Dr. ThurmThurm’s Spiderman Miles Morales PS5 Review
Spider Man: Miles Morales is a short but sweet superhero adventure that is a blast to play and an excellent demonstration of your new PlayStation 5.
I really liked 2018’s Marvels Spider-Man, but I never loved it. I found the story and side activities just a little bland for my taste. While I have some gripes, I’m much closer to loving this one. Miles really shines as the protagonist of this story and some of the emotional beats really hit me towards the end. The dialogue is pretty cringy sometimes, but I did walkaway really liking these characters. The interactions between Miles and his best friends Ganke and Phin as well his Mom feel genuine and heartfelt if not a little corny. Ganke’s commentary as the man in the chair this time is a welcome addition, and I love seeing Miles speak Spanish with his Mom off and on who serves as his emotional support. The writing really fluctuates in quality throughout the story, but it starts and ends really strong for me. The Tinkerer serves as the villain this time and provides an excellent challenge for our hero. Again, the motivations and writing are suspect at times, but they stick the landing. This is no Into The Spiderverse, but it’s an excellent introduction for those unfamiliar with the character. I even teared up at the end which really took me off guard.
Very little has changed gameplay wise from 2018 but I actually preferred the smaller skill tree and more limited list of abilities. It feels more focused, with less skills that I simply never use. All of Mile’s abilities have a specific purpose that is clear and easy to use. The invisibility and Venom powers really help differentiate him from Peter Parker as well. The new venom powers in particular are very satisfying and add some extra flash to the combat. It’s still awesome to see Spiderman fight and move so fluidly. Launching someone in the air to give them a beat down then webbing up someone across the room, before venom smashing the enemies on the ground below is a delight. Combat is fast, fun, and a joy to watch just as it was in 2018. It’s also really nice not having to do those awful stealth missions from the original game. This is undoubtably the most fun and accessible game to play at PS5 launch for my money.
Graphically Miles Morales is definitely impressive on PS5, but it may not be the huge upgrade some were hoping for as the 2018 game was already a very pretty game. I’d say it looks largely the same, but everything is sharper and more detailed. I played on fidelity mode as I enjoy the bump in graphics but having a performance mode is a really nice option I hope to see regularly throughout this generation of games.
The gripes I have with this game are minimal. Number one being the Prowler’s costume in this game. It’s terrible. This is a very important character and I cringed nearly every time he was on screen. And like I said before there is some really corny dialogue here and there. It’s enough to make me roll my eyes and want to move on to the next thing. One particular dinner scene felt like a Lifetime movie in all the worst ways. Miles Morales is also a shorter campaign than the previous one but that’s actually a positive for me as I prefer a somewhat smaller time commitment.
Overall, I loved my time with this game. It made me smile from ear to ear on several occasions and is an absolute joy to play. Spiderman Miles Morales gets a strong recommendation from me for both fans and new PS5 owners.
