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Spider-Man: Miles Morales

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"Be greater. Be yourself."
―Tagline.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a 2020 action-adventure video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, with a Windows port in 2022. Based on the comic-book character of the same name, from Marvel Comics, it is a spin-off and narrative follow-up to 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man, and the second overall installment of Insomniac's Spider-Man series.

Inspired by the mythology and multiple adaptations of Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Miles Morales takes place one year after the previous game and focuses on protagonist Miles Morales (Nadji Jeter) as he becomes his own Spider-Man while finding himself in the middle of a war between an energy corporation and the villainous Tinkerer. Gameplay is presented from third-person perspective in an open-ended map based on Manhattan. As Spider-Man, Miles has access to abilities for combat, stealth and traversal, including gadgets and Miles's unique bioelectrical powers which can be unlocked and upgraded through completion of missions, side quests and challenges. Players can roam New York freely, during which they can also stop crimes and find collectibles.

Development began following the release of 2018's Spider-Man, with the team previously deducing that Miles' story arc would eventually require its own standalone title. Insomniac Games opted to develop a smaller title in comparison to its predecessor and other contemporary AAA releases, with co-creative director Brian Horton and gaming outlets comparing its price point, scope and length to Naughty Dog's Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Spider-Man: Miles Morales was officially announced at Sony's PlayStation 5 reveal event in June 2020 alongside fellow Insomniac project Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and was released as a launch title for the console in November of that year. A PC port, developed by Nixxes Software, was announced in June 2022 and released in November of that year, two years after the console release.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales received positive reviews, and was praised for its visuals, narrative, soundtrack, gameplay refinements, and representation of Black and Puerto Rican characters. Criticism focused on repetitive open world activities and lack of significant innovation over its predecessor. Most critics praised its quality as a launch title, while others also considered it to be one of the best games of 2020; it was nominated for several end-year accolades, particularly for its animation, music and Jeter's performance. Spider-Man: Miles Morales was a commercial success, eventually toppling over 14 million copies. A successor title, Spider-Man 2, was released in 2023.

Gameplay[]

Spider-Man: Miles Morales is an action-adventure video game in which players control titular protagonist Miles Morales as he takes up the Spider-Man mantle while his mentor Peter Parker is away from town. Retaining much of its predecessor's design and mechanics, Spider-Man: Miles Morales is played from a third-person perspective with a freely controllable camera, and is set in an open world environment based on the Manhatten borough New York City. With his superpowers, Miles can freely traverse the city landscape through his web-shooters, attaching himself to surfaces and swinging across buildings; Miles can also crawl and wall-run similar to Peter's movesets, and perform mid-air stunts. Spider-Man: Miles Morales includes new animations for Miles.

Synopsis[]

Premise and characters[]

Plot[]

Development[]

Spider-Man: Miles Morales was developed by American game studio Insomniac Games and published by parent company Sony Interactive Entertainment, initially for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 home consoles.[1] Developed alongside a remastered version of its 2018 predecessor, Spider-Man: Miles Morales was one of the first projects Insomniac released as a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment, having been bought in August 2019.[2] Brian Horton, Bryan Intihar and Marcus Smith served as creative directors on the game, while Ryan Smith served as the game director; all four previously worked on the first game, in similar capacities.[3][4]

Spider-Man: Miles Morales had a development budget of $81.7 million, with a marketing budget of $25.1 million.[5] Designed as an original release, the scope of the game was likened to Naughty Dog's 2017 title Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, a standalone title that was shorter and cheaper than a full mainline release.[6][7] Spider-Man: Miles Morales went gold on October 9, 2020, roughly a month before release.[8]

Concept and story[]

During the development of Spider-Man (2018), game director Bryan Intihar suggested the inclusion of Miles Morales within Insomniac's interpretation of the comic book character.[9] Miles would be subsequently introduced in the E3 gameplay demonstration of Spider-Man in 2017[10], and become a playable character in several stealth segments of the first game.[11] Further plot elements for Miles were developed within the expansion pack trilogy, Spider-Man: The City that Never Sleeps.[12]

As Insomniac continued work on the 2018 installment, the team agreed that Miles' story would eventually require its own game. creative director Brian Horton believed that the character's multinational backstory allowed for "a more modern, diverse world".[13] Insomniac sought to tell a "full story arc" for Miles within the game[14], and as a result relegated Peter to a minor role, opting to forward his story in a later installment.[15]

Soundtrack[]

The soundtrack was composed by John Paesano, who previously composed the first game's soundtrack.[16] Three original songs were commissioned for the game: "I'm Ready" by Jaden Smith, and "Where We Come From" and "This is My Time" by Lecrae.[17]

Release[]

Reception[]

Pre-release[]

Reviews[]

  • Destructoid: 9/10
  • Easy Allies: 9/10
  • Escapist: 4.5/5
  • Eurogamer: Recommended
  • Game Informer: 9.00/10
  • GamesRadar: 4/5
  • GameSpot: 7/10
  • The Guardian: 4/5
  • IGN: 9/10
  • PlayStation LifeStyle: 10/10
  • PlayStation Universe: 9/10
  • Push Square: 8/10

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales received positive reviews. The game's PlayStation 5 holds 85/100 on MetaCritic based on 68 reviews, while the PlayStation 4 version holds 85/100 based on 17 reviews; both classified as "generally favorable reviews".[18][19] On OpenCritic, the game holds a 85/100 based on 89 reviews with a critic recommendation of 94%.[20]

IGN's Jonathan Dornbush called Miles Morales a "worthy followup" to 2018's Spider-Man which considered to be "one of the best superhero games ever made". GameInformenr's Andrew Reiner found the game to be "consistently engaging and powerful", while VideoGamer's Josh Wise compared the game's storytelling and technical achievements to those of fellow developer Naughty Dog. GameSpot's Jordan Ramée praised it as a "compelling open-world action game" and its usage of Miles' culture.

Sales[]

Gallery[]

Media[]

Videos[]

References[]

  1. ↑ Hulst, Hermen. Worldwide Studios: First look at 9 new PS5 games, PlayStation.Blog. Published June 11, 2020.
  2. ↑ Dornbush, Jonathon. Sony Acquires Spider-Man PS4 Developer Insomniac Games as First-Party PlayStation Studio, IGN. Published August 19, 2019.
  3. ↑ Spider-Man: Miles Morales end credits.
  4. ↑ Spider-Man (2018) end credits.
  5. ↑ "As per the leaked document, the game had a development budget of $81.7 million and a marketing budget of $25.1 million, while the licensing fee for Marvel being $106.5 million."
    Parijat, Shubhanker. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Has Sold Over 14.4 Million Units, Gaming Bolt. Published December 19, 2023.
  6. ↑ Ramsey, Robert. Correction: Spider-Man Miles Morales Is a Brand New, Standalone PS5 Game Similar to Uncharted Lost Legacy, Push Square. Published June 12, 2020.
  7. ↑ Brian Horton: "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."
    Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – An update from Insomniac Games, PlayStation.Blog. Published June 18, 2020.
  8. ↑ Spider-Man: Miles Morales On PS4 And PS5 Has Gone Gold, GameSpot. Published October 9, 2020.
  9. ↑ Brian Horton: "At Insomniac Games, we’ve loved the character of Miles Morales for a long time. It started years ago, when Bryan Intihar (Creative Director, Marvel’s Spider-Man), suggested that we should have Miles Morales be a part of the same universe as Peter Parker. We sneakily introduced him at the end of our E3 2017 demo, surprising the audience when they thought the PlayStation Briefing was over."
    Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – An update from Insomniac Games, PlayStation.Blog. Published June 18, 2020.
  10. ↑ https://www.polygon.com/e3/2017/6/12/15772652/spider-man-e3-2017
  11. ↑ https://screenrant.com/spider-man-ps4-miles-morales-powers/
  12. ↑ Spider-Man: The City that Never Sleeps, Insomniac Games. 2018.
  13. ↑ Brian Horton: "As we continued with the Marvel’s Spider-Man universe, we knew that Miles’s origin story as a Spider-Man was something that needed its own game. Miles’s multicultural background reflects a more modern, diverse world and we wanted to give players a new story, with new set-pieces, fresh villains, and unique quests across Marvel’s New York City. This had to be a can’t-miss next adventure in the Marvel’s Spider-Man universe."
    Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – An update from Insomniac Games, PlayStation.Blog. Published June 18, 2020.
  14. ↑ Brian Horton: "We know a lot of you want to know how big this game is. Our team at Insomniac has been working incredibly hard to bring you a fantastic Miles Morales adventure since we concluded development on Marvel’s Spider-Man. 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. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is an important, heartfelt, emotional and essential experience to expanding the Marvel’s Spider-Man universe. And we hope it will be for you as well."
    Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – An update from Insomniac Games, PlayStation.Blog. Published June 18, 2020.
  15. ↑ Brian Horton: "Oh and one last thing: Many of you fans have wondered if Peter Parker is OK. Don’t worry, we still have much of Peter’s story left to tell. But this game is all about Miles, a critical part of our Spider-Man universe, and you won’t want to miss what happens."
    Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – An update from Insomniac Games, PlayStation.Blog. Published June 18, 2020.
  16. ↑ https://screenrant.com/spider-man-miles-morales-soundtrack-ost-spotify/
  17. ↑ https://www.ccmmagazine.com/news/lecrae-featured-on-marvel-spider-man-game-soundtrack/
  18. ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-5/marvels-spider-man-miles-morales/critic-reviews
  19. ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/marvels-spider-man-miles-morales/critic-reviews
  20. ↑ https://opencritic.com/game/10480/marvels-spider-man-miles-morales
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