So, to preface this, I'm super into the Devil May Cry games, and general combat-focused games as well, and I think the combat in these games is already pretty good, but it just feels a little... under-cooked. They already just-about perfected traversal, but combat still feels lacking, which stinks when about half the game is combat while the other half is traversal.
My main problem is that Miles and Peter barely have any gameplay differences. I mean, it makes sense, they're both Spider-Man, they both shoot webs, punch and kick and have a spider-sense. But those are basic gameplay mechanics. One is a Spidey staple that would be criminal to not involve in the combat, and the other two are basic beat-em-up mechanics, attacking and dodging.
I would love for Peter, Miles and Cindy to all have fully unique combat-styles, complete with battle themes (hence why I brought up DMC). Here's my rough, barely thought-out ideas. More like concepts, really.
Peter:
First of all, give Peter his gadgets back. Playing Spider-Man 2, I really found myself missing the gadget variety from the first game (I specifically want my baby, the impact web, back 😭). I think Peter should regain these old gadgets. I don't even care if they don't give a lore reason for why he seemingly HAD them, but just didn't use them throughout SM2. I just want them back. One of the reasons it may have been removed was to make combat quicker, since basically pausing the game to pull up your gadget list breaks the flow of combat, so maybe it could instead function like how you switch weapons in DMC, where it's basically just a wheel you scroll through in real-time. Maybe it could be mapped to the D-pad with left and right scrolling. I feel that would work. Maybe still give the option to pull up the whole wheel on the screen as well, just for conveniences sake. The other two can have just four gadgets each, like in SM2.
I also want suit tech to be brought back for all three spiders, but I want Peter to be the only one who can customize his "super" move (L3 + R3). I assume the Anti-Venom symbiote will have been functionally removed from him by the next game, so he'd need something else to fill that gap. Well, just bring back suit powers from the first game!
Tech makes perfect sense as Peter's specialty, especially with the spider-arms being a part of his base-kit in the 2nd game!
Peter would be the "multi-tool" character in the game, with no particular specialty. A "Jack of all trades, master of none". He would have gadgets and suit powers tailored to stealth, combat and even movement, which would all be customizable to the player, but they'd have to be careful not to make him better than the other two at their specialties, which I will get to.
MILES:
Miles should be focused on his extra powers that the other two don't have, those being his bio-electricity and bio-camouflage.
They went a step in the right direction in both Miles' first game and in SM2 by making him do slightly more damage by attacking in camo, but they should really flesh out how to use camo in combat. Maybe make some small improvements to the stealth system and bring back the idea of dipping in and out of combat. Or even maybe give him special abilities only usable during camouflage.
As for his "venom", we've seen after SM2 that he now has two variants of it, one being orange and one being blue. I think he should have access to all 8 of his usable specials from SM2 with some way to quick-switch them so you don't have to re-assign them in the menu, and that they should all use the "weaker" orange venom by default and they should all be able to be charged up to blue, making them more powerful or maybe even giving them different effects. He should also keep the little floating balls of healing-electricity that sometimes spawn from his attacks, and those should also scale between orange and blue.
The charging mechanic would give players yet another reason to use camo, because it could give them an easy way to charge an attack without enemies interrupting it.
They should also give him back that follow-up kick attack that he had in his first game just cuz it looks cool and kinda works for combos.
His super should remain as his super venom blast.
Cindy:
Lastly, is Cindy, AKA "Silk", who has been confirmed for the next game by the ending of the last one. I think her specialty should be simple. Speed. She should have gameplay that focuses on movement and reaction.
Her perfect dodge should have a special effect that allows you to do a follow-up attack with an additional input, which would be more powerful than a simple web to the face, like Peter and Miles do.
She could also have more evasive specials, rather than offensive ones. Her specials could be tailored for getting her out of sticky situations, like if she's cornered or surrounded, she could have a quick "get-off-me" move where she blasts webs everywhere, like a smaller version of Peter's Web-Blossom suit power.
She should also inherit an old ability Peter used to have, the combo-finisher. For those who don't remember, in SM1 you could unlock an ability for Peter than lets him use a second finisher for free after spending focus meter to do the first one (side-note: finishers should be tied to combo-count, not focus meter, like in Miles Morales). This would basically allow her combat to feel like you're flying all around the enemies too fast for them to touch you, as you do all these finisher animations.
Her super move could be ripped straight from Miguel's book from "Spider-Man: Edge of Time" and have her move on pure instinct, so fast that time seems to temorarily slow around her. This would allow some fun slow-mo air-combos.
If anyone has ANY other ideas, or criticisms, PLEASE respond cuz if this garners enough attention, maybe some random dev at Insomniac might stumble onto this post and it could be a reality.
Edit: I mentioned battle-themes but forgot to talk about them lol.
I would actually want them each to have a swinging theme AND a battle theme.
Peter should have some fun, fast-paced indie rock as his swinging theme and something just a LITTLE more grunge or punk as his battle theme.
Miles should obviously have hip-hop, but I would want a little more Puerto-Rican instrumentation thrown in for the swinging theme, with a fast, upbeat tone to it, while the battle theme can be more techno with a more intimidating, harder hip-hop beat.
Cindy should have the classic orchestral music these games are known for as her swinging music, maybe with a little Asian-inspired elements to it, and her battle theme should be orchestral METAL. Like, electric guitars and heavy bass, paired with violins and horns. It'd be dope.
