Marvel's Spider-Man 2 accessibility features

Feature check at a glance

Of the ten features we track, the official information for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 documents 10 in full and 0 in part.

• SubtitlesYes
• Subtitle size optionsYes
• Colour-blind modesYes
• Full control remappingYes
• Hold-to-toggle optionsYes
• Difficulty and assist optionsYes
• Audio cues for navigationYes
• Text-to-speech or menu narrationYes
• Motion and camera-shake reductionYes
• High-contrast modeYes

Notes on each feature

• Subtitles: Subtitles plus separate captions for off-screen sounds and music (captions added December 2023).
• Subtitle size options: Captions have their own size, colour, background opacity and background colour.
• Colour-blind modes: Tagged 'Colour Alternatives' by PlayStation; specific filter names not itemised in the sources.
• Full control remapping: Tagged Controller Remapping (Advanced); D-pad Shortcuts for common assists.
• Hold-to-toggle options: Repeated button presses can become holds; tagged 'Playable without Button Holds'.
• Difficulty and assist options: Challenge Level Modifiers, Chase Assist, QTE Autocomplete and game speed at 70%, 50% or 30%.
• Audio cues for navigation: Tagged 'Visual Cue Alternatives'; audio descriptions for cinematics and QTEs added after launch.
• Text-to-speech or menu narration: Screen reader for menus, tutorials and Touch Pad features, added December 2023.
• Motion and camera-shake reduction: Tagged 'Visual Comfort (Advanced)' by PlayStation; individual sliders not itemised in the sources.
• High-contrast mode: High contrast mode with customisable colours for player, allies and NPCs.

Slowing New York down: game speed and Chase Assist

Game speed can be set to 70%, 50% or 30% of real time, and can be assigned to a Shortcut on the left or right of the D-pad so you can slow a fight or chase only when you need to. Chase Assist, first introduced in earlier Insomniac games because some players could not finish chase sequences, reduces the target's speed, increases the time you have before it escapes and attaches automatically when in range.

Challenge Level Modifiers let you set enemy health, enemy damage and stealth awareness separately. QTE Autocomplete removes the need to hit quick-time prompts, and repeated button presses can be changed from taps to holds. The PlayStation Store also tags the game as playable without button holds, rapid presses or simultaneous presses.

Web-Shooter Burst, another returning option, reduces the number of presses needed to fire webs. Custom control profiles let you save a set-up, which is useful when more than one person plays on the same console and needs different settings. Because Shortcuts can hold up to two assists on the D-pad, choose the two the player reaches for most, typically game speed and one other, and leave the rest switched on permanently in the menu.

Screen reader, audio description and captions from the December update

Three significant additions arrived after launch at no extra cost. A screen reader narrates tutorials, menus and Touch Pad features, with adjustable repeat delay, and a Status Shortcut reads HUD information on demand. Audio descriptions, produced with Descriptive Video Works, describe cinematics and quick-time events in English, French, German, Italian, Castilian Spanish, Latin American Spanish and Japanese.

Captions, separate from subtitles, cover off-screen and environmental sound effects and music. They have their own size, colour, background opacity and background colour, which is a good fit for the settings described in our hearing access guide. If your copy has not updated, these features may be missing until it does.

High contrast and audio frequency controls

A high contrast mode lets low-vision players pick distinct colours for Spider-Man, allies and other characters so they stand out from the city. PlayStation also tags Clear Text, Colour Alternatives and Visual Comfort (Advanced), though the official pages we checked do not itemise each of those sliders.

An unusual option is the set of audio frequency controls. A high-frequency cutoff, low-frequency cutoff and notch filter let players remove sounds they find uncomfortable, which Insomniac designed with sensory sensitivity in mind. The game supports the PlayStation Access controller alongside a DualSense; see our Access controller guide for how pairing two controllers works.

Putting Spider-Man 2's options together for different players

Because the game has so many assists, it can help to think in terms of goals. For a player with limited hand stamina, start with the Shortcuts: putting game speed and other assists on the D-pad means they can be switched on only during demanding moments. Repeated presses can be changed to holds, and QTE Autocomplete removes the most time-pressured inputs.

For a blind or low-vision player, the December 2023 update is essential: make sure the game is fully updated, then turn on the screen reader, the Status Shortcut and audio descriptions. High contrast mode can be layered on top for players with some useful vision.

For a Deaf or hard-of-hearing player, switch on both subtitles and captions; captions are the part that describes off-screen sounds and music. For a player with sensory sensitivities, try the high-frequency and low-frequency cutoffs before reducing overall volume.

PlayStation tags the game as having Skippable Puzzles, Simplified Quick Time Events, Control Reminders, Game Pausing and Manual Saving. The PEGI 16 rating should be considered alongside these settings when choosing for a younger player.

In our editorial view, the most common mistake is turning on too many assists at once and then not knowing which one helped. Start with the single change that removes the biggest barrier, play a mission, then add the next.