Spider-Man 2 Swings Onto Steam With Forgiving PC Specs

Sony's Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has officially swung onto PC platforms today, January 30th, marking a significant moment for fans eagerly awaiting its arrival. After months of anticipation, we finally have a clear picture of how this highly-anticipated port will perform across various PC hardware setups.

On the PlayStation Blog, developer Nixxes Software outlined the extensive PC features incorporated into the port, which has been meticulously crafted to optimize performance and visual fidelity across a wide array of hardware configurations. Alongside a new trailer, it was revealed that Spider-Man 2 on PC eliminates the mandatory PSN requirement, offering players freedom and flexibility. Additionally, the port introduces advanced raytracing capabilities, including DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction.

"In Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on PC with ray reconstruction enabled, we see more detailed ray-traced reflections and better-defined ray-traced shadows, especially when viewing raytracing effects at steep angles," explained Menno Bil, a graphics programmer at Nixxes. "We also see improvements in the ray-traced interiors and less ghosting and noise in the ray-traced ambient occlusion."

The PC version also supports DLSS 3 and FSR 3.1 Upscaling and Frame generation technologies, with Intel's XeSS upscaler also included. While DLSS 4's Multi Frame Generation isn't supported natively, users can leverage the Nvidia app to enhance DLSS 3's Frame Generation image quality with a newer transformer model.

For those with wider screens, the game offers ultrawide support up to an impressive 48:9 aspect ratio, ensuring that all cinematics are viewable up to 32:9.

The system requirements are thoughtfully categorized into ray-traced and non-ray-traced configurations. Players not interested in ray-traced effects can enjoy the game at 720p and 30 FPS with relatively modest hardware, such as an Nvidia GTX 1650, Intel Core i3 8100, and 16 GB of RAM.

For those with high-end rigs, the game can be pushed to 4K at 60 FPS with "Ray Tracing Ultimate" settings, requiring an RTX 4090, AMD Ryzen 7800X3D, and 32 GB of RAM.

Regarding the Steam Deck, while it's technically possible to run Spider-Man 2 due to its high RAM and modern GPU requirements, don't expect official Steam Deck verification. Previous titles like Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which were PS4 ports, were more adaptable to lower-end hardware, unlike the PS5-exclusive Spider-Man 2.

The community has responded positively to the detailed hardware requirements. A user on Reddit commented, "This must be the best hardware requirements sheet I’ve seen so far." Another user, ItsMeIcebear4, added, "Honestly, great job. If performance lives up to this, it'll be very well received."