While the two games will likely be very different, God of War Ragnarok. The next installment in Insomniac's open-world superhero saga is set to star both Peter Parker and Miles Morales, with the wall-crawling duo facing off against villains like Venom and Kraven the Hunter. God of War Ragnarok mostly puts players in control of Kratos, but the demigod's son Atreus is playable for long stretches of the sequel too. With Marvel's Spider-Man 2 also set to feature multiple playable characters, Insomniac could take a key lesson from God of War Ragnarok.
Having multiple playable characters risks slowing down player progression, but GoW Ragnarok's Atreus sections handle this issue perfectly. While playing as Kratos with Atreus as a companion both characters earn experience separately based on their combat performance. Players can spend Atreus' XP on his own personal skill tree, unlocking moves that make him a more effective buddy. However, once players begin controlling Atreus most of these moves translate into brand-new attacks and combos that players can perform. This means that God of War Ragnarok players are never wasting experience, since purchased skills are a benefit whether Atreus is a playable character or mere companion.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Can Balance Peter & Miles
While it's unclear how the superhero sequel will balance its two friendly neighborhood heroes, Insomniac can treat Miles Morales in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 similar to how God of War Ragnarok treats Atreus. The young hero can start out as Peter Parker's companion, with players controlling the original Spidey while fighting alongside and even issuing commands to Miles. The younger Spidey can have his own set of upgrades, which players can unlock to make him a more effective partner during combat. Miles' Venom powers can evolve and expand, and Peter can come up with new ways for the two web-swingers to combine their strengths and cooperate more effectively.
The upgrades purchased for Miles in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 can then transfer over to actual usable abilities when players inevitably play as the younger Spider-Man. Control may switch to Miles during certain story missions, like how Atreus' sections work in God of War Ragnarok. However, manual character switching in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 could also let players swap back and forth between Peter and Miles on a whim like in Grand Theft Auto 5. This type of system could even flip the script on Peter and Miles' relationship, with players controlling Miles and issuing commands to Peter whose companion skills are based on previously purchased upgrades.
God of War Ragnarok found a clever way to handle progression Kratos and Atreus, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 should use a similar system for Peter and Miles. Companion heroes could be improved with new moves and behaviors, and these upgrades would then become usable abilities once players take control of the companion. This would let Miles continue getting stronger even when playing as Peter, or vice versa. Some fans fear that Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will play favorites with Peter and Miles, but having continuous progression could let both Spider-Men stay in the spotlight.
