The launch of a new console is always an exciting and rightfully celebrated event. However, it’s a rarity to find a game as exceptional as Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales to share in this gaming extravaganza.
Launch lineups often lack major titles and can sometimes deflate gamers’ lofty expectations. While Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales fundamentally caters to cross-gen gaming, the PlayStation 5 succeeds in significantly enhancing the overall experience. This is thanks to its two display mode options, lightning-fast load times, and stunningly clear 4K visuals.
Visually, it’s a masterpiece, serving as a worthy sequel to 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man. However, it’s more akin to a generously sized expansion rather than a full-blown successor. If you draw parallels to games like Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, you’ll be on the right track. This condensed experience doesn’t compromise on entertainment value. Anticipate awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping set pieces, voice acting that rivals Hollywood standards, and sensational HDR implementation throughout (provided you have a compatible display).
The true standout in this game is, unsurprisingly, the young Miles Morales. At just seventeen years old, this New Yorker is instantly endearing and refreshingly genuine. Miles exudes warmth and kindness, displaying a deep love for his friends and family while genuinely caring about others. His character embodies the kind-heartedness that we all aspire to emulate.
Miles Morales: A Hero’s Journey
In a world where many voices clamor for attention and genuine acts of human kindness can be rare, Miles’ wholesomeness shines through. There’s no need for unnecessary bravado or misplaced confidence in his demeanor. Miles Morales represents a refreshing change, a reminder of the goodness that can exist within us all.
Miles Morales’ character becomes all the more authentic as he grapples with the complexities of his new dual life. Balancing the role of a typical teenage kid with the responsibilities of saving New York as Spider-Man is no small feat, even with the guidance of his excellent mentor, Peter Parker. Yet, Miles must also navigate the challenges of adapting to a new environment when he moves to Harlem with his mother. The result is a captivating story that immediately draws you in, delivered with exceptional presentation values from the very beginning to the end.
Entrusted with the task of safeguarding a snow-covered New York while Peter enjoys a well-deserved vacation, Miles experiences events that ultimately shape him into the hero the city desperately needs. However, he will also uncover deeply personal secrets that force him to make life-altering decisions.
The game commences in dramatic fashion as you join forces with Peter to stop a rampaging Rhino, wreaking havoc in his path. This serves as the perfect introduction to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and provides a thrilling glimpse of what lies ahead in the game’s captivating narrative.
The moment you find yourself steering Rhino through a bustling mall while perched atop his colossal shoulders is truly arresting. The seamless transitions between gameplay, quick-time-events, and cinematics are executed flawlessly. It’s easy to forget just how close video games have come to emulating the best that Hollywood has to offer, and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales serves as a compelling reminder that this divide continues to narrow.
Awesome Modes
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales has introduced a game-changing update that provides players with a welcome choice in how they experience the game on the PS5. With three distinct modes now available, namely Fidelity, Performance, and Performance RT, gamers have the freedom to tailor their gameplay to their preferences.
Fidelity serves as the default setting, delivering a visually stunning experience with ray-tracing, enhanced lighting, and additional effects. It utilizes temporal techniques to offer impeccable image quality, albeit at a locked 30 frames per second. Meanwhile, Performance mode sacrifices some of these graphical enhancements but boosts the resolution to 4K from a lower base resolution. Finally, Performance RT mode offers the best of both worlds, retaining ray tracing and 60fps but slightly reducing the resolution to around 1080p, along with adjustments to reflection quality and pedestrian density.
While the allure of ray-tracing is undeniable, with its ability to render realistic reflections and lighting that was previously unattainable on last-generation consoles, many players have found themselves gravitating towards the Performance or Performance RT modes, and for good reason.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales truly shines when you’re gracefully leaping off skyscrapers and soaring over the bustling streets of New York below. A higher framerate ensures that onscreen action remains silky-smooth, allowing every intricate detail of the game world to stand out.
Moreover, opting for 60fps significantly reduces input latency, enhancing the fluidity and responsiveness of combat sequences as you take on adversaries. Even without the graphical flourishes found in Fidelity mode, animations appear more lifelike in this mode. Perhaps most notably, players report a seamless experience without any noticeable drops or hitches, a marked improvement compared to the Performance modes of the last-gen PS4 Pro, which often fell short of expectations.
The power is in your hands
- The DualSense’s adaptive triggers are used rather sparingly, but they enhance key moments.
- 3D audio is subtle yet noticeable, adding depth to the gaming experience.
- Plenty of challenges and side quests await, extending the game’s lifespan.
While the main story offers 10 to 12 hours of gameplay, there’s an abundance of content post-credits. Traversal, combat, and stealth challenges, along with engaging side quests accessed through the ‘Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man App,’ justify the game’s price.
Side quests offer more than simple point A to point B tasks, rewarding players with tokens for upgrades. The variety keeps things interesting; one mission involves rescuing a store owner’s cat, while another has you restoring a food shelter’s water supply by scanning an underground pipe network.
Discover collectibles scattered across the city, including mementos from Miles’s childhood and mini-challenges that enrich the game’s backstory and characters. While most require reaching specific destinations, the enjoyable traversal makes the journey part of the appeal.
Verdict
In a year marked by the postponement of numerous superhero films due to the pandemic, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales shines as the undisputed action blockbuster of the year. While it may not be the definitive must-have game to fully demonstrate the capabilities of the PS5—Astro’s Playroom accomplishes that feat more effectively by showcasing the potential of Sony’s new console and controller—Spider-Man: Miles Morales firmly solidifies itself as another exceptional PlayStation exclusive. Its excellence is bound to leave fans of other gaming platforms casting envious glances towards Sony’s gaming ecosystem.
Discover the gaming world through the eyes of Ana Luíza, the dynamic force behind howtoplay.blog. From a casual player to a respected author and redactor, Ana’s journey is a testament to her passion. Her writings transcend ordinary guides, offering deep insights and connecting every type of gamer with the essence of virtual adventures.
