A recent update for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, version 1.002, accidentally included a hidden debug menu. We reported on this and explained a bit more, but Digital Foundry went in and saw everything it had to offer. We’ll go over the coolest parts below, but the 12-minute video has a lot of spoilers and is heavy on technical stuff over what we’d consider to be interesting.
Before we go any further, like I said in the original report, do not mess with the debug menu if you don’t understand how to use it. This menu is meant for developers during the game’s creation. It provides insights into Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s inner workings, making people want to mess with it. However, it could screw up your game file, so we recommend downloading the hotfix that removed it.
Anyway, Digital Foundry released a video that explored everything the debug menu had to offer. The debug menu included detailed performance analysis tools such as frame time graphs, processor load information, and real-time resolution details. These tools let developers see how the game adjusts resolution to meet frame rate targets across different graphical modes (Fidelity, Performance, Fidelity 120Hz).
That sounds boring, but the readouts differed from the initial launch report. Digital Foundry said that Insomniac may have adjusted resolution targets in later updates.
Beyond analyzing performance, the debug menu revealed hidden content. This was the cool part, and I recommend skipping to it if you watch the video below (Timestamp 5:47). Digital Foundry found access to areas and missions that didn’t make it into the final game. One of these was a mission called “Meteor,” which seemed to be an early version of a cutscene in the final game. The mission was quite basic, with no enemies and lacking proper environmental details. It seems like it was scrapped early in development.
More unfinished areas and outside levels included venturing outside the playable world geometry and even exploring rooms used to generate the game’s ray-traced window reflections.
One of the exciting discoveries was the chance to play Venom in different parts of the game, even in the open world. Normally, Venom can only be played in short, scripted scenes. By using the debug menu and choosing specific checkpoints, Digital Foundry was able to take control of Venom and use his special moves to wander the world. However, the game didn’t fully support his movement on the city’s rooftops because you can’t webswing or anything as venom.
That part was my favorite, and I really hope we can play Venom in a full-fledged game. He looks huge and powerful.
The debug menu also hinted at upcoming content. I won’t spoil any of this, but it sounds like much more is coming to the game. References were found for “i34,” which is likely related to the next Spider-Man sequel, and a section for “Beetle,” which could potentially be DLC. There is more on the video, but I must warn you that it is spoiler territory. Even still, neither of these sections seemed to be functional in the current debug menu build.
While the debug menu was not meant to be included in the update, it’s still cool to see. The full video is above for anyone interested, but I have covered the most interesting parts (aside from spoilers).
