Miles Morales is an iteration rather than an innovation on Marvel’s Spiderman. It adds slight refinements and upgrades to gameplay elements which made the original such a blast in 2018, with the venom abilities being the real standout addition. The venom abilities look and feel fantastic, not to mention being incredibly useful to turn the tide in combat and stealth encounters. I also love the personality which oozes in the animation design, making Miles feel distinct and full of flair. There are quality of life improvements elsewhere with improved side quests, though some quests types can get repetitious, and the game prioritising quality over quantity more with its collectibles. However, all these minor additions do not stop Miles Morales feeling a bit too familiar. Moreover, the story did not grip me like I was hoping it would because of the weak antagonists and largely unengaging narrative. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed my time with Miles Morales; it just feels like Insomniac has all the pieces there to make a truly special experience but are held back my some poor design decisions which plague many open world games and various narrative shortcomings.

2020 Ranked
Ranked Open World Recommendations

Enjoyment - 7/10
Difficulty - 3/10

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales only likes to listen to the same three songs every year.

I wanted to make good use of my newly acquired PlayStation 5 so I decided to play the spider boy game. Being a distant fan of Spider-Man since the Sam Raimi films, I was curious, and genuinely excited, to see what the hype around this modern series was all about. I had my suspicions, and my suspicions were correct.

It is truly a Hollywood Marvel popcorn video game. Even the fact that they preface the game's own title with Marvel's indicates to consumers that what you are buying is a specific brand of video game. It almost acts as a seal of approval. However, nowadays its a signpost for familiarity and fatigue. All this Marvel stuff is like a bad rash that isn't going away. If Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales was more like a hotdog or even a portion of cheesy nachos, I think I would've liked it better and feel fuller in my belly.

In saying all of this, the game does house some great moments. An excellent opening and some of the best open world traversal mechanics I have played with. However, I felt like I had already played this game before. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a jacked up modern incarnation of a tired formula.

If you hold a high regard toward these games, I totally understand because I thought the same about them twenty years earlier.
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