next

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Spider-Man PS4 is a bold re-telling of the Spider-Man story from Insomniac games, (spoiler) there's no way a sequel isn't being planned as we speak. Having finished Spider-Man and knowing what we know, the USgamer team couldn't help but discuss what we'd like to see in the inevitable sequel.

Below are several things we'd like to see from a Spider-Man 2 game from Insomniac, including potential plots, characters we'd like to see, and maybe some mechanical changes or two. If you also beat Spider-Man and want to join in our Spider-Man sequel dreaming continue reading and sound off in the comments.

Caty McCarthy, Features Editor

Spoiler Warning: Big spoilers abound for Spider-Man.

Spider-Man sure embraces the potential for a sequel, doesn't it? I'd love it if Spider-Man 2 had dual protagonists of both Miles and Peter swinging around the city, with Peter mentoring Miles while Peter deals with what will assumedly be Green Goblin and Venom on his tail. I was really surprised by how invested I got in Spider-Man's story (though the Doc Ock plot does feel a bit rushed in the final third, and the whole Devil's Breath being unleashed should have been more chaotic; the weight of it showing how Osborne's a monster didn't quite hit as well as it could have), and I'm excited to see how Spider-Man 2 continues all the threads it leaves dangling.

I'll be honest, I largely wasn't a fan of the Miles and MJ missions in Spider-Man. I don't think the stealth overall was that great in general, which is an improvement I think Spider-Man 2 can foster. The best mission of those was when MJ and Peter worked together, with MJ calling out which enemies Peter could string up sneakily. It'd be nice to see a more capable MJ in the inevitable sequel, which we get a glimpse of in the latter part when she gets a stun gun. I don't want an improbable MJ with superpowers (especially with Miles joining the Spidey club), but what if MJ was good at climbing and hiding in odd places? She could still be stealthy, but also use her wits to set up traps and take care of herself in situations without raising any fists. That'd be pretty rad.

As for new characters, I collected all those goddamn backpacks around Manhattan and never once saw a tease for Gwen Stacy. Sure, she may be dead in this canon, but if she isn't it'd be cool if Spider-Gwen made an appearance. I'll be honest, I just think Spider-Gwen's outfit rules, and I'd love to swing around the city as her (or just fight her or something, I dunno, Insomniac's doing its own thing).

Jake Green, Guides Writer

Spider Man PS4 really pulled out the big guns in terms of iconic Spidey villains and suits, but there’s plenty more lore for a sequel to draw from. For me, the big question surrounding a possible Marvel’s Spider Man 2 is that of setting. I think it’s a given that we’ll be going back to Manhattan, but worry that it’ll be difficult to make it feel different enough to warrant a second visit. Now, I’m sure that some catastrophic EMP will wipe out the surveillance towers meaning we’ll need to reactivate them on the map, but wouldn’t it be more interesting if we visited a different locale, even just for a little while? I’m hoping for some classic Mysterio reality-shifting shinanigens, possibly pulling Spider Man into a slightly different version of Manhattan, the future would be cool. It’s pretty clear that Green Goblin and Venom will be the main antagonists in the sequel, but a trippy side story involving a visit to another dimension, I’d be all in.

In terms of new villains, I want to see Kraven. A side story where Kraven is actively hunting you through the streets of Manhattan would be awesome, and would be a whimsical contrast to what I suspect will be a pretty serious story featuring the Osborn family. I think the side missions could definitely be improved overall for the sequel, as they were a little bland in the first outing. The Taskmaster and Tombstone missions were real highlights though, so having a different villain helm its own side story would be great to see.

Mostly though, I just want the Spider Man sequel to be more focused, spending less time on tedious stealth and hacking missions, and more time traversing the city and doing the things you actually want to do as Spider Man. I’d love for the random encounter missions to be more varied too, as taking out the same group of bad guys over and over got boring pretty quick.

Matt Kim, News Editor

The ending of Spider-Man on PS4 really doubled-down on a sequel. We saw Harry Osborne is still in New York in a coma and what looks like a Venom symbiote attached to him. And Miles Morales has spider-powers now and he’s definitely going to work with Peter together as Spider-Men.

In that regard we get a clear picture of some key elements of a Spider-Man PS4 sequel. Miles Morales will hopefully feature in a broader, more superpowered role, and Venom is going to be a thing. The Green Goblin is also a safe bet, although whether it’s going to be Norman Osborne, or a Venomized Harry Osborne/Green Goblin hybrid is up-in-the-air.

So, with those pieces in place what I really want from a Spider-Man sequel is more focus on side quest villains. The reimagining Insomniac did with Spidey’s rogue gallery is probably my absolute favorite thing about the game and I’d love to see even more. There’s still three post-launch DLC coming to Spider-man starring Black Cat so it’s entirely possible that some of Spider-Man’s other villains will get DLC appearances. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t mind seeing Mysterio in the Spider-Man sequel in some deranged capacity.

Also, since Insomniac clearly isn’t afraid of going big with Spider-Man’s cast of characters and mythos I second Caty in wanting to see some other Spider-Men from other dimensions. Spider-Gwen would be cool, but what about the Mech Spider-Man, or a Spider-Woman? Insomniac’s Spider-world is literally large enough to fit them all.

Mike Williams, Reviews Editor

I'm not going to go big this time, because honestly I think you need to save some of that for the third game. The tease at the end of Marvel's Spider-Man directly calls out two things: Miles getting his powers and the eventual inclusion of the Green Goblin and Venom. I'd actually hold Venom off for the third (and final?) entry in the series, but the Green Goblin teases during the story campaign were ever-present. So I'd say it's best to pull the trigger on that as your big bad for Spider-Man 2, because resolving that storyline at the end of the game can carry you into Spider-Man 3 with Venom. Honestly, looking at it in that way, it functions somewhat like the Raimi trilogy in a different order.

Villain-wise, I'd say you can bring back some of the Sinister Six, but there's a ton of room to play around in Spider-Man lore. I agree with Jake that Kraven would be a good choice as the sequel's version of Mr. Negative; perhaps pulling from the Ultimate and cartoon counterparts, where he's a television show host in the city hunting Spider-Man for ratings at the behest of Mayor Osborn. Taskmaster would occasionally ambush you after finishing certain Challenge missions; let's bring that tech back for Kraven, keeping the tension up for maybe the first and second Acts.

There's still room to play around in the fringes too. Mysterio appears as a joke Halloween costume, but I think he could use some shine. I think Sandman would look fantastic if they could get the particle effects working right. Hammerhead or Black Tarantula would work as a new crime bosses looking to take over the Kingpin's territory. If Miles is a major part of the story, let's pull in Ultimate Prowler, a thief who is actually Miles' uncle Aaron Davis; that's a great contrast to his upstanding cop dad from the first game. Yuri Watanabe eventually becomes the vicious anti-hero The Wraith, something you can start working up in a sequel. And for additional side missions, bringing back the Shocker and add Big Wheel, Rocket Racer, Beetle, and Trapster for some jokey fun.

Also, this should remain the story of Peter Parker and his close circle of friends, but let's play up the cameos a bit. I liked the updates Insomniac made to Spider-Man and his rogues gallery; I want to see that applied to some Marvel heroes. Local heroes Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, or Daredevil could make appearances. We never learned who Taskmaster is working for, but SHIELD is a solid option, letting Insomniac do Nick Fury. Maybe Spider-Man friend the Human Torch can appear. Part of the fun of Web of Shadows were these brief appearances and acknowledgement of the larger Marvel universe, so let's do a little of that in a sequel.

For more on Spider-Man, check out our Spider-Man review. If you're still aiming for that 100 percent completion we also have a handy Spider-Man guide to help you with all the side quests, challenges, and more.

Images via: Marvel, Insomniac Games, Sony Computer Entertainment