Why Kraven's Faction in Spider-Man 2 Must Outshine Miles Morales' Roxxon

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales showed significant improvements compared to its predecessor, particularly in combat mechanics, traversal, and side activities. However, its short length received rightful criticism, and some fans still favor the story of the first game. Although the upcoming Marvel's Spider-Man 2 appears to build upon its predecessors' foundations with even more combat options, traversal techniques, and a larger New York City to explore, the game needs to avoid falling into the same pitfall as Miles Morales by balancing the number of threats introduced.

Kraven's Hunters Need to be More Distinct Than Spider-Man: Miles Morales' Roxxon

In Marvel's Spider-Man, players had to battle various factions, each with their distinct enemy units, weaponry, and skill sets. The standard non-powered enemies, such as Kingpin's thugs, Ryker's escaped convicts, Tombstone's gang, and Maggia enforcers, had enemy types with a range of weapons from simple melee to assault rifles, rocket launchers, and sometimes shields. On the other hand, defeating Mr. Negative's Inner Demons and Silver Sable's agents called for unique tactics. The Inner Demons necessitated close-quarters dodges and counterattacks, while Sable's agents required a more stealthy, long-range approach, as their forces could instantly incapacitate Spidey using energy bolts.

The focus of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales was on quality over quantity, as it centered on just three main enemy factions. While Kingpin's henchmen returned and the Tinkerer's Underground made their debut, Roxxon appeared with its technologically-advanced head. The Underground faction posed a significant challenge by requiring the player to utilize Miles' new abilities to defeat even their weakest enemy types. However, the Roxxon faction was lackluster in execution and felt like a re-skin of the Sable agents from Marvel's Spider-Man. Their static movements and frustrating arsenal did not encourage smart gameplay, unlike the Underground. To make Marvel's Spider-Man 2's enemy factions feel distinct from one another and encourage new tactics from the player, it's crucial to start with the game's current marketing focus: Kraven's hunters.

Kraven himself leads a gang of hunters, who have been given the task of finding and capturing the most significant threats in New York City. The Lizard is the primary target in the gameplay trailer. While the hunters were present in Marvel's Spider-Man 2's trailer, they didn't have much time to showcase their abilities. The focus was on Symbiote-suited Spider-Man's ruthless rampage through them.

However, the brief glimpses that fans have been treated to suggest that Kraven's hunters will have access to a unique arsenal of weapons and tools. Their arsenal includes vehicles such as helicopters, boats, and jeeps, as well as assault rifles and robot dogs. It is hoped that this is only the beginning of what Kraven's hunters can do in Marvel's Spider-Man 2. With any luck, they will have plenty of tricks up their sleeves to set them apart from other factions in the series.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is scheduled to release in Fall 2023 for PS5.