Summary
Right at the end of 2023, Insomniac Games suffered a major hack, one that sadly revealed the studio’s entire slate of upcoming projects long before it likely planned on announcing any of them. Ahalf-sequel centered around Venomwas one such project, and while Insomniac still hasn’t officially confirmed whether this project is in the works, it would make a lot of sense, with the foundations for the character and their distinct gameplay style already being laid inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2.
A heavily requested feature before launch, Insomniac allowed players to take control of Venom during one ofMarvel’s Spider-Man 2’s main story missions. In this mission, players rampage through Oscorp Tower as Venom, using a series of fairly simplistic combos to brutally murder those standing in their way. While this mission was a great taste of a Venom-focused game, Insomniac will need to do a lot more to make a standalone Venom title feel distinct from itsSpider-Manpredecessors. One great way to do this is to hone in on Venom’s unique qualities, strengths, and weaknesses, and that could lead to some innovative sound design.
Insomniac’s Venom Game Can Put a Big Emphasis on Sound Design
Sound Plays an Important Role in Venom’s Character
Most alien Symbiotes in the mainline Marvel comic universe are weak to the same set of elements. The two biggest weaknesses of any Symbiote are fire and sound, though, inInsomniac’sSpider-Manuniverse, they’re confirmed to only be weak to the latter. These weaknesses have been a consistent part of the Symbiote’s lore for decades, appearing throughout countless comics, movies, and TV shows, where sound is often the greatest downfall of Venom and the rest of his Symbiote siblings and extended family.
In the 2018Donny Cates and Ryan StegmanVenomcomic run, the origins of the Symbiote’s weaknesses are explained. In issue 4 of the 2018Venomrun, it’s confirmed that the Symbiotes originally began as a dark cosmic entity that was manipulated into life by the King in Black, Knull, who used the proto-Symbiote entity to forge his powerful Necrosword. While being formed into the Necrosword, the proto-Symbiote developed a deeply instilled fear of the forge’s fire, and the sound of a Celestial hammer raining down on it repeatedly, thus explaining the Symbiote’s two best-known weaknesses.
How Insomniac Could Use Sound Design in a Venom Game
Sound has always played a key role in any Venom-related project, and the same is true forMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, with its grand finale seeing Miles Morales throw sound canisters at Venom while Peter uses hisAnti-Venom abilitiesto drain his power. If Insomniac is developing a Venom-led game, then it’s going to need to highlight this weakness to sound, and there are plenty of ways the developer could get creative with it.
The most obvious implementation of sound inInsomniac’s Venom gamewould be to have enemies wield some kind of high-frequency weapon that damages the player. But rather than just represent that damage by depleting Venom’s on-screen health bar, Insomniac should let its sound design take center stage, delivering unique sounds that players can quickly associate with being hurt. This sound design should also play a key role in Venom’s free-roaming capabilities, with the player needing to avoid high-traffic areas, and that being primarily indicated via the game’s sound design.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Spider-Men Peter Parker and Miles Morales face the ultimate test of strength inside and outside the mask as they fight to save the city, each other and the ones they love, from the monstrous Venom and the dangerous new symbiote threat.Explore an expansive Marvel’s New York with faster web-swinging and the all-new Web Wings, quickly switching between Peter and Miles to experience different stories, epic new abilities and high-tech gear.Wield Peter’s symbiote abilities and Miles’ explosive bio-electric powers in battle against new and iconic Marvel Super Villains – including an original take on a symbiote-infused Venom, the ruthless Kraven the Hunter, the volatile Lizard, and more from the Marvel Rogues’ Gallery.
