Miles Morales has taken the world by storm. In less than a decade, the character has become one of the comic book industry’s biggest recent success stories. The Afro-Latino web-slinger was referenced in MCU’s ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ and got his own Oscar award-winning movie in ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’.
Now, he is getting into the swing on the gaming front as Insomniac revealed ‘Spider-Man: Miles Morales’: a PlayStation 5 followup to the 2018 smash hit ‘Marvel’s Spider-Man’.
Here’s what to expect.
A Trained Miles Morales…
His standalone game wouldn’t be the first time that the players get to control Morales — Insomniac’s ‘Spider-Man’ featured him as a playable character in investigative stealth portions. The game then ended on a poignant note with the two Spider-Men revealing their identities and superpowers to each other. The story expansion, ‘The City That Never Sleeps’, delved deeper into the relationship between the two as Peter Parker agrees to take Morales under his wing and designs a new pair of web-shooters for him.
‘Spider-Man: Miles Morales’ is set about a year after the first game and needless to say, the new Spidey knows his way around the block.
…But Not An Experienced Miles Morales
One year is not nearly enough time for a teenager to learn the hardened ways of a crime-fighting vigilante.
Morales is a work in progress, and the developers have taken special care to replicate his inexperience in the gameplay. The character will sport unique traversal animations which make him his “own Spider-Man,” according to senior animator James Ham. In a trailer recap video for PlayStation, Ham says that Miles “isn’t as confident, but he’s learning from Peter; he’s trained with Peter. He doesn’t move the same way, so when he’s swinging, he’s a little bit more flail-y.”
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. “Flail-y” traversal should remind players of the adrenaline-inducing climactic sequence from ‘Into the Spider-Verse’. And unique animations also mean…
A Unique Moveset
The radioactive spider bite brought with it the usual goodies — increased strength and speed, stickiness and spider-sense — but Morales also received exclusive powers.
He can camouflage into his surroundings, a sneaky upgrade which is sure to add variety to the stealth portions of the game. The Predator-esque ability to blend into the setting opens up tons of options for players, who could perform cinematic stealth takedowns and get out of a tight spot.
Then there’s the bioelectricity. Sure, Peter Parker zapped his fair share of adversaries with the electric web in the last game, but Morales’ current is more direct. The ‘venom blast’ can administer bioelectricity shocks to his enemies, and potentially could be used both as a quick-stun or a finishing blow. And like the web, he can also emit strands of bioelectricity from his fingers. The venom blasts can also help Morales cover large chunks of the map quickly.
Both invisibility and bioelectricity, referred to as “incredible explosive powers” by creative director Brian Horton, were featured in the reveal trailer. The hero would also be adding some more tricks to his toolset as he makes his way through the adventure.
A Holiday Adventure
Morales’ story, set in a wintry New York just before Christmas, puts the youngster in the middle of a war between “an energy corporation and a high-tech criminal army”. Morales’ friendly neighbourhood of Harlem is at the heart of the battle, and you couldn’t ask for a tougher first assignment.
Not much is known in terms of enemies, though Morales has already had run-ins with Rhino and Sable agents in the first game. In the comics, he has faced an amazing rogues gallery – including the ones he shares with Parker like Mysterio and Green Goblin. Expect such notable names to make an appearance.
A Perfect Launch
‘Spider-Man: Miles Morales’ will take to the skies on the next-generation gaming console PlayStation 5. Sony is yet to confirm the release date for the PS5 but the console, and the video game, are both planned for this holiday season. In preparation for its release, top up on your PSN Gift Cards!
As a pseudo-launch game, it is squarely on Miles Morales to showcase the array of features on the anticipated PS5. According to Horton, the exclusive title will “demonstrate the power of PlayStation 5,” with features such as near-instant loading, ray-tracing and 3D audio. The characters have been upgraded with 4D scans and improved skin shading, as well as spline-based hair, which means photorealistic models. The city of New York will also be enhanced as several assets have been updated to take advantage of the console.
Additionally, PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller will add another dimension to the gameplay. The controller’s adaptive L2 and R2 triggers will offer levels of resistance and the haptic feedback will add a sensory touch to the proceedings.
Just when you thought Spider-Man’s web-swinging couldn’t get any better!
A Smaller, Standalone Caper
There was confusion when ‘Spider-Man: Miles Morales’ was first announced, as gamers weren’t sure whether it would be an expansion to the base game or a spin-off. Insomniac Games have since confirmed that the game would be a standalone release — “You’ll experience a full story arc with Miles, one that’s more akin to a game like ‘Uncharted: The Lost Legacy’ in terms of overall scope,” Horton said.
‘Uncharted: The Lost Legacy’ was a spin-off from the main Uncharted series and was decidedly shorter with a seven-hour main story. ‘Spider-Man’ on the other hand, took about 20 hours to beat.
The developers have also clarified that Peter Parker remains an integral player in the universe, essentially confirming that the original Spider-Man will get his own proper sequel. Which means Morales’ adventure is set to be a stopgap between the two main entries of the franchise.
Conclusion
In a short time, Miles Morales has made a name for himself because he is out of the trappings of a legacy character like Peter Parker. But a more important reason behind the character’s meteoric rise is the fact that he isn’t simply a replacement. Morales, with his own racial identity and traits, is his own Spider-Man.
If Insomniac is staying true to the mythos and is giving the character his own identity, ‘Spider-Man Miles Morales’ would be worth picking up.
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