It hasn’t been a week since Insomniac Games released the latest Spider-Man game, and already, players are finding some inconsistencies in the game’s design. Aside from the game length that has fans divided, there is also the Spider-Man 2 flags issue that proved to be quite a big mistake on the devs’ part, as it was integral to Miles’ story and heritage. It didn’t take long for fans to turn to online forums like Reddit and Twitter/X to express their disappointment at the inaccuracy from Insomniac.
What is the issue all about?
We all know Peter Parker and Miles Morales were born and raised in the concrete jungle of New York City. However, Miles is half Puerto Rican, thanks to his mother. Marvel has always aimed to represent Miles’ rich Puerto Rican heritage by including a special Spider-Suit in the game designed after the Puerto Rican flag. The Boricua suit isn’t the only thing honoring Miles and his mother’s heritage. At one point in the story, we get to step inside Miles’ house and find a flag hung up on one of the walls.
It’s supposed to be a flag of Puerto Rico, but unfortunately, the Spider-Man 2 devs were unable to catch this mistake before they released the game. The Cuban flag is in place of the Puerto Rico flag, evoking all kinds of reactions from fans. Most of the reactions were negative as it can be recalled that Insomniac promised proper inclusivity and representation in the game, but they failed to use the correct flag symbolizing Miles’ nationality.
More and more players spotted this error, and the devs didn’t take long to address the Spider-Man 2 flags issue. To correct this, Insomniac will be putting out a hotfix as soon as possible. Though they were able to act on it quickly, fans couldn’t help but feel confused why the Spider-Man 2 flags issue was even a thing.
Taking another look at the Boricua suit for Miles, it uses the correct colors and design of the Puerto Rican flag, so did someone just forget to double-check if they were using the correct flag in Miles’ family home?
Fans react to the Flags Mix-Up
It seems that most of the fans understood how this blunder happened. If we put the Cuban and Puerto Rican flags side by side, they are quite similar to each other.
https://twitter.com/cinariety/status/1716496009013145759
Of course, it’s unavoidable that Insomniac let down some fans because of this slip-up.
I mean that’s fair, the point should really be it’s literally an internet search or a trip to the library away.
— Doop Doop (@ThaG59Don) October 24, 2023
On Reddit, some gamers pointed out that mixing up the two flags was disrespectful. Some argued that it was because the Puerto Rican and Cuban flags looked similar to each other, so it was easy to confuse one with the other. However, some gamers called it “weirdly lazy” on Insomniac’s part.
It’s good that Insomniac will deliver a hotfix to resolve this mess, but we can’t blame gamers who felt dismayed with the Spider-Man 2 flags issue. Hopefully, the devs have learned their lesson to be more careful and pay attention to detail after this.
