The complete Marvel's Spider-Man 2 guide to saving the world

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 guide
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Having a Marvel's Spider-Man 2 guide to hand will help to lead you through all of the major aspects in the game, from powers and puzzle solutions to side quests and secrets, plus lots more in between. There's plenty to discover as you explore the New York City setting of Spider-Man 2, so we've assembled a whole suite of guides to explain all of the important aspects, arranged here for ease of access so you can get straight to what's important for you. If you're looking for help to separate your spider bots from your symbiotes, then our Marvel's Spider-Man 2 guide covers all of the essential knowledge you could need.

Tips, basics, and getting started

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 swap between Miles and Peter

(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)

With Spider-Man 2 being such a big game, we don't blame anybody for feeling a bit overwhelmed - so let us help! We've got some good starter guides here to cover everything from combat advice, to where to invest your skill points, or even certain settings.

  • Tips and Tricks: There's some things we wish we'd known before going into Spider-Man 2, and had to find out ourselves a little later than we'd prefer. For those who want the best info going forward, our Spider-Man 2 tips will help you get started!
  • Performance or Fidelity? In a gorgeous, fast-paced game like this, should you go for frame rate or visuals - and how much of a difference even is there between them? Our page on the Spider-Man 2 Performance and Fidelity mode lays out the differences clearly, and the best choice between them.
  • Best skills and abilities to upgrade: With a wide range of skill trees and upgrade paths thrown at you, we figured it might help to lay out all the Spider-Man 2 skills, abilities, gadgets and suit tech we recommend you invest in ASAP.
  • How long to beat? Is Spider-Man 2 short and breezy, or is it as much of a time commitment as so many open world AAA games can be? Depends whether you're playing casually or a completionist - and either way, we've got the details on Spider-Man 2 length and time to beat here.
  • How to switch your Spider-Man? Now you can play as both Miles Morales and Peter Parker - how do you swap between them? What are the rules, and which of them is more powerful? Our guide on how to swap between Miles and Peter in Spider-Man 2 will lay it all out clearly and concisely for you.

Suits, collectibles, and secrets

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 suits and costumes

(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Once you've got a handle on the fundamentals of Spider-Man 2, it's time to start seeing what more you can find along the way. New York City is absolutely packed with things to find and reasons to find them - but with so much to go uncover, we don't blame anybody for needing a few directional pointers.

  • Suits and costumes: The big one - just what outfits and costumes can you equip for Miles and Peter, and how do you unlock them all? With literally dozens of variant suits for the two heroes, there's a massive wardrobe to pick from - and we've got every single one laid out, and how you get them, in our guide to all Spider-Man 2 suits.
  • Prowler Stashes: Uncle Aaron might have given up being the Prowler, but his tech is all across the city, and somebody needs to go find it. With puzzles and challenges cutting off each one, we've got all the Spider-Man 2 Prowler Stashes and how to get to them here.
  • Spider-Bots: Strange mechanical spiders are showing up around New York - and neither Peter or Miles have made these ones. Finding them all will help you get some answers to this mystery, so we've laid out all of the Spider-Man 2 Spider Bots locations at the attached page!
  • Tech Crates: If you want to pay for all of the various upgrades and unlocks you'll have available during the course of the story then you'll need a steady supply of Tech Parts and Rare Tech Parts, so we've got the lowdown on how to find Spider-Man 2 Tech Crates.
  • Photo Ops: One of the first side quests you're assigned is to take photos that represent the real New York, and we have a roundup of all the Spider-Man 2 Photo Ops to help you complete your album.
  • Mysterium challenges: Mysterio is back! And this time he's brought a whole bunch of illusory challenges and gauntlets, each one of which will require the utmost Spidey-skill to beat. Our Spider-Man 2 Mysteriums not only shows you where to find them all, but also how to get the gold medal in each one - and how to beat the villain behind it all.
  • EMF Experiments: The Emily-May Foundation is a humanitarian, scientific organisation designed to help the world, and they have all manner of projects that need doing. When you don't feel like breaking the jaws of carjackers, our Spider-Man 2 EMF Experiment locations page will help you find - and complete - every one. 
  • Sandman's Memories: Flint Marko has been going through some stuff - only when you're a giant man made out of a beach, that "stuff" is even more drastic. Sandman's memories have crystallized and hidden about NYC, and our Spider-Man 2 Marko's memory crystals page will help you find them all for him.
  • Easter Eggs and References: The other two Spider-Man games were full of deep cuts to Marvel Comics, the MCU and pop culture generally - and this one is no different. Though there's plenty more beyond these, we curated the ten best Spider-Man 2 Easter eggs and where you can find them here!
  • Voice cast: Wondering who is providing the lines for your favourite character, or trying to place a particular actor you recognize? We can help you out with a rundown of the Spider-Man 2 voice actors and cast.

Puzzles and mini-games

Marvel's Spider-Man 2

(Image credit: Sony)

There's a few new kinds of puzzle and mini-game in Spider-Man 2 and while you can skip most of them if you're so inclined, that's not always the case - plus sometimes you'd just rather have an explanation that puts a challenge into context than just miss out on it altogether! With that in mind, here's some help to solving some of the standout brain-teasers. 

  • Hybrid Calibration at the EMF: When first exploring the Emily-May Foundation, you'll help Harry and Dr. Foster splice some new plant DNA together - not the easiest process, so we've got the solutions to all three stages of the Spider-Man 2 Hybrid puzzle laid out below.
  • Fairground Rides: When you visit The Park at Coney Island during a mission, you'll have the option to try out a list of other attractions on offer, so here's the reward you can get for visiting all of the Spider-Man 2 Fairground rides to help you decide if it's worth the effort.
  • Curt Connors' Laboratory: Pursuing the Lizard to his lab, you'll come across a strange coloured set of buttons that you need to set up to get inside. If the answer hasn't come to you, we've got the Spider-Man 2 lizard password laid out here.

Trophies

Spider-Man 2 science trophy just let go phin miles

(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)

If you're working towards the Platinum in Spider-Man 2, then there are a few Trophies that you need to perform specific actions for in order to unlock. Here are some pointers to help you tick off their requirements, and add them to your virtual awards cabinet.

Late-Game (Spoilers)

Can you get the venom symbiote black suit back in Marvel's Spider-Man 2?

(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Here's a couple of guides to cover those further into the game or even at the end - but be warned - there might be some spoilers for those who aren't at least two thirds through, and even some discussion of the game's endings!

  • Return of the Symbiote: Everybody's seen that at some point in the game Peter will get the venom symbiote stuck to him, and we probably all know that it won't be a permanent change - but does that mean you can't get all those fun superpowers again once it's gone? Can you get the Spider-Man 2 Symbiote powers back? We'll explain how you can stay symbiotic in our attached guide above.
  • New Game Plus: The previous two Spider-Man games had NG+, allowing you to carry over your powers, skills and gadgets - but is there Spider-Man 2 new game plus? We'll lay out what completing the campaign gets you at our link provided!
  • Ending explained: The big, spoiler-riddled one, but if you've played the game to its ending and want a full explanation of everything you just experienced, our Spider-Man 2 ending page will lay out what it means for this game and future ones!
  • Post-Credits Scene: Even more spoilers here, but the Spider-Man 2 post credits scene is worth discussing on its own - because it may have major consequences for what's to come! Of course, only read if you've reached the ending!

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Joel Franey
Guides Writer

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.

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