Synopsis:
After the events of Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, teenage Miles Morales is adjusting to his new home while following in the footsteps of his mentor, Peter Parker, as a new Spider-Man. When a fierce power struggle threatens to destroy his home, Miles must take up the mantle of Spider-Man and own it.

Publisher: PlayStation PC LLC
Reviewed on: PC (5800X, 32GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 3070)
Also available for: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4

Cast: Brittany Lauda, Luci Christian. Terri Doty, Shannon Emerick, Shannon Emerick, Kalin Coates

Developer: Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
Directors: Brian Horton, Bryan Intihar, Marcus Smith, Ryan Smith
Writers: Ben Arfmann, Nick Folkman, Max Folkman, Mary Kenney, Lauren Mee
Lead Gameplay Programmer: Joel Bartley

After the success of Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered on PC, it’s time to set Miles free in the PC space. And what a game to bring to PC; I was excited to get my hands on it. We are welcomed to this world with the option of recapping the previous game’s events, a smart move for anyone who might not have played since the PS5/4 release or to gain a quick refresher. After this, we see Miles depart the station in Harlem and begin exploring his new neighbourhood. In typical Spider-Man fashion, Miles is quick to help those around him, even without the suit. We see him assist a man loading a couch into a truck and help lift some paint to a man painting a mural of Spider-Man. The larger-than-life painting is a metaphor for what Miles is thinking, can he ever live up to the legacy of the current Spider-Man? After a few brief conversations, the player can change into the hero’s costume and begin swinging around town. Like Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, this section is used as a quick tutorial on the ins and outs of swinging and webbing around the city. We see straight away that Miles is much less experienced in the art of the web, with ungraceful shots and landings. The hero has a long way to go to match Pete’s efficacies.

Following your first adventure, Miles meets his pal Pete on a rooftop, and they discuss the convoy that is soon to be moving the villain and criminals from the last game back to Rikers Island. Both are soon swinging into the action and begin following the convoy. Everything starts great but soon complications come, with the helicopter breaking a tether and a rookie mistake that soon sees not only Rhino free but also a bunch of criminals. After this cut scene, Pete heads off to fight Rhino while Miles is tasked with subduing criminals and working through the fighting tutorial. This includes webbing, disbarment, swinging and air attacks. Much like its predecessor, the tutorial stage is fun, engaging, and short enough to keep it fresh. Soon Pete requests your assistance in subduing Rhino, and Miles is quick to swing into action, chasing Rhino as he devastates the streets, raining destruction everywhere he roams. Chasing Rhino involves dodging flying cars and billboards, and it rapidly becomes necessary for Miles to take the reins, quite literally, as we leap onto the back of Rhino into a mall. Using our webs to steer the raging beast, avoiding shoppers and trying to minimalize the destruction. 

This fun adventure ends with the three in a power facility, Miles engaging and defeating criminals before heading towards Peter and Rhino. Pete is ungraciously knocked out, which enrages Miles, who discovers a new power, an electrical charge begins to flow from his body, and he immediately uses it to disable the Rhino, bringing the battle quickly to a conclusion. After a brief discussion with Pete, Simon Krieger arrives with a convoy of Roxxon soldiers. He introduces himself as the head of the Roxxon Energy Corporation, stating that they will hold Rhino till the police arrive. Not much is said, but Pete soon takes Miles somewhere close and shares both a pizza and the news that he and MJ are heading overseas for a while and that Miles is now the solo Spider-Man. With this, he also gives Miles a present and swings off. Miles takes all this and swings to meet his best friend Genke and try on his new outfit.  

With the weight of New York on his shoulders, Miles heads home to enjoy and share Christmas with his friends and family, with a surprise guest, Miles’ New home feels light with laughter and joy. The following day sees Miles ready to head out as the solo protector of the city, but he is not alone. His best friend Genke has a surprise for him. He has worked on the suit and created an app for New Yorkers to use to allow requests to Spider-Man. This new method of selecting missions is great, and we are quickly dispatched to assist a citizen in need. During this assistance, we run into a local techno gang working under their boss named the Tinkerer, a currently unknown person with a grudge against Roxxon. With these missions completed, we are free to begin exploring the city.

Many elements go into creating a great game, and although it is shorter than its predecessor, Miles Morales hits all of them. From the early tutorial parts of the game to the challenges and story elements, love is put into this game and is felt throughout. Starting with the gameplay, Miles plays similarly to Pete but retains his own style, and although his gracefulness while swinging and landing starts off a bit wonky, we see them tighten and improve throughout the game. Miles’s style, in general, also differs a bunch from Pete’s own while swinging and doing tricks, and I soon felt myself being drawn into Mile’s world. Here is one of Spider-Mans greatest fans being given the gift of spider powers, and although he isn’t sure how to use them at first, his smarts and support bring him up to speed fast. The gameplay with Miles is fast, fluid and extremely fun. 

The story elements in this game hit fast, and the character development throughout is constant and has perfect pacing. It never felt like you were stuck on anyone’s story for too long, and the comic-like story arc that carries through is pulled off with the right type of ending. Although I have played this game on PS4/5 approximately ten times now, those final scenes still jerk at my heartstrings. While the main story is important, working with the side stories never felt like a chore, there is plenty to be done throughout town, and all those side elements play into the main story for a great conclusion. You can feel the love that comic readers have put this game together. 

The graphical fidelity in the game is spot on; while it was near perfect on PS5, the upgrade to graphics and support of a widescreen enhances an already visually amazing game. Swinging through the city is a little slower at first than in the previous game, but as Miles becomes a better spider-man, his skills and speed increase. It seems that developer Nixxes have learnt from the previous port, and there have been no issues that I have found so far in terms of the graphics. The ray tracing adds to the world, allowing reflections but never seems to be over-taxing on my system, keeping a smooth 60 FPS minimum.

Music in this game plays a much more significant role than in the previous game. From start to finish, the soundtrack is stunning, I didn’t know many of these songs before playing, but soon I had them cued in my music app. The music team have done a great job of finding and mixing songs into the game that match gameplay perfectly. Mixing beats plays into the game later for a very fun bit of side story. On top of the music is the podcast. There is something fun about hearing someone geeking out on spider-man, listening to the podcasts, and you can also hear how Miles is viewed in the world and neighbourhood around him. Different from just hearing J.J screaming about that blasted “Spider-Fiend” all the time, that’s for sure.