Editor’s Note: All images from Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is screenshot from the reviewer’s PS4 gameplay.
After delivering big hits for PlayStation with the Ratchet and Clank and Resistance series, Insomniac Games rose to even greater heights of notoriety when they concocted their own iteration of Spider-Man back in 2018. Insomniac’s Spider-Man not only gave players a new reason to love the iconic Marvel hero — complete with an original story and spectacular gameplay — but the game became a new fan-favorite for PlayStation fans. It also tread new ground for Insomniac, making them a more recognized studio under PlayStation’s umbrella.
Now the only question that remained after the game took the world by storm was — when we would be seeing a sequel? Well, the jury is still out on that one. However, Insomniac ended up giving fans something special to tide them over with a smaller game that focuses more on a character introduced in first game and one that the world has slowly come to know and love – Miles Morales.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales finds Miles (who just got his powers at the tail-end of the last game) acting as sort of crime-fighting protégé to Peter Parker. He’s just coming into his own as a protector of New York as he and his mother Rio move out of Brooklyn and into Harlem where Rio is running for a position as a District Congresswoman. While working with Peter has been a blast, Miles is left on his own after Peter leaves to go on a European vacation with MJ. He’s definitely got his work cut out for him as new threats throw the city into peril. A destructive war breaks out between a corrupt energy company named Roxxon, run by the devious Simon Krieger, and a new faction known as the Underground, led by the mysterious Tinkerer. They’re battling over a new energy force that could wipe out thousands of lives. Now, Miles must come into his own as Spider-Man with the help of his tech-savy friend Genke as he takes on new challenges and new powers.
Jumping back into the world and gameplay that Insomniac created is really amazing. Getting a feel for the gameplay again can be a bit of adjustment, especially when you’re me and rolled through so many games lately, but it’s not long before you’re back in the action. Swinging and zipping around the city is just as freeing as ever and Insomniac even added the ability to perform stunts mid-air to earn some extra XP. The free-flow fighting is even smoother than it was before, and the stealth gameplay is just as strong. Even though it’s the same New York City we saw before, there’s still something even greater about it with more details being added to the environment and weather. Not to mention, the game takes place during the winter, specifically Christmas time, so there’re plenty of Christmas lights and snowy landscapes to play around in. There’s even a really awesome winter get-up for Miles’ Spider-Man suit, with earmuffs and a scarf, that looks great and some awesome additions to Photo Mode, including Christmas Card frames and crazy new filters, to get players into the holiday spirit.
For the most part, the basic fighting gameplay is what fans remember. But, with Miles around this time and getting new powers, there’s new abilities for players to use to defeat crime. Using Miles’ venom powers, no not that kind of Venom, coming in players can utilize new bio-electric powers that pack a whole new kind of punch. Players can effect a large group of enemies as the venom powers give a powerful punch and dash that sends enemies flying and a powerful jump. It is incredible to see in action and it rockets enemies up and opens them up to a flurry of aerial attacks. Along with some electrifying new abilities, Miles also gets a camouflage power that adds a whole new layer to stealth gameplay. Now, you can walk right in front of enemies undetected, for a short period of time, and launch surprise attacks in an instant.
There’s some new tech that Miles gets to play around with which makes a solid impact in battle. Obviously, web shots are back to subdue enemies in a flash, but now players can also use a gravity well, which basically acts a magnetic and sucks nearby enemies towards it, and a remote mine that can lure enemies over to a power box that players that detonate remotely to take out a couple enemies at once. The best new tech that comes though is easily the Holo-Drone as it allows Miles to summon virtual bots to help him in battle and it’s kind of funny to see Spider-Man have a virtual posse to fight alongside him.
With new tech and abilities also comes more upgrades to do, but they don’t feel all that helpful. You never really feel the effects of the upgrades aside from the quantity of tech you can hold going up. It’s one of those things that is having a heavy effect on Miles and his abilities, but if you’re going to spend all this time doing upgrades, you want to be able to feel it’s really going towards something and it’s hard to say that happens here. Regardless, the new abilities and tech are nice as they liven up the already great gameplay and play a part in making this game more about Miles.
It’s easy to forget that Spider-Man: Miles Morales isn’t the Spider-Man 2 that we’re all anticipating, but rather a bridge game in between the two. It nicely follows the events of the first with Peter and Miles feeling the effects of the previous game with most of the villains locked up in The Raft, the two of them reeling from the death of Aunt May and Miles’ father, and getting used to the idea of their being two Spider-Men now. It also sets up the next game quite nicely by continuing the tease from the first game of Norman Osbourne possibly turning Harry into Venom with the help of another iconic villain. Like I said before, it’s not Spider-Man 2 and doesn’t try to be. Rather, it acts as a new origin story for Miles and creates a game that fully fits him.
Adding trap beats to the original game’s score, having J. Jonah bitch and moan about his every action, and adding in some of Miles’ iconic suits for players to try on is always a nice way to make this game feel like a Miles game, but Insomniac doesn’t just stop there. It genuinely feels like the world is really built around Miles’ experience as Spider-Man and touches on his own issues that stem from him stepping into a heroic role. Where the last Spider-Man game saw a seasoned Peter Parker at work, this game offers the origin story that many might’ve wanted with the last game.
We really catch up with Miles simply trying to make a name for himself while Peter is away and dealing with the idea of his personal and heroic lives coming together. While Peter’s story treaded some overly familiar territory, it was actually kind of surprising to see Miles’ personal life end up bleeding into his heroic duties with him having a deeper connection to the Tinkerer than he initially thought. It is a little disappointing that this villain roster, even in the side missions, is a little light and just characters we’ve seen time and time again and hopefully more Miles specific villains or at least more obscure and lesser-used villains in Spider-Man’s rouge’s gallery appear in the future just to spice things up. However, the villains here play a pivotal role in shaping Miles as a hero and it makes you develop an incredibly strong, personal connection to him.
Throughout him discovering his powers and finding out tragic secrets of loved ones, he begins to question his role as a protector and in the war between Roxxon and the Underground. It’s a fitting origin story that’s undoubtedly a little familiar, but ultimately unique with how it showcases how grief and corruption can create new enemies and spark terrible tragedy. Even as Miles’ heroic mindset is attempted to be dismayed by the Tinkerer and Prowler, his uncle Aaron Davis, his heroism persists and even inspires them to make redemptive choices that are incredibly touching. The personal connection you develop with Miles’ story even stems past the main story as the side-quests and collectibles play a big part in shaping Miles as a new Spider-Man.
While they may not include big villain boss battles, the side missions here are great at bring the idea of Spider-Man back to his roots as a hero for the common person. Getting side missions and crime alerts through the app that Genke creates for Miles is awesome as it acts as an organic way for Miles to save lives throughout the city. Not to mention, it creates some really fun banter between Miles and Genke as well as allows for a rival podcast to Jonah’s, the Danikast, to come deliver some more positive vibes and get Miles’ name out there. Even the collectibles of Miles finding time capsules that he and his friend Phin hid when they were kids offers a great establishment of their friendship and the postcards you find post-game from Miles’ dad strike a real emotional chord. It’s a Miles Morales experience that doesn’t try to ride the coattails of the previous game or Into the Spider-Verse, although that suit is in the game and looks incredible with frame rate and emotive action attachments players can tack on, but rather shape it’s own story and chart it’s own course for Miles within this world as a hero.
Now, it’s also worth mentioning that I was lucky enough to play this on a PS5 and experience why Spider-Man: Miles Morales is even better when played on a PS5. First of all, load screens are a thing of the past with PS5 as fast traveling through subways and re-spawning are instantaneous. Graphically, the game is a major step-up from the already impressive original as character models look more realistic and the ray tracing creates an incredibly detailed NYC to explore. Players will even notice how the greater vibration functions within the DualSense controller and the haptic feedback in the triggers create much more immersive fighting, web-swinging, and overall interaction. Basically, Spider-Man: Miles Morales takes control of the PS5’s capabilities perfectly and sets the standard for how the PS5 can really upgrade the experience.
Although it’s much smaller in size and scale compared to its 2018 predecessor, Insomniac spares no expense in delivering another excellent Spider-Man experience that fans will absolutely adore. It not only continues the great momentum built, but it pushes everything forward with a deeply personal story focusing on Miles Morales that contains rich and exciting gameplay as well as an impressive graphical look and feel that shows the power of the PS5. Regardless if you play it on PS4 or PS5, Miles Morales is more than worthy of your time.
