Spider-Man 2's Fast Travel Almost Cut Due to Game-Breaking Issues

Insomniac Games' Spider-Man 2's quick travel feature was nearly scrapped due to the challenges it posed during its development. At GDC 2024, Insomniac's design director Josue Benavidez spoke about the issues that arose with the open-world design, particularly with players skipping content. Unlike Jedi: Fallen Order, which added fast travel later, Spider-Man 2 considered removing it altogether or delaying its availability until after game completion. Insomniac overcame these difficulties by reworking the game from the ground up, emphasizing discovery and engagement, and incorporating new systems to incentivize exploration. The revised fast travel system requires players to level up a district before unlocking rapid transport. Spider-Man 2 has been hugely successful, surpassing 10 million sales and receiving several Game of the Year nominations.

Spider-Man 2's fast travel system was nearly cut because it caused players to skip large parts of the game and not engage with the open-world content as intended by the developers. It revealed the map and allowed instant travel throughout, disrupting the explorative gameplay that Insomniac Games wanted to encourage.

Spider-Man 2 is a sequel to the highly acclaimed Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Developed by Insomniac Games and released exclusively for PlayStation 5, it continued the narrative of Peter Parker and Miles Morales as they navigate the complexities of their dual lives. Featuring a robust open-world New York City, the game is praised for its dynamic web-slinging mechanics, engaging story, and deep integration into the broader Marvel universe.