Though some may have been underwhelmed by the recent PlayStation showcase, Summer Game Fest gave fans two-hours of new and upcoming releases, and helped sweep up the shortcomings. Asurprise visit from Insomniac Gamesgave a little more context intoMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, slated for release in the fall to give Sony a big presence in gaming’s busiest annual period. At the Summer Games Fest presentation it was given an official date of October 20, which sits comfortably in a month that is surrounded by great releases on either side of it.
One such game isAlan Wake 2which is, predictably, the long-awaited sequel to the 2010 Remedy classic. The latter released exclusively on the Xbox 360 for a couple of years, and was one of the company’s competitors to Sony’s budding first party IP. As a result, the sequel is a highly anticipated project, but the newly discovered release date ofMarvel’s Spider-Man 2being just three days afterAlan Wake’s return could be problematic for the latter. The iconic wall-crawler carries a huge comic legacy as well as two stellar predecessors.
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Spider-Man 2 has the Benefit of Recency
Spider-Man 2is going to demand a lot of attention, not only because it’s Sony’s biggest first-party release of 2023, but also as it’s coming off the back of two of the best comic-centric games ever made.2018’sSpider-Manis the single highest selling Sony first party game, despite Insomniac being purchased by the company after it launched. It carries the weight of the world on its shoulders trying to live up the titular character but amazingly pulls it off. The reward is its developer being able to select a release date for the mainline sequel while not paying much attention to what else hits shelves in the same time frame.
Alan Wakeis a much-desired sequelto a game that is 13 years old, so naturally caters to a more niche crowd. The same could have been said forDead Spacewhich was remade to a sea of critical acclaim, but that launched in a relatively quiet spot in the year, so it could flourish without much competition. There are few IPs that could stand toe-to-toe with anythingSpider-Manrelated this year, especially given the recent success ofAcross the Spider-Verseand the news that Dan Slott is back penning aSuperior Spider-Manarc.
ThoughPeter Parker and Miles Morales’ journey will be tonally and mechanically different from what is presented inAlan Wake 2, the third-person perspective and high production value are similarities each share, and though it’s not expected thatAlan Wake 2will demand dozens of hours to finish, three days surely can’t be enough time for fans to finish it and form an opinion beforeSpider-Man 2bursts in and requires their attention.
Gaming is getting more expensive, and in a year that has been so densely packed with quality some have to pick what they play on release with care. Insomniac will have released threeSpider-Mangames in five years by the timeSpider-Man 2launches, which means that it’s undoubtedly the safer choice compared toAlan Wake 2. Insomniac occupying October 20 will ensure that it reaches a wide audience, but it treads on the toes ofRemedy Entertainment, which will have more pressure to bring the quality it’s known for, as that will be the key decider of if people return to it in the months that follow.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2launches October 20, exclusively for PlayStation 5.
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