First Impressions of Spider Man: Miles Morales
Right now, everyone is talking about the PlayStation 5. It released just yesterday, and I’m admittedly getting a bit of FOMO. Although I’m very much a Nintendo person, I’ve also owned every PlayStation console (until now). To try and do away with that FOMO, I’m pretending to own a PS5 by playing one of its games, Spider Man: Miles Morales, on the PS4. I absolutely loved the original game, and now I’m thoroughly and lazily enjoying myself with Miles Morales.
In December 2018, to prepare myself for the then-imminent release of Kingdom Hearts III, I bought myself a PS4 with no games. The Best Buy cashier wanted to confirm with me several times that I didn’t want to buy any games. I told him I’m a Kingdom Hearts fan, and he immediately understood. I made it back to Columbia, Mo., left for a 2.5-week study abroad trip, and came back to my PS4, jet-lagged and exhausted. I waited another week to use it when Kingdom Hearts III released, and then I played it obsessively. When I finished the game, I realized that I should probably get some other games for this expensive console I purchased. Like I said, I’m a Nintendo guy. Games such as God of War and Red Dead Redemption 2, frankly, don’t appeal to me. I like Super Mario, Animal Crossing, and Pokémon, so what do you expect?
However, when Spider Man released on the PS4 in late 2018, I was getting big-time FOMO as a Spider Man and Marvel fan. The game looked incredible. I wanted to swing recklessly through New York City and beat up bad guys. That seemed fun, and now I finally could. I bought the game a week after finishing Kingdom Hearts III, and I finished the game in a single weekend. Needless to say, I had so, so much fun.
Now, I’m avoiding making that big PS5 purchase by playing Spider Man: Miles Morales on my PS4. This new game is much shorter than its predecessor, as it’s been positioned as more of a DLC pack and less of a full-fledged, 20-hour game. It takes 8-10 hours to beat the game, but it’s still incredibly fun. Although it feels very similar to the original game, that’s not a fault at all, considering how fluid and enjoyable the first game is. There’s crime to stop, collectibles to find, mysteries to uncover, and missions to complete. This is Spider Man, after all. But the focus is now on Miles, the new Spider Man who takes over spidey duties when Peter Parker and MJ vacation in Europe during the holiday season.
Miles, who is also the protagonist from the 2018 film Into the Spider-Verse, is a precocious high school student who’s still familiarizing himself with his newfound powers. While Peter is gone, he investigates the shady corporation Roxxon and their exploitation of “clean” (it’s not clean) energy, which they call Nuform. Because this game is still very new, I don’t want to spoil anything I’ve learned in my play-through thus far. I’m probably a third of the way finished with it, and my favorite parts of the game so far are the Spider-Verse suits/mods, which mimic the animation style of Into the Spider-Verse.
Anyway, I just want to get back to playing this game because I’m having a hard time focusing on anything that isn’t Spider Man: Miles Morales at the moment. If you have a PS4, or if you’re lucky enough to have a PS5, this game is very much worth your time.
Side note: Don’t worry. I have other PS4 games now. I own the Kingdom Hearts collections, Persona 5, and Final Fantasy VII Remake, as well. I’m not that sinful.