Rating:
9/10
Cast:
Nadji Jeter … Miles Morales / Spider-Man (voice)
Yuri Lowenthal … Peter Parker / Spider-Man (voice)
Jacqueline Pinol … Rio Morales (voice)
Fred Tatasciore … Rhino / Additional Voices (voice)
Darin De Paul … J. Jonah Jameson (voice)
Troy Baker … Simon Krieger (voice)
Griffin Puatu … Ganke Lee (voice)
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Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Review
Order the PlayStation 4 version of the game here!
Order the PlayStation 5 version of the game here!
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is the follow up to 2018’s terrific Marvel’s Spider-Man title in which players experienced Spidey’s world like never before via exciting gameplay and a radical storyline that introduced a large portion of the web head’s rogue’s gallery and saw him square off against his former mentor, Doc Ock, in a climatic, emotionally driven finale. That game also served as a wicked origin story for one Miles Morales, a nerdy kid from Brooklyn whose run-ins with a genetically engineered spider force him to take up his own Spider-Man moniker alongside Peter Parker.
Phew! That’s a lot of setup for a game review, but them’s the deets. Miles Morales continues the story established in Spider-Man. And while the game doesn’t leave the same sense of awe as its predecessor, Miles Morales still packs a wallop as a supercharged DLC — a bold and impressive new entry in the Spidey universe.
Plus, it’s an absolute blast to play.
Miles zips through a brilliantly rendered Christmas-coated New York City and tackles opponents big and small, such as the mighty Rhino, who destroys half the city in the game’s first set piece. An action sequence that leaves Peter Parker yearning for some R&R with Mary Jane. As such, Miles is put in charge of NY’s violent streets and quickly finds himself dealing with a new organization called the Underground, who wear lots of purple and follow a violent villain called the Tinkerer. Into the mix drops the Prowler, who is obviously Miles’ uncle Aaron (unless you’re one of the few who have not seen Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, in which case, sorry!), a quasi-villain stuck between his love for his nephew and allegiances to some very bad people.
The story is quintessential Spider-Man packed with double-crosses, secret reveals and epic action sequences ripped right out of the comics. As typical, everyone involved in the story, whether they be friend or foe, has some personal connection to Miles. Silly? Sure. But such contrivances coat the action-driven plot with a much-needed layer of emotion. Like its predecessor, Miles Morales actually takes the time to tell an interesting story that uses its comic book characters in interesting and unpredictable ways.
Really, though, Miles Morales excels at delivering an exciting open-world experience on par with the Arkham City games. You are Spider-Man! Replete with a plethora of gadgets, combat moves, and cool abilities that render all but the klutziest gamers invincible against waves of faceless baddies. Take them head-on with your venom powers or sneak up on them by employing Miles’ cloaking ability.
Or, you can take the time to swing around town, stop crime, and help the crazy NY locals with various activities. At one point, Miles rescues a cat for its owner in a harmless but entertaining side quest. Another bit sees Miles unfreeze a crane which subsequently slams into a nearby building.
Other side missions pop up throughout the game, some of them story-based, others designed to generate new tech powers for Miles to mess around with.
Set pieces are brilliant, if scarce. A wild chase through New York in which Miles pursues a villain launching waves of explosions is wild, while the much-publicized bridge sequence is as good as advertised.
Tellingly, the only out-and-out criticism I have revolves around the game’s length, which runs roughly half as long as the original Spider-Man game. Fine, but then it should probably only cost half the price, right?
At any rate, Spider-Man: Miles Morales is an exciting entry into the Spider-Verse that introduces a spectacular new web head for the world to embrace. Next time, just give him more time to shine, okay?
Note: I played the game on the ole PS4 as my abilities to obtain a PS5 over the last few weeks have fallen laughably short.