Johnnysworld

Does whatever a Spider-Man can.

I was going to right some flashy intro, but I don’t have anything this time around. I finally beat the game so I can now give my full review on it!

Just a heads up, this review will be conducted on the PS5 version of the game, not trying to brag or anything. From what I’ve seen, the PS4 version looks to be doing well for itself, which is great to hear.

Let’s go!

What You Need to Know

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales takes place a year after the conclusion of Marvel’s Spider-Man. Miles is training along Peter Parker learning how to become a Spider Guy. You play as Miles Morales as he comes to terms with his abilities and protecting the city.

Gameplay

This game plays the exact same as the previous entry.

Miles swings, fights, and produces witty humor just like Peter Parker albeit everything has his own flair to it. Miles swings like someone who is still adjusting to his powers, he fights like a teenage kid who doesn’t know he’s really freaking strong, and he makes jokes that are Peter-esque which he fully acknowledges.

It’s great.

The difference between the games is the expertise. Peter is a veteran so in the previous game he had plenty of experience and gadgets to use. Miles doesn’t so he relies on his newfound abilities. His abilities come in the form of something he calls bio-electricity or what developer Insomniac Games calls “venom abilities”. He starts off with something as simple as a super punch, but later on, they get more powerful and give you more combat options.

Combat plays the same. Miles punches, dodges, and webs up baddies. The bad guys are your standard fodder with street thugs, but then escalate up soldiers who have riot shields, rocket launchers, and technology that can negate your venom powers. Stealth is an option that does feel a bit more necessary as enemies are a bit tougher this time around, but not too tough. Don’t get scared now.

Besides combat, you’ll find yourself traveling through New York in the winter. The city might look familiar and that’s because it is. There are plenty of activities to partake in, challenges, and civilians to save. As you complete these activities, you’ll get tokens that you can use to upgrade your gadgets, create new suits, and you’ll also get XP use to upgrade your powers.

Not sure if you noticed the trend, but everything seems the same this time around doesn’t it? Well it’s because it is.

Verdict

I loved 2018’s revival of the web head. It was Spider-Man 2 on the PS2 on steroids, and Insomniac Games was the perfect developer to pick up the series. As for this game?

I can’t really tell you why I love it besides the fact that’s it more of the first entry, but it expands the story and introduces a new character. Miles’ story is pretty solid with him coming to terms with his spider powers and becoming a protector of the city despite being a young kid. Combat is the same, but Miles’ abilities makes it feel good. Traversing the city is flawless and such a thrill. Better yet is the new haptic feedback in the triggers. When you push down on the trigger to shoot web, you’ll feel resistance to your push simulating what it would feel like if you were actually web swinging. I cried when it first happened (just kidding but it was cool).

Besides the gameplay, the game is stunning. For all my PS5 gamers, set the game to the Performance Mode setting. You’ll get 60 FPS and web swinging in 60 FPS is mind blowing. The other option is Fidelity at 30 FPS but with ray tracing and stuff. The game looks good no matter what, but I stuck with the 60 FPS option. Load times are close to nonexistent. Long gone are the days where you look at your phone while it loads up, as now when you hit the load button, the game loads in mere seconds, and I mean 5 or less.

Now, would I recommend it?

Well yes and no. Here’s why.

If you loved the first game then there’s no excuse for you to miss out on this one. Point blank. On the other hand, this is a stand alone title not a fully fledged sequel. $50 gets you a 10 hour or so campaign and an open world to explore. I guess the way I see it is if you are thinking about this game on PS5, I’d say just get the edition that includes the remastered version of the first game plus this one for $70. I hope they do add some extra content moving forward, but for now I’m going to go through and complete all of the extra activities and abuse the crap out of Photo Mode.

I will say a major gripe with this game besides length is difficulty. I played on Amazing (second hardest difficulty) and found it pretty easy. I know that’s a stupid issue to have, and although they’ve made improvements to the AI especially in stealth scenarios, it would’ve been more fulfilling if it was a tad more challenging. Just my take though.

No matter what, this is a great start to next generation. I’m also really easy to please so take what I say with a grain of salt. Nothing beats the moment you first start swinging through the city and the immersion the PS5 controller gives you. Nothing beats jumping off of the Avengers tower and beating the pulp out of thugs who are picking on civilians.

Next generation is here ladies and gentlemen, and it’s spectacular.

See what I did there?

Go play this.