Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 launched on PS5 in 2023, bringing together Peter Parker and Miles Morales’ versions of Spider-Man in an epic adventure. Facing off against the likes of Kraven and Venom while adapting the iconic black suit storyline, Insomniac delivered a fantastic sequel that, while not perfect, was full of heart and adrenaline.
As part of PlayStation’s ongoing PC initiative, Nixxes and PlayStation dropped Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on PC, which means it’s also available on Steam Deck. Nixxes handled the PC ports of both Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, with both ports being well optimized across PC and Steam Deck. Both ports were able to hit a relatively consistent 45fps on low settings. Given how much is going on at any time, between web-swinging, combat, and action set pieces, the fact that they ran as well as they did on handheld was a pleasant surprise.
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Does Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 run on Steam Deck?
Nixxes also brings Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 to PC and Steam Deck, but do they live up to the precedent set? The answer is tricky. Yes, the game is entirely playable on Steam Deck, but that comes with concessions. After multiple patches and hotfixes in its debut weekend, the game runs at a relatively solid 30fps on low settings. There are frame drops into the mid-20s, specifically when diving during web-swinging in the city. Dropping the graphics to ultra-low does help even out the frame rate, though at a cost to the visuals.
Turning on frame generation with FSR 3.1, the game sits comfortably between 50 and 60fps on ultra-low and between 45 and 55fps on low. The sweet spot seems to be on low settings, as ultra-low can make the visuals look really muddy and blurred. It’s most noticeable whenever there’s any text on screen. For example, a scene where Miles looks at his computer is entirely unreadable. Thankfully, his comments about what he’s looking at give enough context for what’s going on. There isn’t any significant input lag or crashes, either.
Certain sequences really push the Deck to its limits. During a chase scene with Black Cat, the frame rate significantly dips and even freezes the screen entirely for about a second. It quickly continues and doesn’t crash, which, again, is impressive. However, these are issues. They were never significant or lengthy enough to ruin the experience, but they are present.
Now, that being said, these are pretty significant limitations on the experience. For players who are looking for a rock-solid frame rate alongside crisp visuals, the Steam Deck is not the place to play Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. For those players who can live with the concessions, the game is still a blast on Deck. Nixxes has already pushed multiple patches and will hopefully bring the game up to better standards, but even now, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is playable.
This is still a PS5 console exclusive running on almost three-year-old handheld hardware, so tempering expectations is important. Mileage may vary, but for those who can look past the visual decreases and live with frame gen, it’s a ton of fun.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is available now on PS5 and PC.
