Analysis | Spider-Man: Miles Morales keeps what was great and adds style

All about

Normal humans can identify with heroes for a variety of factors. They are the symbol of virtue and sacrifice, powerful and capable of anything, even if unattainable. One of the biggest benefits of creating Stan Lee, however, was keeping all of these aspects almost intact, except for the last one, and turning Spider-Man into someone like you and me.

From a dumb kid to a friend Tony Stark from theaters, there were several iterations, something that is repeated in games as well. And more than a beautiful representation of the hero, Marvel’s Spider-Man, since 2018, it has also become one of the best titles for PlayStation 4. Gamers wanted more, Sony wanted more and the result is now in our hands.

The scenario, after all, was already designed, with the character of this individual expansion, which walks on its own feet despite the short duration and similar concepts, already known by the fans. It’s time for the “other Spider-Man”, Miles Morales, to shine. And it definitely did.

The game that opens the doors of the PlayStation 5 but maintains its strong roots on PS4 carries all the qualities of its predecessor. Navigating New York remains the main point of strength and adventure we could spend hours exploring the possibilities that allows us crossing the web, as we fly at high speed between the skyscrapers, and listen to the surprise of passers-by with the hero who has just passed in the lead, headed for a mission or Christmas lunch.

Add to that, in this expansion, the same evil of Miles, which comes through well-written dialogues and the soundtrack that reinforces the original themes, adds new and gives a rhythm to everything. The songs in the license are as good as those made for the game, with a natural rhythm that accompanies the action scenes, the moments of tenderness, always in a good mood and more tense or sad situations.

It seems like something is always playing, whether it’s a podcast or a call from a secret partner or crime-fighting, plus the songs themselves. And with that Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales it also gives the feeling that something is happening all the time and makes it natural to execute side missions, even in the most urgent or intriguing moments of the main mission.

The “other Spider-Man”, after all, finds himself transformed into New York’s only hero. After doing well in a fight against Rhino, he makes Peter Parker, the hero of the first game in the series, feel comfortable enough to take a vacation to rest from the events of the original game. After all, the big bad guys are all stuck, but obviously we wouldn’t have a game if a new threat didn’t arise.

Different figures enter, each in their own way, representing threats to the city, to the hero and, as always happens in the stories of Spider-Man, to those who care most. On the one hand, there is Simon Krieger, the ambitious CEO of Roxxon, a company that has developed a type of clean and renewable energy, but with its own commas. On the other is Tinkerer, the leader of a criminal group called the Underground, who appears to have a personal feud with the company and the city.

This creates the opportunity for the main campaign of Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which brings a somewhat manic, but still entertaining plot. Anyone who follows the movies, stories or anything involving the heroes will know exactly where the story is leading the player, without any really surprising twists and turns. Storytelling helps package the adventure, delivering what you’d expect from it and nothing more.

Some creative tricks, on the other hand, also appear here. Insomniac Games does not underestimate the intelligence of the players and, moreover, recent memory, not daring to pretend that no one has watched “Spider-Man in the Spider-Man” and using the plot twist of the film as a trivial and interesting plot point . On the other hand, there is a negative note for the use of Tinkerer, which here appears in a very different way from what readers are used to, since this aspect is also not used.

Also notable are the characters surrounding Spider-Man himself, with an emphasis on the dialogues between Miles and his best friend, Ganke, and the beastly teenage relationship between the protagonist and Phin. As much as they unfold here, they are uninspired and quite predictable, you can identify with the guy who is forced to face great responsibilities at such a young age. Though he appears to be even more powerful than his mentor, insecurity is still a major brake on him, and anyone who says he can’t know how he feels would be lying.

Always moving

However, more fun than following the main story is working with the city itself in an app created by Ganke, Miles’ best friend. Almost like an Uber-Spider, the new hero is also proving himself in New York by doing a series of side missions (or not) while receiving distress calls, stolen cars, pigeons and missing cats. They are quick missions that break the great forays seen in the main storyline, while also allowing for rapid character evolution.

In this aspect, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales follows the same logic as its predecessor, with different skill trees for gear, hero abilities and, of course, clothing. The custom here is not inspired as what we saw in the game with Peter Parker, who has many more stories to tell, but the clothes are interesting and bring interesting nods to other iterations of the hero and the comic moments, as well as a very creative use of the outfit he used in “Aranhaverso”.

Among maneuvers between jumps, chasing Underground coffers with objects and crimes in progress, the feeling is that there is always something to do, that’s been flying eight hours needed to finish the game the first time. . And, as in the original, the lightness of the game and the amount of things to do mean that the return to this New York becomes a testament as soon as the credits are over.

The time elapsed between the original game and this has also brought several improvements to the title, which no longer has as many bugs as the original and has an even more natural movement. The experience also translates into an open world even more beautiful, even in the basic version of PlayStation 4, and an art of exquisite taste and content, which completely changes the personality of the title, even if it takes place in the same places as the original .

Adopting the Christmas atmosphere helps a lot in this, along with the graffiti found everywhere and the soundtrack too. All experience with Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales it has a charming personality and makes the player ask for more. It’s just the kind of game you want to play “just a little more” and when you look at the clock, the hours will have passed.

The mistakes of the past, of course, are also made here, as the room on the fingers by the amount of hero’s powers, now even more with Miles’ unique abilities, and still unexplained use of original characters, heroes and villains names in dubbing. in Portuguese. Fortunately, this time it is possible to change the language of the speeches independently of the subtitles, while the version in our language is also of extreme quality, despite this.

Although shorter and without the big surprises in store for the original, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales becomes as good as. All the elements that delighted the first game are here, with the expansion bringing in new characters and a different but recognizable world. It is an opportunity worth visiting again.

Going further, the new adventure also presents itself as an aperitif of what is to come. Like a cross-gen game, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales It does not fully exploit the potential of PlayStation 5, while taking full advantage of the capabilities of its predecessor, leaving quell’anticipazione for the sequence of truth, which has not been announced yet, but we all know that will come. And then yes, the stakes and the excitement really rise.

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales was released on November 12, 2020 for PlayStation 4 and PS5. At Canaltech, the game has been analyzed on PS4 in a digital copy kindly provided by Sony.