Who doesn't want to be a superhero? Spider-Man: Miles Morales brings the iconic Spider-Man back in a game for Playstation 4 e Playstation 5Only this time we're Miles Morales, not Peter Parker.
See our review of Spider-Man: Miles Moralesin preparation for the launch of the hero's next game!
Harlem, New York
Peter Parker, the Spider-Man The original Spider-Man decides to take a vacation in Europe, and relies on Miles Morales, the "new Spider-Man", to keep an eye on New York in the meantime. Miles is young and is still mastering his powers, which go beyond webbing, spider-sense and superior strength.
Living in Harlem, a New York neighborhood in Manhattan known for its Afro culture, Miles has a great sense of responsibility towards his neighbors. The game has a very inclusive character in its universe, with a prevalence of black characters, messages about the fight against racism and even a deaf character, using sign language. In a world where words inclusion e diversity are of paramount importance, Spider-Man: Miles Morales doesn't hide, and is a celebration of diversity.
In addition to the social agenda, the environmental one is also very present in the game, since there is a discussion about energy sources. A megacorporation called Roxxon acts as one of the villains in the game, developing an energy source called Nuform, whose origins and research are more sinister than they appear.
On the other side is an outlaw paramilitary group called the Underground, led by the game's super-villain: Tinkerer. The Underground plans to overthrow Roxxon and prevent the use of Nuform, and Miles Morales ends up getting involved in this war, in other words, getting tangled up in this web of conspiracies (sorry, I couldn't resist).
The plot itself is simple and fairly ordinary for a superhero game, but it brings a good depth to the characters, with Miles' family and friendship dilemmas coming to the fore at various points in the game, creating a good connection between the digital character and the player.
The other Spider-Man
Still seeking the trust of New Yorkers, Miles Morales' Spider-Man is seen almost as an impostor: people don't take him very seriously, and some are even disappointed when he shows up to save the day. He is not, at the start of the game, the Spider-Man himself... He is the "other" Spider-Manas it is often called by the population.
Being the other Spider-Man implies a great deal of responsibility for Miles. Peter has him as a kind of protégé, so much so that he spreads out several holographic training sessions throughout Manhattan and monitors events from a distance at certain points in the game. These trainings help Miles improve his skills and acquire new and unique abilities.
In addition to his arachnid abilities, similar to those of the Spider-Man Like Peter Parker, Miles also possesses electrical abilities, called Venom. With this power, he becomes even more powerful, throwing electrified punches and hitting enemies in areas, as well as being crucial for advancing in missions that require the use of shock in order to stop Roxxon, the Underground or both.
To use Venom, Miles Morales de must fill a bar on the player's HUD by throwing punches, dodging blows and even performing acrobatic stunts around the city. It can also be used to recover the character's health at the touch of a button. Using the Venom power is very good in the heat of battle, and I just wish it would fill up more quickly, because at various times the enemies are too many, and the player ends up having to use the power to heal themselves, instead of throwing an electrified punch.
With great powers come great responsibilities
To get rid of many dangerous enemies, Miles can be sneaky and invisible, with a power of camouflage. O stealth in Spider-Man: Miles Morales The game starts off very cold and bad, but as time goes by and you acquire new skills and items, it becomes quite satisfying to eliminate dozens of enemies this way.
This type of stealth combat draws heavily from the source of the series Batman ArkhamThe game also prioritizes positioning yourself above your enemies to trap them in webs and distract them, leaving them vulnerable. Despite being fluid, at various times Miles didn't respond to my command to trap the bandits in the web, which seems to me to be an unpatched bug - and the game has been out for a long time.
The game presents the player with four different items. One of them I found quite useless, which is the creation of holographic dolls to attract enemies, I hardly used it. The other is the classic web shot, which is used to wrap around enemies and pin them to nearby objects and walls - I didn't use it that much. The Gravity Well and Remote Mine, on the other hand, are of great value.
The first brings nearby enemies together, making it easier to use Venom for area attacks, and the second explodes with remote activation, very good at times stealth.
The beat of the city
The best possible feeling when playing a superhero game is to feel like that character you read about in the comics and saw in the movies and cartoons. And what better way to feel like Spider-Man than swinging between the buildings of New York?
Using their webs, Miles Morales swing around acrobatically to reach your goals and save the day once again. Whether it's taking down a secret Roxxon lab, bringing down an Underground hideout or saving a kitten. After all, the Neighborhood Friend is no different to anyone else.
By the way, Miles has a smartphone where he can look at an app developed by his geek friend (Ganke), called Neighborhood Buddy. It's so popular that it's among the twenty-four most downloaded apps in New York! On it, citizens can ask for all kinds of help, whether it's to take a selfie or find their lost car. It also alerts them to crimes that are happening in real time.
This is the coolest part of the game, by the way: making yourself useful to the population, in that light-hearted Spider-Man way. Swinging through the city in pursuit of objectives, whether extra or main, is extremely satisfying. So satisfying that traversing the city becomes a pleasure rather than a chore: I hardly used any fast travel - and there are plenty of points for that.
Sound and activities make the city come alive
It's also interesting to note the team's sound work for when we're swinging around: heroic hip hop, which reflects a lot of Miles Morales' personality.
In other words, everything helps to make us want to go out throwing webs between buildings and, the further the game progresses, and the more side missions and extra activities we do, the more our web swing we get.
There are also activities dotted around the city, all of which are fairly quick and simple. Some, however, are not so good. Like finding a sound to make a beat (it's not very intuitive, and it should be, in this case). And some of the crimes around the city end up taking longer than they should, such as saving crashed helicopters.
Even so, the activities are very fluid and the desire is to complete the entire map: after all, the game is short. Even if you do all the extra objectives, it's unlikely to take more than 20 hours to complete Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
Web, shock and snow
Set in the freezing winter of New York, Miles Morales takes place in snowy settings. I confess that it's not my favorite type of setting. And at various times it detracts from the beauty of the game, as it gives the city too much of a grayish appearance, especially at night. I felt a certain inconsistency of graphic quality at various times. Indoors, everything is beautiful, while outside, at certain times, the scenery left something to be desired.
Even so, most of the time, the game looks pretty good. You can even choose the type of graphics performance you want, even with Ray Tracing activated in the game. Playstation 5but locked at 30 frames per second. I preferred, as almost always, to play in performance mode, losing a little graphic quality. But I prioritized a more fluid experience. Even with a few performance drops here and there at certain moments.
The game's sound work is very good, with great music and good dubbing of the characters. The low point is the sound pollution caused by the number of phone calls Miles Morales receives, as well as the very annoying podcasts from journalists that pop up all the time (fortunately, these can be deactivated via the options menu).
Our Spider-Man
Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a very good game. So short that it could be a DLC for its big brother, Spider-Man himself, the one with Peter Parker. The game's extremely positive message about diversity and inclusion, as well as a very personal plot to Miles MoralesThe choice of being a complete game is justified.
After all, it's hard to get bored with such a short but satisfying game. You're left with a taste for more, which you'll soon be able to satisfy in Spider-Man 2.
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 e PC.
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