There are few better video game critics than Masahiro Sakurai, primarily because he’s made some of the industry’s greatest ever hits. And after a weekend of hardcore gaming, the Super Smash Bros maker has delivered his verdict on Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: it’s a masterpiece. The veteran shared his feedback on Twitter, adding that he’d recommend the PS5 exclusive to anyone.
What’s most impressive here is that Sakurai also mentioned Super Mario Wonder in his message, and claims he beat both brand new releases this weekend. We’re going to assume he didn’t sleep on Saturday and Sunday, because it must have taken practically all of his time to get through the two titles in two days.
“It's a problem when the release dates of big titles you should play overlap,” he admitted. “The new games are amazing, and I'm grateful to [the developers] for making them.” High praise, then, from a bona fide industry icon. Do you agree with Sakurai’s comments on these latest releases – and did you manage to beat them both this weekend as well?
[source twitter.com]
Comments 66
High praise indeed. Only played Mario this weekend, but it was indeed utterly wonderous.
Very rare of him to do that
I finished it on Sunday. Took me two days to do it, along with the bulk of the side content, I think I pretty did everything for Peter, and I was working on Miles, but I really didn't like the couple Vision's Academy missions I did, so I put that on the back burner for things I did like.
It's a spectacular game. I wasn't hyped for it before it released, but hhhhhhhooooooo maaaan!... There were some hype af moments in the game. I may not always be hyped for every game Insomniac puts out, but I do end up buying and loving most of them.
I don't think I've ever beaten two games in a single weekend before. So I guess I'm gonna hang my gamer hat up. You win again Sakurai-san.
i encourage him to keep doing what hes doing playing games and relaxing and all, but take it a step further by stepping down entirely from the smash bros series and passing the torch please.
But it's only an 8/10 according to Push Square.... I'm sorry 😁
@Powerplay94 same here. I'm enjoying exploring New York . Details like people playing Tennis and Basketball matches is incredible.
@Darth_Stofi not sure if serious.
Haven't played Spider-Man 2 yet so I can't comment on that but Mario Wonder has been excellent so far, although Ive failed at every 4 star challenge so far.
@Grimwood generic in what sense? If you’re talking about about “let me copy my last homework” sense, then Tears of the Kingdom should be brought up as well.
@Darth_Stofi I'm only about half way through. So far a couple of side characters have been gay or bi. Not sure that is "so much LGBTQ propaganda". Gay and bi people exist y'know?
As for protagonists being perfect. Wondering what do you mean? One of the main themes seems to be how they AREN'T perfect, they are both sacrificing things in their life to be a superhero and the consequences of that.
It really is. I knew I would to enjoy it for sure, but it exceeded my expectations in every way. Easily my GOTY
I can't say I disagree with him. Spider-Man 2 is basically the perfect super hero simulator. I would even go as far as saying I think it's the best 1st party Playstation exclusive the PS5 has had so far.
Sure there are a couple issues here and there but overall the game is indeed a masterpiece in terms of achieving what it's going for.
This might be an unpopular opinion these days but I'm one of those people who loves the idea of cinematic universes... but I would love this universe expanded.
Obviously I know we're getting the Wolverine game set in the same universe but I would lovvvveee for them to do a Daredevil game.
Splitting the game between superhero stuff and lawyering/investigating would be interesting and it could have Jessica Jones and Luke Cage cameos.
Daredevil has been my favourite Marvel hero since I was a little kid and I have a whole stack of the comics so I'm obviously biased.
@Dange an 8 and the word only doesn't make sense
@Korgon Better than the Arkham games? I feel like Asylum was such a groundbreaking step forward for comic-book games, then Arkham City just blew me away. I actually got the plat for Spiderman, so I'm sure I'd enjoy the sequel, but I feel I always have to tip my hat to Batman for upping the ante.
Absolutely love all three of the Spider man games, Spider man 2 is easily my favourite of the three already and only five hours in so far. Highly recommend playing the Spider man games in order though if someone hasn’t played the other two before playing Spider-Man 2
@J2theEzzo
Batman isn't a "super" hero though so I kind of put them in different categories. If we are talking comic book adaptations in general I'd go with Arkham City as my favorite still. As far as actually feeling like someone with super powers though Spider-Man 2 is at the top with maybe Infamous 2 also in the conversation.
@Comrade_Ruairi I'd love that, too, though I'm not sure if it'd find an audience, to be honest.
I have one mission left (maybe 2?) in SM2 and my impression (so far) is that I preferred the story in the first game, despite being a huge Venom fan. This just isn't "my" Venom at all, but I suppose that was the intention. That and some other things have really solidified the "alternate universe" aspect of the series and it feels like less of a "true" Spider-Man game because of it. But that's just me and is of course entirely subjective. That being said, the gameplay is pretty much perfect and the side quests are a lot better and more fleshed out. I still really love the game but I think the first story hit me harder. Maybe that will change as I wrap this one up.
@Dange The 8 for me is fair enough, as long as one of the main arguments of the review is not to praise the game for being better than the predecessors in every aspect, and still give a lower score, that's bonkers
I was only joking.
@PCPS4XB an 8 and masterpiece don't make sense either. Granted it wasn't Push Square that said it's a masterpiece but I wasn't being serious.
Enjoying it so far. Just finished the bit on Coney Island last night and have been playing for about 6 hours. I will savour the game for a few weeks as I've plenty other stuff to do!
Spider-Man 2 has been incredible so I played it for hours and hours but so far I'm not fully feeling Mario Wonder yet and I find I can only play it in small amounts. Had the same problem with Yoshi's Woolly World too.
Haven't gotten far into it yet but I think I'm past 2D mario games now. Too many of those games feel too samely, just diffeent character. My mind might change as I play more but I've moved on from the 2D games and I prefer Mario as 3D. Sonic is one of those games I can take as both, but favour as 3D. For 2D Mario, Super Mario World is unbeatable!
@tiago_muller I think it's possible to say it does everything a little better but score it lower. 2 reasons for that
1) Being novel and fresh is important. Doing something for the 3rd time is not as thrilling as the first, even if it's refined here.
2) Time has moved on. Games have moved on. We expect more.
That's not to say I would give it an 8. I'm about half way through and it's a solid 9 to me so far. But I don't think slightly improving most areas, while having little major innovation, necessarily deserves a better score than the original.
Not sure if I would call it that yet, I've lost my eyeballs quite a few times so far on the side quests from rolling them too much up to now.
When did GMO crops suddenly become a fantastic idea, because they really, absolutely 100% are not.
its a great game but by no means a masterpiece the boring side missions haven't changed or evolved in 3 games now!
I agree 🕷 spiderman 2 is a masterpiece.one of the greatest games ever made.word up son
He's not wrong
My favorite Insomniac Spider-man game yet. It's in my top 3 games this year. Games good!
@Darth_Stofi Even without having played it I’m willing to bet large amounts of cold hard cash this isn’t even remotely true.
I played for a couple of hours today and it's great so far, combat has a few fresh moves and the slingshot from the buildings is great fun. The RT reflections are also very impressive for a console game (in its 30fps mode) and despite me not really being a huge Spider-Man fan in general, Insomniac have always pulled me in with their takes on the characters.
I'm far too early to give it a score but I'm loving it so far
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@HUMPERDOO you just lost a bet in that case
I commented on a Spider-Man 2 article yesterday saying I was somewhat lukewarm on the game - but my opinion is changing. The game is absolutely amazing. My reasoning for it being “mid” was primarily me avoiding the main story and simply traversing, taking pictures, and stopping crimes. I was trying to do everything I possibly could before tackling the main story, and I think that’s the wrong approach.
Once I started doing main missions, unlocking new gadgets, things began opening up a lot more, especially with how you tackle combat. Seriously, the web line is an amazing addition to the game. I also like how petty crimes that appear on the map get increasingly more difficult once you progress further into the game.
I can’t wait to see where the story goes. Spider-Man 2 is one of the best superhero games ever made. Insomniac has hit another home run.
@themightyant
What I can't believe is that @Darth_Stofi has 17 likes on this post and people who agree with them. It is literally hate speech and should be removed anyway. There is no such thing as LGBTQ "propaganda", it is a myth created by bigots in order to oppress people they don't like.
However, I did read some stuff on freedom of expression in the UK (I'm from Canada) and there really aren't any provisions that account for hate speech against anything but Christianity. You can be a bigot to any group you like in the UK but say anything against the Christian church and you are in big trouble boyo.
What a backward world we live in right now...
I have a lot of respect for Sakurai since he isn't just a creator, but also a player like everyone else. He isn't stuck inside of a bubble where he only plays certain games, he has a broad horizon.
More people should be like that.
@Carck
It's not that they think differently than me it's that their different thinking hurts people. It is literally how the Nazis were in WWII. Why is the concept of what bigotry is so hard for people to understand?
@GreatKwyjibo
Those are a couple of disgusting stories.
However we have our own shameful issues here in Canada as well
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/parental-rights-movement-in-canada-1.6976230
https://xtramagazine.com/power/politics/parental-rights-control-not-personal-freedoms-257212
Its all disgusting
@gpimlott Only if the definition of propaganda was recently amended to “acknowledging something that exists in this world”. I’ll go out on a limb, though, and say that it hasn’t.
@GreatKwyjibo
I'm from the very small bright spot in western Canada that just elected to a majority government the first indigenous provincial premier. He has also made Indigenous, LGBTQ, and other BIPOC people part of his cabinet.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/2023-manitoba-election-results-1.6985468
Also, is it crazy that our publicly funded media outlet CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), is the most left-leaning news in Canada?
@GreatKwyjibo
Actually calling them left-leaning because they support basic human rights for all people is not 100% correct. CBC reports injustice and is not swayed by the Church or State. At least that's the way I see it. Media is a double-edged sword most of the time anyway.
Not sure all this political discussion makes a whole lot of sense in a positive spiderman newspiece
@MikeOrator As a fellow Canadian, I agree with this. We’re becoming as bad as the USA. Riddled with bigotry and conspiracy theories. The ridiculous outrage over Spider Man 2 is further proof. Being a right winger must be exhausting, looking for the latest outrage/boycott to complain about
@Korgon to think I forgot about Infamous... 1 and 2 (never got round to the sequel or spin off) were great games, with their own very distinctive feeling to them.
@MikeOrator While I agree "There is no such thing as LGBTQ propaganda" and strongly disagree with @Darth_Stofi here I personally DON'T agree that silencing views like this is the best solution. It just makes beliefs like this more ingrained and pushes them behind the scenes. I would much prefer to talk openly, accept that we all come from different places with different views and are all on a different timescale. It's not one size fits all globally.
I genuinely believe it will take longer for the world to come around if all we do is tell people they are wrong. It gets their heckles up and from there it's almost impossible to change anyone's mindset.
Not that it matters, his post has been removed anyway, not surprising as it always broke site rules.
@MikeOrator As for the UK, having lived here most of my life, I don't even recognise that strange facsimile you posted about "freedom of expression. The Church is one of the most consistently ridiculed things here in the UK, a slowly dying cult. But that's just my opinion, many may call that propaganda
TLDR: Don't believe everything you read, difference between what may on paper seem true and actual reality.
Of course they are masterpieces, they're not made by Xbox Studios.
Jokes aside, or not given the sorry state of Xbox games, both games did the basic homework and build upon successful past experiences, the chances of them failing were slim to none at all.
@themightyant
Sorry, you do probably understand the boots-on-the-ground aspect of what you experience in the UK about these issues and the rules surounding them. I was only looking at a Wikipedia article that I got from a Google search
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_the_United_Kingdom
I find it interesting that they call them Censorship laws and not Free Speech laws. It was in the section lower down the page called Blasphemy Law that I drew my conclusions. Again I did not study, investigate, or independently research any of this so if the stuff I read is wrong or not exactly accurate then I will be the first to admit when I have the incorrect info. I may have even misunderstood the article
Anyway YAY SPIDERMAN people think the game is good. PLAYSTATION FOR THE WIN!!!
@MikeOrator A survey from last year found that only 6% of adults attend church here in the UK. We love to take the p#*s out of religions, I'm fascinated by theology but you won't catch me in a church except to admire the architecture.
Completed both in a weekend??? Wow! Sakurai San plays games the way he programmes games, in a constant state of crunch and sleepless nights!
IfPushSquare went to the decimal on the review scores, do you think Spider-Man would be higher than an 8.0? You think it would make 8.5?
@danzoEX And? Tears of the Kingdom introduced more new mechanics than Spiderman 2 did.
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I completed the story tonight. Loved it. It's atleast a 9/10 for me! I'm only about 60% through though but I've really enjoyed it so I'll be steadily mopping up all the side content over the next week or so and probably go for 100% as I'm still having fun. Then I think I'll leave it parked until new gane+ and DLC. It's rare I 100% or want to replay through games so must be top notch!
@Bhai cap 🧢
Damn that man plays hard jeez when did he sleep 😴 🤔
A brief follow up on Spider-Man 2 (if anyone cares). I liked the ending. It hit the emotional notes I was looking for in a Spider-Man game… but I still really didn’t like what they did with Venom. It was a huge whiff for me in an otherwise excellent story. I liked some elements they brought in from recent depictions of the character, but they didn’t pay off other than for visuals and he really was just Venom in name only to me, so that was pretty disappointing.
But that’s just one negative mark on an otherwise excellent experience and I’m really just more annoyed by it because I’m as big of a Venom fan as I am. I’m sure other people’s mileage will vary greatly. I’ve already seen other people saying it’s the best depiction of the character ever, so what do I know?
Anyway, it’s still a great game and if you love Spider-Man, you should play it.
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@Sequel I'm gonna jump on Wonder as soon as I get the Platinum in spiderman 2. Can't wait to check it out, I've heard great things.
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@HUMPERDOO ah, so you just dont know how some people use propaganda.
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