2018’s Spider-Man was a real testament to what can be done with the Spider-Man license when used properly and developed by a team with a true passion for pushing the boundaries of what people expect from a licensed IP game. Whilst the game an entirely original story, it felt familiar and fresh in equal parts with very few areas that let it down. So, I was justifiably excited for Spider-Man: Miles Morales, especially seeing as I picked up a PS5 specifically for it. Call me crazy for dropping £500 on a console for a game that’s available on the PS4, but I knew I was going to be in for a treat with the extra features the PS5 version would offer, considering how incredible the first game was.
During the events of Spider-Man, Peter Parker was introduced to Miles Morales, a volunteer at F.E.A.S.T. shelter and an aspiring scientist just like Pete. But following the death of his father and then being bitten by a radioactive spider, Miles begins to develop similar powers to Pete, plus a few more, so he joined Pete in the fight for New York as the new Spider-Man.
Fast forward six months and Pete has trained Miles to the point that he feels safe enough to leave the city in Miles hands so he can take a vacation with Mary Jane. What could possibly go wrong?
The Roxxon Corporation has been rolling out its ‘Nuform’ clean energy systems to New York, starting out in Harlem, Miles’ neighbourhood, however there’s been strong criticism by many as to just how safe Nuform is. This comes to a head when Miles tries to stop a gang known as The Underground from stealing some Nuform shipments, and it explodes when he comes into contact with it. Seeing the danger Nuform poses, but also needing to know why The Underground wants Nuform so badly, Miles must use all his newly learned skills to take down both The Underground and Roxxon in order to save Harlem and New York on the whole.
During the events of Spider-Man, Peter Parker was introduced to Miles Morales, a volunteer at F.E.A.S.T. shelter and an aspiring scientist just like Pete. But following the death of his father and then being bitten by a radioactive spider, Miles begins to develop similar powers to Pete, plus a few more, so he joined Pete in the fight for New York as the new Spider-Man.
Fast forward six months and Pete has trained Miles to the point that he feels safe enough to leave the city in Miles hands so he can take a vacation with Mary Jane. What could possibly go wrong?
The Roxxon Corporation has been rolling out its ‘Nuform’ clean energy systems to New York, starting out in Harlem, Miles’ neighbourhood, however there’s been strong criticism by many as to just how safe Nuform is. This comes to a head when Miles tries to stop a gang known as The Underground from stealing some Nuform shipments, and it explodes when he comes into contact with it. Seeing the danger Nuform poses, but also needing to know why The Underground wants Nuform so badly, Miles must use all his newly learned skills to take down both The Underground and Roxxon in order to save Harlem and New York on the whole.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales manages to balance a plot that is both smaller in scale than the original game, yet also feels as though the stakes are just as high. Where 2018’s Spider-Man threw a decent chunk of Peter Parker’s rogues gallery at you, Miles Morales only contends with three super-powered villains in the games main story. Those being returning villain Rhino who after escaping capture again joins forces with Roxxon; The Tinkerer, the mysterious figurehead of The Underground; and Prowler who is playing the two factions off against each other for their own benefit. Miles’ story is much more focused on family than Peter’s story, which fits Miles’ ethos in life very well. It also gives the character this excellent character arc of coming to realise that although family is important, it doesn’t excuse them from wrongdoing.
From a gameplay perspective Miles Morales doesn’t change much from the formula established in 2018’s Spider-Man. It’s still an open world superhero simulator where you can live out your dreams of being Spider-Man in incredible detail with fantastic traversal and combat mechanics, an in-depth upgrades system, and plenty of side activities to keep you engaged for hours after the credits roll. The key different to its predecessor is Miles’ powers. Anyone familiar with Miles’ comic book run, or the Into the Spider-Verse film will know that Miles can turn invisible and conduct electricity.
Miles’ electric powers, called Venom Power, gives him the ability to interact with various generators and electronic devices and gives him an advantage in combat with more powerful attacks. Venom Power is built up in a gauge that increases by landing blows on enemies, dodging, and completing objectives. Miles discovers new ways to use his Venom Power throughout the story giving the player access to lots of ways to use increasingly devastating attacks.
The invisibility power gives Miles an advantage in stealth, which is very welcome during some sections of the game as any players of the original game can attest to, they aren’t always straightforward. Invisibility just replenishes itself over time, but the length of time you can use invisibility for is upgradable.
Another new addition is the Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man App. This app allows you to track side missions, activities, and nearby crimes. Part of the end-game frustration with the original Spider-Man was trying to find crimes to stop, this feature puts an end to said frustration and is a very welcome addition.
From a gameplay perspective Miles Morales doesn’t change much from the formula established in 2018’s Spider-Man. It’s still an open world superhero simulator where you can live out your dreams of being Spider-Man in incredible detail with fantastic traversal and combat mechanics, an in-depth upgrades system, and plenty of side activities to keep you engaged for hours after the credits roll. The key different to its predecessor is Miles’ powers. Anyone familiar with Miles’ comic book run, or the Into the Spider-Verse film will know that Miles can turn invisible and conduct electricity.
Miles’ electric powers, called Venom Power, gives him the ability to interact with various generators and electronic devices and gives him an advantage in combat with more powerful attacks. Venom Power is built up in a gauge that increases by landing blows on enemies, dodging, and completing objectives. Miles discovers new ways to use his Venom Power throughout the story giving the player access to lots of ways to use increasingly devastating attacks.
The invisibility power gives Miles an advantage in stealth, which is very welcome during some sections of the game as any players of the original game can attest to, they aren’t always straightforward. Invisibility just replenishes itself over time, but the length of time you can use invisibility for is upgradable.
Another new addition is the Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man App. This app allows you to track side missions, activities, and nearby crimes. Part of the end-game frustration with the original Spider-Man was trying to find crimes to stop, this feature puts an end to said frustration and is a very welcome addition.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales benefits from some slight visual improvements including better lighting and shadows. But if you’re playing the game on a PS4 you’ll not notice an awful lot of changes from the original game. Playing on a PS5 though you’ll benefit from lightning-fast loading times (including instant loading for quick travel), a smoother frame rate, the ability to bump the game up to run at 60FPS or include nifty visual enhancements like ray tracing, and the DualSense effects. The game runs natively at 4K on PS5 no matter whether you favour frame rate or visual details, which is a great improvement over PS4 Pro's split between 60FPS or 4K resolution. You’ll feel every punch, get the wind rush from every swing, and feel resistance from the triggers as your web shooters activate. It really helps to immerse you in the experience.
Miles is also a big music fan and the game is littered with great licensed songs, as well as an incredible score that fits Miles’ character perfectly.
Miles is also a big music fan and the game is littered with great licensed songs, as well as an incredible score that fits Miles’ character perfectly.
STORY: 9/10
GAMEPLAY: 10/10
PRESENTATION: 10/10
LIFESPAN: 7/10
SCORE: 10/10
Whilst Spider-Man: Miles Morales is not an overly long experience, swinging in at around 15-20 hours for a 100% run, it is more of the same great Spider-Man we experienced two years ago, and provides even more setup for the inevitable Spider-Man 2. It’s increased gameplay variety is worth the price of admission alone, but for PS5 owners the improved performance and DualSense compatibility makes Miles Morales a must own.