When Spider-Man 2 arrived on PS5 last year, many of us hoped that legendary Marvel villain Venom would be playable. That wish came true, albeit briefly, as Venom remained locked to certain story missions – until now. The new Spider-Man 2 update boasts plenty of fresh features, but including Insomniac Games’ debug mode wasn’t meant to be part of it. So, from now until it is inevitably patched, you can play as Venom to your heart’s content.
There’s no denying that Spider-Man 2 is one of the best PS5 games around, but the game’s post-launch content has been slow out the blocks. Insomniac’s sprawling open world game still doesn’t have any new story DLC, but its most recent update finally delivers new suits and New Game Plus. However, this update (unintentionally) offers a lot more than that, as players are currently able to access the game’s debug mode. This is a tool that allows Insomniac Games to test different aspects of the game, letting developers load anything they please in an instant.
As a result, it’s allowing players to play unrestrictedly as Venom in the PS5 exclusive. We’ve jumped into the game ourselves to confirm this, and have had a blast crashing around New York as the villainous symbiote.
By loading up the game and pressing the touchpad and the pause button together, you’ll be taken to the map screen, with an overlay of multiple options to tweak. There’s an overwhelming amount of stuff to navigate, like cut content that we’ve spotted featuring Rhino, Vulture, and future DLC missions that aren’t fully implemented yet. You can even activate a God Mode.
However, we must warn you this could have bad consequences for your save: “Using this menu could corrupt your saves and trophy progress”, Insomniac says. In the meantime, a hotfix is on the way and will likely arrive imminently. As Venom was never meant to be a playable character outside his missions, you won’t be able to web-swing or move like Peter and Miles. You can still use his special abilities and jump around, but anything more advanced is out of the question.
It makes us long for the days of Ultimate Spider-Man 2 on PS2, which let players control both Peter and Venom in a cel-shaded version of the Spidey universe. It is one of the best games in Spider-Man’s gaming history, but we understand why Venom isn’t usable in Insomniac’s iteration. Unlike Ultimate Spider-Man, the acclaimed PS5 title isn’t geared up for eating civilians, causing terror, and being a menace.
In related gaming news, PS5 exclusive Helldivers 2 is set to introduce some shocking weaponry, and MultiVersus’ eventual return needs to add this legendary character.