Marvel’s Spider-Man Mile Morales
Playtime: 16.8 Hours
I have very mixed feelings on this game.
I very much loved its predecessor, Marvel's Spider-man is a fantastic game with a great story and brilliant combat.
Miles Morales feels like a downgrade.
First of all, this game is very short. I 100%'d the game in 17 hours, and that's including two playthroughs. It's still New York that you are exploring, it's a brillaintly made recreation of the city and it really is fun swinging from bulding to building.
The first problem I had with this game was the main character, Miles Morales.
I liked Miles in the first game, he was a chill dude and you hoped the best for him. His voice is...especially whiny in this game and that put me off for the first few missions. I got used to it, but I wish it wasn't like that in the first place. I feel like there was a personality shift between the two games, and while that might be because he's two years older, he now just feels like discount Peter Parker.
The combat also feels like a downgrade. Miles & Peter play completely different, and that's a good thing. But I miss fundamental aspects of skill trees for this type of game such as being able to do double damage for perfectly timed punches. Miles electricity is completed overpowered as well to the point where it makes the stealth optional for a lot of missions. It's just much easier to go at it with fists. I am glad that they did cut down a lot of the non-Spider-Man parts, and that you always play as Miles.
This probably won't be an issue with you, but my performance for this game was noticeable slower than with the first game. I don't understand why because I cannot for the life of me tell a difference, but the most enjoyable way for me to play this was to lock my Steam Deck at 30fps and play that way.
The story is another mixed bag. I really appreciate that they didn't use big name villains. Me knowing nothing about them made me actually wonder what was up with them and led to a better experience because of it. The problem is a lot of the new characters are just boring and uninteresting.
Spoiler Warning Below!
Ganke helps you out the odd time. He's the guy in the chair, helps ya out, but wish he had a bit more personality.
Dana is a new podcast channel that you know would never be popular in the real world because it is just too generic and boring. J. Jonah Jameson is thankfully still in this game, and you understand why he would become popular, he's great at stirring up controversy, is angry and loud but he's an overall entertaining guy. Dana is just not entertaining to listen to.
While I didn't like those two, the next character is someone I particularly despise. Because she is exactly like Silver Sable in the first game. Phin is basically that. Phin is someone that causes terrorist attacks around New York. She does this because she wants the attention of the other villain who killed her brother. Now Phin, is actually a long-time friend of Miles Morales, so there is a connection there.
Despite this connection, Phin causes a terrorist attack near where Miles' mother is holding a politcal rally. And what does she have to say for this?
"I'm really sorry your mom got hurt at her rally."
She later goes on a blaming spree on Miles for 'setting her up' (They were both caught and locked up) for 'betraying her' (Not wanting her to kill people) and is angry at Miles saying she can't trust him anymore. She tries to hold this moral high ground like she didn't hold a blade to Miles' throat and try killing him for getting in her way as Spider-Man. And then she tries to have a redemption arc at the end, and what is supposed to be an emotional moment was the highlight of my playthrough because I didn't have to deal with her anymore.
I'd recommend this game if it was DLC for the first game. You shouldn't pay more than 10$ for this game, and it has an exorbitant price as is. It very much plays like more of the first game, but a lot of the 'Wow!' factor has disappeared.
You have better games in your Steam Library, go play those.
