Back in July, movie goers everywhere got to experience the cultural phenomenon that was Barbenheimer. This was a major event where two of the most highly anticipated films of 2023 with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer opened on the exact same weekend of July 21st. It’s very rare for two studio to release both of their biggest films of the year during the exact same weekend since they don’t want to hurt their box office numbers as a result of releasing their films so close to one another but Barbenheimer was a huge exception. It was undoubtedly a risk for both Warner Bros and Universal to release these films back-to-back in the same weekend but it paid off tremendously, grossing over a combined 2.3 billion dollars worldwide at the box office and being two of the most successful films of 2023 if not all time!
This was a big deal for cinema everywhere! Not only because this was during a summer that saw so many big films underperforming or flat out bombing at the box office spectacularly but it also came around the time which saw multiple strikes in Hollywood going on at the exact same time. It made for a great distraction to everything that is going on right now in Hollywood and even just the real world in general. While it initially started off as traditional internet meme, Barbenheimer showed that there are still plenty of folks who will go to see a film in cinema if they feel it’s worth the price of admission. For the first time in a while, going to the theaters actually felt like an event you just needed to experience on the big screen instead of just waiting for it to hit streaming.
Which makes it all the more fascinating in how there’s a strong argument to be made that gamers are about to experience their own Barbenheimer, with the release of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 exclusively for the PlayStation 5 and Super Mario Bros Wonder for the Nintendo Switch. Just like with Barbenheimer, both of these are set to come out on the same day and both games are highly anticipated games that are being released during an era where there’s a strike in the making with SAG-AFTRA that makes the future of the entertainment industry questionable at best. Even during a time where things are looking dire, we will at least have two great excuses to take our mind off the real world and enjoy these games in the ways that are to be intended.
Of course, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Super Mario Bros Wonder aren’t the only notable games that are coming out next week. A big shout-out should also go to Mario’s friend/rival in Sonic the Hedgehog with the release of Sonic Superstars, set to release on October 17th on pretty much every available console out there. While it may not be the pitch-perfect follow-up to Sonic Mania that I imagine many fans would have wanted, it still looks like a lot of fun with the feeling of a very fresh and enjoyable 2D Sonic game in all the ways that both episodes of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 were not. That is a game that I’m looking to cover a review on as well. However, the main focus for next week that most gamers around the world have drawn their attention to is with Spider-Man and Mario.
When talking about Super Mario Bros Wonder, this is probably the biggest Mario game to come around in quite some time. It’s coming off the high of the incredibly successful movie, it’s the first full-on 2D adventure in the main series since New Super Mario Bros U, and even the first full-on original Mario game that is not a remake or re-creation of other games since Super Mario Odyssey. And of course, this will also be the first main Mario game to not have the iconic Charles Martinet as the voice of Mario. The man that has just been reported to take over the mantle for Mario and Luigi respectively for Wonder is Kevin Afghani. Mario and Nintendo fans everywhere are clearly excited for this game and it’s easy to say why.
That’s not even worth mentioning that Nintendo has allowed demos of the game to come out before release at any available Walmart or Target near you. I recently played the demo for myself at my nearest Wal-Mart. For the 30 minutes of play time I had, Wonder seems like another winner for Mario and set to be a highly enjoyable game. The expansions of all the Mario characters such as Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Toad, Yoshi, and even Nabbit is cool, there’s more variety and detail to the backgrounds than ever before, and the new power-ups, most notably the elephant, are looking to be an instant fan favorite and will likely be a staple for future games. And as for the new voices, while you can definitely tell they are different voices, it’s not too far out of the ballpark where they sound like completely different characters and should work well once everyone is used to them. I really enjoyed what I played thus far and look forward to getting my hands on the full game next week. If you want to try it out yourself, go to your nearest Walmart and Target and see if the demo is available to play at the electronics section.
As for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, this is the game I have been waiting to get my hands on for the last five years! I was a big fan of the first game and Miles Morales (both which I did my own retrospectives on which I will leave links for at the end of the post) and look forward to see where Insomniac takes the story. From what I’ve seen of it, it’s looking to be a darker and more personal story for both Peter and Miles with both styles of gameplay seem to be expanded on in the best ways possible. And I just know that the soundtrack for it is going to be living in my head rent free, especially Kraven’s chilling theme from the gameplay that was released back in May. Heck, I can even see the new designs of the characters growing on me if it’s able to deliver on all of my expectations that I have for it.
The only cause for concern is the way that Insomniac will attempt to tackle the storyline with Venom and the symbiote. It’s been confirmed that Venom in the game will NOT be Eddie Brock and the whole symbiote story will be completely different compared to other forms of Spider-Man media. I can’t say I didn’t see this coming since the first game basically hinted at Insomniac going in a new direction with this storyline but I just know that will likely cause debates among hardcore Spider-Man fans, especially the die-hard comic book fans, since that will be a big change from the source material. I guess we will all just have to wait and see how it plays out but this will definitely be a big risk that hopefully pays off.
There’s definitely a lot to be excited about when it comes to gaming for next week. Whether you are a fan of 2D platformers or action adventure games, there should be something for anybody who’s a fan of well made and quality games. Just like with Barbenheimer, this all seems to be happening at the right time during a period where things are looking dire for everything around these releases. I don’t know if this will be the best week for gaming of all time but it certainly does feel like the first one in a while that will feel like a major event. The kind that makes you long for the good old days of showing up in line on the first night and being one of the first people outside of professional critics and game developers to be able to get the full game for yourself. And if both of these games are able to meet expectations from both a commercial and reception point of view, then maybe those kind of days will be resurrected and more gaming releases will feel like true events rather than just distractions. That’s what been missing with movies nowadays and with games. But with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Super Mario Bros Wonder, get ready for Barbenheimer 2.0 to take the world by storm!
RIP to wallets of gamers everywhere! Gone but never forgotten!
Sonic Superstars will be released on October 17th while both Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Super Mario Bros Wonder will be released on October 20th!
Here are links to several posts I wrote that relate to this one such as what Charles Martinet retiring as Mario means going forward along with my own retrospectives/reviews on the first two Spider-Man games from Insomniac:
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