MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES
Our new webslinger friend’s electric
When the spider’s away… the other spider will play. Picking up a year after Marvel’s Spider-Man, the newly superpowered Miles Morales has been mentored by Peter Parker in the way of New-York-saving heroics. Deeming him ready to swing solo, Peter takes a few weeks out of the country leaving Miles as “New York’s only Spider-Man”. Because as he points out, Miles might be newer, but he has as much right to be Spider-Man as Peter does.
This is a shorter experience than its predecessor (and priced accordingly, though even a budget PS5 game is pricey). It’s about half the length, making it closer to the likes of PS2’s Spider-Man 2 or The Amazing Spider-Man, but the tight focus really allows the narrative to shine, its pace and structure making it feel like a movie. The writing is superb – emotional and witty. Miles is a delight, and easily carries the game as a lead. You’ll barely remember to miss Peter.
GOING UNDERGROUND
While taking down the escaped Rhino, Miles ends up embroiled in a conflict between the Roxxon corporation and tech-powered gang The Underground, led by The Tinkerer. What seems to be a simple turf war escalates, and Miles has to step up to the plate to figure out his own way of being Spider-Man, with support from friends and family. The plot mostly follows a single thread in the main missions and feels better
for it, though some side-missions offer unique adventures, and I’d have liked more of those.
Moment-to-moment activity is very similar to the last game. But Miles isn’t a reskin of Peter. Swinging through the open world is as smooth as before, but the way Miles is animated is fantastic to watch. Being less experienced, his arms and legs flail as he tosses himself through the air. (Into The Spiderverse fans will pick up on this.) Sometimes when he stealthily takes down an enemy on a narrow ledge he has to correct his balance. His quips and movements feel uniquely his, right down to mechanics like pulling tricks while airborne, which is a more robust system for grabbing some extra XP than in the last game.
On PS5, as you swing with i you feel a little tension as you near the end of the arc, which is a subtle but neat addition. All of the last game’s New York is here to traverse, with extra detail in some areas, though fast travelling on PS5 takes only around a second (and using PS5’s Activities you can instantly warp to some side-content with the press of a button).
Miles’ mechanical distinctiveness goes deep. Spider-fans will know his powers manifest differently to Peter’s, as he has a bioelectric venom shock he can use when touching enemies, and the ability to camouflage himself for a limited amount of time. In combat, venom expends meter like Peter’s focus (he can also use it for a health boost), and that meter fills constantly as you land hits and dodge danger using Spider-sense.
GREAT POWER
Holding o sparks Miles up and readies his venom charge (on PS5, you feel a hum move across DualSense controller). He starts with venom punch using or + (you witness him discovering his venom powers for the first time), and learns more as he comes under more pressure. You build up venom charge quickly enough for it to be a constant tool in your arsenal when you’ve got a combo going, and soon enough you’ll be using a venom burst to stun surrounding enemies, a venom jump to knock groups into the air, and a venom dash to close distance every few seconds like a power cable with a vengeance. The jump and dash can be used when web-swinging to gain horizontal and vertical air respectively.
Miles’ venom powers supplement the web-based zips and gadgets really nicely, and when you get used to mixing them in they give you a lot of combat options. Certain enemies have specific weaknesses that venom can help you get around: you can dash into sword-wielders, disarm big shields by jumping them into the air, or punch larger brutes into submission. Occasionally this can be annoying, as you can lose charge when taking damage, leaving you thirsty for meter, but for the most part with skilled use of dodges and zips
“COMBAT ENCOUNTERS HAVE EVOLVED INTO IMPRESSIVE, SPRAWLING FIGHT SCENES.”
you can run loops around even larger groups.
SILENT BUT DEADLY
A lot of the main mission combat encounters have evolved into impressive, sprawling fight scenes. You might start out fighting goons on the street, only to notice more taking aim from a roof, so you zip up to take them on and end up brawling your way to another rooftop. It feels like you’re naturally and dynamically fighting all over the city rather than being contained within a smaller area (which is mostly the case with side-missions). Large swarms of enemies are no sweat for PS5 either, though you might sweat a little trying to handle them.
But Miles has another tactic for losing heat in a crowd: his camouflage. Once unlocked, you can pop the see-through power whenever you want, whether in the middle of fisticuffs or to sneak past enemies undetected and take them down stealthily. Enemies can be unnerved by this and start firing wildly, but you can outflank them to deal some powered-up hits, or hide until you regain stealth. It’s a great way of keeping tougher stealth sections in check so you can grab a moment to breathe, and some of the side-content stealth challenges reward smart use of camouflage.
Almost every aspect of the game, be it the gameplay, the Into-The-Spiderverse-inspired soundtrack, or the personal-feeling story (tears were shed), reflects Miles as a character. This is his game. After all, he’s Spider-Man. And not just another Spider-Man, but his very own, and that’s amazing.
VERDICT
A fantastic superhero story. Miles is an easy lead, and the tight design puts him to spectacular use (and is visually jaw-dropping on PS5). It’s a must-play. Oscar Taylor-Kent