I loved Marvel’s Spiderman on PS4. It even held up to my rose colored memories of Spiderman 2. It was a new story with a new version of Peter Parker. It had a slew of classic Spiderman villains. Combat allowed you to feel powerful but vulnerable at the same time. Of course, it nailed web slinging in combat and traversal. That’s what made you feel like Spiderman.
It’s not a spoiler at this point to notice that Spiderman introduced Miles Morales. He also gained spider powers over the course of the story. The end of the main game had Miles revealing to Peter that he had powers. Some of the Spiderman DLC had Peter reluctantly agreeing to train Miles.
Miles Morales starts with a joint Spiderman mission as a tutorial. The OG Spiderman then leaves town to help Mary Jane overseas. This leaves Miles as the sole Spiderman to protect New York City over the Christmas holidays. Things go south as conflict between an environmental terrorist group and a clearly labeled evil energy company bursts into open violence. Most of Spiderman’s rogues gallery is sidelined for this adventure. Rhino shows up and Wilson Fisk makes a cameo, but most of the enemies will be from Roxxon Energy or the Tinkerer’s Underground terrorists. Another character plays a role that should please Into the Spiderverse fans, but I don’t want to spoil anything.
Miles animation makes clear he’s not as polished as his mentor. He seems a little less durable, but has some new powers that are discovered and explored through the course of the game. He’s not going to outquip Peter Parker, but he does get a few choice barbs in during fights. Miles makes a nice contrast since the first game established the OG Spiderman as a seasoned superhero. Miles wants to do the right thing but hasn’t always seen enough to know what that is. In fact, you could argue that the story is less about Roxxon vs. the Underground and more about this new Spiderman learning what it takes to be a hero.
Miles may not yet have access to Peter’s full rogues gallery, but he does have his own support system and different vibe thanks to the move to Harlem. His mom Rio drives part of the story. His friend Ganke is the man in the chair. His uncle Aaron shows up in ways that will not be surprising if you know anything about Miles Morales. Various business owners and neighbors show up to make the neighborhood feel alive.
Miles has a new Spiderman app where citizens can report crime or suspicious activity. This feed means there’s always something to do. That’s the real crux of this game. Are you a completionist? If so, there’s plenty to do here even justifying it’s $50 retail price. However, if you just came for the main story, it’s a bit of a disappointment in length. It’s probably half the size of the original.
Combat holds up just as well in this game. You are not a bullet sponge, but you’re fast, agile and hit hard. Miles doesn’t have all of Peter’s gadgets, but his powers make up for that. There are still stealth sections where you can go loud at any time. One of Miles’ new abilities should help with this, but, of course, it gets nerfed way too soon.
There are a few brilliant set pieces and boss fights to break up the regular action. The world is still vibrant and alive though that changes with the weather. If you play as the developers intended, story mission, exploration, side mission, then some additional tasks before attacking the next story mission, this is a worth follow up to Marvel’s Spiderman and a great set up to the upcoming Spiderman 2 which will let you switch between Spidermen on the fly. If you’re only here for the story, make sure to get it on a good sale. Overall, highly recommended. Bring on Spiderman 2 on October 20th, 2023, at least on PS5.
