MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES
Setting himself apart from Petey
One year after the events of Marvel’s Spider-Man we catch up with Miles MMorales, who, with Peter Parker’s guguidance, is coming into his own as a superhero while his mother runs for councillor. We’re introduced to the game via a walking gameplay segment in which Miles attends a rally in East Harlem, his new home, alongside his best friend Ganke
Lee (a great character from the comics), who knows all about Miles’ secret identity.
Naturally things go wrong as the nefarious Roxxon energy company butts heads with
The Underground, a high-tech criminal group led by The
Tinkerer (known from the comics for outfitting supervillains with the latest gear). The rally is thrown into chaos, and the battle between the two groups wreaks havoc on the nearby Braithwaite Bridge, The Tinkerer is intent on stealing Roxxon’s NuForm energy capsules. Of course, Miles suits up in Insomniac Games’ take on his distinctive black-and-red suit and we get to see how he plays.
WITH GREAT POWER
The good news is that Insomniac completely understands what makes Miles unique. He’s not merely somebody new in the Spider-Man suit with the same powers as Peter Parker, but rather he’s someone with his own, very distinctive, way of fighting.
With a single touch, Miles is able to use his Venom Blast powers to shock enemies with different levels of sting-like electricity. This constantly plays into how Miles handles groups of enemies. Sure, Peter was zippy,
“MILES IS ABLE TO USE HIS VENOM BLAST POWERS TO SHOCK HIS ENEMIES.”
but Miles zaps around the battlefield like lightning, building up charge and releasing it during all kinds of combat abilities (you’ll be able to feel the hum of the charge in the DualSense controller thanks to haptic feedback).
Miles can: use his Venom Blast to ram directly into thugs and disperse a charge blast; create an area of effect launch blast that’ll hold enemies in the air with static so he can juggle groups; use his powers to perform a charged dive kick from the air or a shockwave; and even stun enemies with special grab attacks. And that’s all on top of the usual web-based fighting moves handed down to him by Peter. And if that fails? Miles can turn invisible for a limited time (there’s a cooldown meter) to outflank enemies and attack them while they’re confused. It’s all here, and perfectly realised from the comics.
BRIDGING THE GAP
But what would Spider-Man be without some spectacular setpieces? Spidey isn’t only about clobbering ne’er-do-wells, but being a saviour to those in need too. After his Venom Blast energy interacts with the NuForm, a series of explosions begins to cause the bridge to crumble.
Now Spidey must swing around the bridge, using his webs to stabilise cars. There’s a mix of QTE elements with more manual control as you use your web shooters and move between areas, while more scripted sections see you dive vertically through a falling bus, use webs to bring pieces of concrete closer together, and save those in distress.
It’s the standard Spider-Man life-saving fare, then, but it all looks so wonderfully slick and graphically gorgeous. The shine you see as you walk around Harlem, streets slick with halfmelted snow, is incredible, and Insomniac is on point with its stylised designs that strike a perfect balance between realism and comic-book, the purple neons of The Underground mixing well with Miles’ constant flashes of bright yellow
Venom Blast.
The game isn’t a PS5 exclusive (it was recently revealed that a PS4 version will be released), but it was developed with PS5 hardware in mind, so you’ll definitely get the best experience on the new console. We think it’s great that everyone gets to enjoy this next chapter, even if it isn’t as long as
Marvel’s
Spider-Man.
Plus, if you purchase the
Marvel’s Spider
Man: Miles
Morales Ultimate Edition you get Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, with enhanced visuals and performance, and some extra suits, photo mode features, and trophies. If you like either of the webslingers, then there’s no doubt that PlayStation is the place to be (even Marvel’s Avengers is getting a PlayStation-exclusive take on the hero next year).
“INSOMNIAC’S DESIGNS STRIKE A PERFECT BALANCE BETWEEN REALISM AND COMIC-BOOK.”