The Amazing Spider-Man 2 does not soar anywhere near as high as its titular hero. Critics are all saying its gameplay is lacking, tedious and just not worth the price of admission
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Review Summary
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Media
Critic Reviews for The Amazing Spider-Man 2
It's super-fun to swing around New York City in The Amazing Spider-Man 2! Everything else, on the other hand...
Maybe we've simply done everything there is to do with Spider-Man in a video game and all that's left is diminishing returns. And that kills me. It really does. Even in the worst of recent Spidey games there was always that fragment - that little sputtering flame of childlike excitement - that could kick in once you swan-dived off a skyscraper, clad in iconic red and blue. It's gone. Sullied by lacklustre gameplay and trampled by technical shoddiness, this time Spidey hasn't been done in by the Sinister Six, but reduced to a Terrible Two.
After some of the forward progress made by Beenox themselves, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 feels like a step backwards for the franchise and for the viability of open-world superhero games in general. It's not really a game that's broken, and at times, it's quite beautiful, but it's also far too happy with itself being so astoundingly average. Those who absolutely need their web-swinging fix may find themselves with just enough web-fluid to see it through. But for everyone else, they may find themselves walking away from a Spidey-suit-filled trashcan, whispering, "I'm Spider-Man… no more."
Not necessarily a bad superhero game, just one we've seen countless times before. The web-swinging, goon-bashing, crime-fighting fundamentals simply aren't fun.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 comes in a next-gen wrapper, but feels like a last-gen experience. There's plenty of fun to be had thanks to some fun battles, an entertaining story, and scads of collectibles. Just be prepared for an experience that looks and feels extremely familiar.
Swing between the skyscrapers of New York, stop petty crimes, punch the Green Goblin in the face – you've already played this game
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is as fun as it is flawed, capturing the snarky joy of the webbed crusader amid the repetition of combat and tedious side quests.
There have been many worse Spider-Man games than this. But I can't recall one that's swung so conceptually close to greatness only to let poor execution drag it back to Earth.