Note: This review will contain some spoilers for Marvel Spider-Man Remastered, as the plot follows directly from that game.


Some games are all about letting the player be someone else. For the developer, their attempt to allow the player that power comes with the responsibility to ensure it’s a very enjoyable experience. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is pretty successful in this regard.

First, some background. Miles Morales originated as a “what-if” alternate universe version of Spider-Man. Where mainline Spider-Man is the white Peter Parker, Miles Morales is a half-black, half-Latino kid who usually gets his powers the same way original Spider-Man gets his. Spider-Man: Miles Morales takes place in a universe where both versions of Spider-Man co-exist.

This game continues directly from the story of the original Spider-Man. During that game, Miles Morales would also be bitten by a radioactive spider, and he would gain Spider-Man's powers. Taken under the wing of Peter Parker, Miles basically becomes the latter’s protege. Peter leaves the city soon after to deal with business overseas, leaving Miles to defend New York in his place.

It’s worth noting here that this game is somewhat shorter than the original Spider-Man. This game is basically a glorified “stand-alone DLC”. It reuses the same map (with some edits) and most of the original assets, albeit with some moderate tweaks. Even the story structure is largely copied from the original game. For that reason, this game is cheaper to purchase, but be aware that it’s not as long.

Like the original title, this game features a lot of exploration, combat, stealth, and some puzzles. Miles’ version of Spider-Powers includes electric abilities, which provide new ways to fight and explore. Unlike the last game, which had a set number of certain types of combat encounters, various crimes and other incidents can happen randomly while web-slinging around the city. The leveling system also got an overhaul, streamlining character upgrades to be much less complicated than the last title.

Graphically, this game shares the same engine as its predecessor, and it looks just as good. It’s set during the winter now, so New York City has a lot of snow. The textures, models, and reflections continue to be just as high quality as well.

The music and sounds are excellent. Some tracks have Hispanic and black influences, like Miles’ slightly hip-hop accented version of the Spider-Man theme. Voice acting remains outstanding, and both returning and new voice actors are good. Given Miles’ mixed heritage, he and a few other characters will speak in fluent English and Spanish.

This title can be played with any Steam-supported controller or keyboard and mouse. The former is HEAVILY recommended; you will want the finer-grained control over movement provided by a controller. Controls are remappable, but the default controls are good, and the game has very patient tutorials.

Stability is mostly solid. This title runs natively on Microsoft Windows and can run on Linux via Steam Proton. It is also Verified for the Steam Deck. It’s worth noting that I had a few soft/hard locks while playing. At worst, I had to restart from the last checkpoint, and this game stays stable more often than not, but be advised of this problem.

Morally, there is some concerning content.

Violence in-game is generally, despite the profusion of guns and explosives, mostly bloodless. Miles Morales, much like the original Spider-Man, has a firm code of personal conduct that involves a refusal to willingly kill and makes every effort to use non-lethal violence.

Language is generally PG-13 level, and there is a profuse amount of foul language like s**t and g*d**m. The dialogue thankfully stays mostly out of the sexual gutter, though.

There is no sex depicted. One building on the map has a prominently displayed pride flag and a larger mural of the same. There is also an offhand mention of a lesbian couple.

This game is set in the Marvel universe, so there are implications of supernatural beings in the background. This game mostly takes place amongst the more grounded science-fiction elements of the Spider-Man canon. This title features nigh exclusively science fiction content and little else in gameplay, though.

Morally, Miles Morales is as upstanding as Peter Parker. Like Parker, he believes “with great power comes great responsibility”. Despite being a vigilante, he makes every effort to assist the police and any other lawful figure in maintaining public safety. There are a few depictions of smoking and drinking as well.

Overall, I rather enjoyed this game. Technically, it had some stability issues, but nothing I considered a deal-breaker. Morally, this game is definitely only suited for older teenagers, given the themes. If you want a good superhero open-world game to satisfy your fantasies or you are a Spider-Man fan, then this title comes very highly recommended.