Why Insomniac Ditched Eddie Brock for Harry Osborn

The result is a narrative that is both familiar and innovative. The choices made are not just for the sake of novelty, but rather to weave an emotional story. Indeed, Harry's transformation into Venom ties well with his relationship with Peter. Their shared vision of "healing the world" forms a thematic core for the story. Even in their climactic battle, Peter tells Harry, "I won't heal the world with you. Not like this". Venom's interpretation of this shared mission is rather sinister, aiming to cover the planets in symbiotes instead, acting as its de-facto ruler.

Another fascinating aspect is Venom's portrayal. The game presents the symbiote as sentient and scheming, carefully choosing when to interact with its host. It exploits moments of vulnerability, stoking the host's worst fears to make the host reliant on the "power" it grants. The boundary between Harry and Venom becomes so blurred that discerning who's in control becomes challenging, amplifying the horror aspect of the narrative. Perhaps this is intentional, hinting possibly at a more powerful, overarching villain Knull.

It's this horror that makes Insomniac's portrayal of Carnage, another symbiote far more terrifying in its bloodlust, one to look forward to. Given how successfully Tony Todd voiced Venom's manipulative tendencies, it'll be interesting to see how much more unhinged and chaotic Carnage will be.

Adaptations often have to walk the challenging tightrope of staying true to the source material and telling a compelling tale. Often, most would prefer to go with something familiar if derivative. But, Insomniac's decision to buck the trend has paid off. It pays homage to the characters' rich histories while committing to a different kind of story. The general consensus among fans is appreciative of the fresh take. Even though some purists might argue about the change, who really cares? All Venom needs to do is to hate Spider-Man, anyway.

As Insomniac expands its budding video game universe - Marvel's Wolverine is set in the same universe as the Spider-Man games and rumor has it that Daredevil exists in this universe as well - it's safe to say that it has earned the benefit of the doubt.

Fingers crossed, its unique takes on future storylines will be just effective.