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Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Review – A Next-Gen Teaser

The next-gen console era is upon us, and as far as the PlayStation 5 system is concerned, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (referred to as Miles Morales from here on out), is our first taster.

Much has been said about this title, and whether it should be classed as a DLC or standalone title that builds on the lore of the first impressive Spider-Man title from Miles Morales.

 

A tad short

Having played both, it is safe to class Miles Morales in the former category, only taking two afternoons of relaxed gameplay to complete the main story.

As with its predecessor, there is plenty of in-game content to earn, and completionists will no doubt be exploring every inch of Insomniac’s version of Manhattan to do so. This as the campaign sans side missions only accounts for 20 percent of the actual game.

Is that enough though?

For us, we were hoping for our first foray into the PS5 ecosystem to be a game we could really sink our teeth into and dedicated several weekends towards instead of just the one.

That said, this appears to be an issue that both the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S seem to be suffering from at launch – not enough next-gen-ready titles.

Still that isn’t Insomniac’s fault and for those who have not played the previous title, there is a Remastered edition which can be purchased alongside Miles Morales for a little extra than the standard version’s current price of R1 199.

So back to the game.

 

A recap

Things start off with a recap of the previous title, which offers you a quick two-minute video showcasing Miles’ interactions with Peter Parker, who looks decidedly like Tom Holland on the next-gen console.

Precisely why that change happened is unclear, but nevertheless, Insomniac ensures that you don’t enter this game blind, and offers up a bit of exposition to fill in the gaps.

Before you actually start the game, there are also a few settings you have to go through, the most important of which is the graphics mode, which will likely become an increasingly significant option once more PS5 titles come to the fore.

There are two graphics modes – Performance and Fidelity. The latter is the higher-specced of the two, serving up 30fps gaming and crucially adding elements like ray tracing, enhanced lighting and support for 4K resolution as its base. Performance works at 60fps, but does not feature all of the aforementioned additional visual elements.

 

As for what difference the Fidelity option makes, or rather what you can see, it is in the live-gameplay. This as cutscenes look about the same as they did in the previous title.

We get to see the difference that this Fidelity mode, as well as the PS5 plays in scenes where Miles is walking around and exploring Harlem, his new home borough in the game.

The difference in visual quality is also evident while swinging from building to building at different times of the day. Sunset and night time are particularly noteworthy here, with the lighting quite impressive at times.

As such, it serves as a nice teaser for things to come on the PS5.

There is one thing to note on this front though, as some buildings, particularly those on the outlying boroughs of Manhattan, can look a tad blocky and generic. It takes away from the overall spectacle of swinging around the city.

 

A new webslinger

Shifting to gameplay, Insomniac has done a good job of ensuring Miles feels like his own Spider-Man.

Sure, many of the mechanics are the same, but there are little touches that make the character feel unique. He isn’t always balanced when perched on a building or lamp post for example, and when he releases after a particularly long web swing, his arms flail about a bit.

His movements actually remind us of the Into the Spider-Verse movie. Speaking of which, the black and red Spidey suit from the film features in game as a suit you can unlock with in-game credits.

What we particularly liked is that it looks exactly like the animated movie version, with the suit also featuring a perk that allows you to move around the city in the same animation style.

 

That’s one thing that Spider-Man fans will really enjoy is this game, with its subtle nods to the universe of the character.

As a title which further adds to the lore of the Spider-Man world that Insomniac is trying to create, Miles Morales is a very welcome addition. Our only issue is that there needs to be more.

Yes, as mentioned there are plenty of side quests to earn in-game credit and unlock, suits, gadgets and skills for your character, but the length of the main campaign left us wanting more.

For sure, a great game should leave you wanting more, but in this case, it seems like we did not get our R1 200 worth. With only a handful of new next-gen titles available, and some games still awaiting their PS5 ports, the options are limited however.

Again, that’s not the fault of Insomniac, but it is worth noting.

One final aspect we also need to note is some glitching. This happened on three specific occasions, forcing a restart from last checkpoint in order to sort out.

That’s not to say the game was plagued with glitches but, in all three cases, the problem resulted in enemy targets or NPCs being in odd positions on the map, impacting whether you could complete the objective or not.

 

Final verdict

So, should you buy Miles Morales? If you enjoyed the first game, then yes, as it certainly expands upon the lore of the franchise, and serves up some great in-game visuals thanks to the PS5. Is it a particularly long game? No, and that is what stops us given it a score higher than eight out of 10.

If you opt for the Remastered bundle though, there should be more than enough to get stuck into, and that version gets a higher recommendation in our books.

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