New Spider-Man 2 footage showcases huge graphical leap from the first title

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is almost on shelves, and early access footage should be more than enough to get you excited. There’s a noticeable graphical leap from its predecessor released in 2018, which pales in comparison as each nook and cranny gets an update.

You’ll likely notice the speed at which the PlayStation 5 home screen transitions to the streets of New York City in Spider-Man 2 as it becomes available to play on Oct. 20. You’ll be thrust head-first into the game within 10 seconds, according to an Oct. 16 Digital Foundry video, leaving no time to prepare yourself for your incoming experience. 

Spider-Man’s new web wings seemingly fail to impact graphical performance negatively as you fly by past suburb after suburb. As the cherry on top, the densely-filled streets of NYC in Spider-Man 2 overshadow those in its predecessor in sheer scale.

Each building has seen a massive graphical update, with the new ability to see through countless windows on each building. The first iteration failed to showcase what was going on within most of the buildings unrelated to the story.

You’ll be able to dive deeper into your frame-rate settings with three different options to choose from. You’ll be able to choose Off, Smooth, or Uncapped for your VRR settings, and each one will have its own specific function.

Smooth will keep your frame rate consistent, while Uncapped will attempt to get the most out of your frame rate with spikes and drops more likely to occur, according to footage.

These settings come alongside a slew of new difficulty modifiers and audio frequencies. You’ll be able to tweak settings impacting things puzzles, chase enemies, and auto-aim in Spider-Man 2.

Whether this installment in the franchise can live up to the hype brought upon by Spider-Man’s success is yet to be seen.