Spider-Man 2’s adorable Easter egg reminds us to play indie games

You can be sure that I’ll inspect each and every one of your games, books, DVDs, and videogame boxes. This and video game bathrooms are my particular peccadillo and I would appreciate it if you don’t judge me.

If you take photos of bookshelves or messy desks, they usually reveal the exhaustion and work done by a game staffer or writer who was trying to finish a spreadsheet prior to clocking off for the weekend. Books like “Biology: A Science” and movies like “Bad War 3.” As a writer immensely familiar with deadlines and creative roadblocks, I have a fondness for these.

Images: Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment from Polygon

But I cherish when a writer or other team member — hopefully at a studio that has the funds to afford this degree of detail — uses these tiny, overlooked bits of set dressing to fit in something special for themselves. A person working on Spider-Man 2I did exactly that.

Early in the game, we get a look at Peter Parker’s home, which he’s been bequeathed from Aunt May. Alongside a messy kitchen and a laughably specific mortgage bill, the player can find on Peter’s table a copy of a video game: Nonagon Speed.

Images: Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment from Polygon

The fictional game appears to be a warmhearted nod to indie dev Terry Cavanagh’s masterpiece, Super Hexagon — which you can buy on Steam, iOS, and Android for only $2.99. The fonts are nearly identical in both games, along with their similar titles. The safety vest cover is orange. Nonagon Speed resembles Super Hexagon’s.

It’s a small thing, but it’s part of something bigger: little details like this remind us that games are made by people and part of a continuity, each piece of art building off what came before it. Plus, I get to feel vindicated for spending so much time looking at video game boxes, which doesn’t hurt.