Refill those web cartridges true believers, because hot off the heels of his long-standing mentor, Spider-Man: Miles Morales has web-zipped his way onto the PC, taking an already amazing title and giving it a, dare I say, spectacular new coat of paint? Don’t judge me, Peter would get it.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales acts as a sort of expansion or interquel for Insomniac’s Spidey series, featuring a somewhat truncated campaign in exchange for a lower price but still packing that lovely level of polish and flair people came to admire from the first title. As before, not only are web crawler fans getting a chance to re-experience the adventure with new and improved visuals, but those without PlayStations as well! Excelsior!
Now there are two of them!
So spoilers going in if you haven’t realised by now: there’s another Spider-Man! You’re given a quick little recap of Miles’ involvement within the previous game to catch you up to speed (skipping over the rest of its plot for those who want to still play it), and then it’s go time, starting out the second Spider-Man’s career as a superhero! Comic fans will recognise a few familiar faces of course, but Insomniac has also gone and put their own spin on things as before, providing a new narrative to dig into as the defender of Harlem.
What you end up with is a really nice mix of Spidey swinging action and combat, your expected super heroics and thrills, and some beautifully detailed grounded moments with Miles’ friends and family, allowing you to know more about the young man with the mask on and off; does it make you feel like Spider-Man? Possibly. Does it make you feel FOR Spider-Man? Certainly.
Stack don’t crack
Like it’s predecessor there isn’t really any changes to the gameplay with this PC version, and instead the focus has been on making the game look GORGEOUS. I was able to enjoy the game on high settings with nary a dip in performance, even whilst swinging at full speed from one side of the city to the other, whether I was street-level and being wished a merry Christmas or brushing past skyscrapers and dodging pigeons like Neo dodging bullets. With the addition of uncapped framerates and ray-tracing, it really is a sight to behold, actually making my jaw drop while wearing certain costumes (seriously, the 2020 suit is a must on PC).
The gameplay itself is of course as stellar as fans remember, building off Peter’s solid foundation and introducing the fun new Venom mechanic (no not the big symbiote dude) which allows you to one punch your foes in a way that never gets old. Add to that some wonderfully dynamic city traversal and a heaping of side activities that would make a KFC bucket sheepish and you’ve got yourself a good time on your hands.
An arachnid in the system?
Throughout my time with Spider-Man: Miles Morales I’ve only experienced a handful of little issues, and they’ve all had to do with the menus, as it sometimes fails to recognise the input of my controller for certain things and requires me to use the mouse, or claims to have unlocked something which is just a blank slot.
With that said the game is currently receiving patches, having even received one the day of writing this, so it’s safe to assume smaller issues like these will be addressed in the near future, but thankfully they didn’t halt my progress.
“There’s a plethora of accessibility options… just be a Spider-Man without being held back…”
On a happier note, there’s a plethora of accessibility options, and they’re designed to assist in a myriad of ways for those who want or need them, allowing you to alter the nature of certain inputs, change colours for colourblindness, and really just be a Spider-Man without being held back.
Sadly I couldn’t find an option for full subtitles for the hearing impaired like with the first game, so it isn’t perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction at the very least.
Give an inch…
Spider-Man: Miles Morales is currently $74.95 on Steam, which some would consider rather dear, especially given it’s shorter length and original 2020 release date on PS4 and PS5. That said, it’s still a fantastic title, and for those willing to dive in, it’s easy to create hours of your own entertainment from the sights and swinging alone. And hey, it’s snowing in New York here, so it might make a Spidey fan you know a good stocking stuffer? Y’know, like a digital stocking? Or you could like, write the product code on a card and put THAT in the stocking… I’ll see myself out…
Spider-Man: Miles Morales is available now for PC.
About the Author
Sonii Winters
She/her
I'm a plural trans woman who's been gaming since she was little. I grew up on Mario, Sonic, and Mega Man X, and I still love to play all sorts of games to this day! I love to draw, sprite, figure paint and even voice act, so yes, I'm a big ol' dork and proud of it :P
