Marvel's Spider-Man Review: Miles Morales, New Spider, Same Formula

Two years after the adventures of Peter Parker, the famous Marvel superhero is back in a brand new adventure. A hybrid title available on both PS4 and PS5, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales has the daunting task of supporting Sony's latest machine when it launches. But are we facing a real new and next-gen game or rather a DLC sold at full price? Our answer lies in this test.

Marvel's Spider-Man Review: Miles Morales, New Spider, Same Formula View PriceRead ConclusionMarvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Almost perfect graphically and technically (even on PS4)
This feeling of freedom and power while embodying Spider-Man
Miles' Powers That Offer New Possibilities
The special atmosphere that emanates from this opus

Very classic scenario in the end agreed
Uninteresting side activities
Few major novelties since Marvel's Spider-Man
Where are the supervillains?

Last June, the hasty announcement of a new Spider-Man game had something to surprise players. Indeed, barely two short years after the excellent title signed Insomniac Games, the American studio is already offering us a direct sequel to celebrate the launch of the PlayStation 5. However, this software no longer features the famous Monte-en l air but another human spider played by the young and intrepid Miles Morales. But is it possible to speak of an entirely new production? It is time to put events in context.

A Miles without real adversity

The story takes place a year after the misadventures of Peter Parker. The latter must be absent from New York and entrusts the security of the city to the second Spider-Man camped by Miles Morales. But everything will quickly go into a spin when a faction called Underground decides to attack the Roxxon company. It is renowned for the manufacture of Nuform, a clean energy that is supposed to revolutionize the world of tomorrow. Our young hero will then have to save his neighborhood of Harlem which is at the heart of this war.

As a whole, the scenario is classic, to say the least, despite a few moments of bravery of which only Marvel has the secret. Without spoiling the content, the grand finale is not very original and is content to use the codes of superhero films. Fans of the genre will not be disappointed. Miles is still a rather endearing protagonist in which very current social issues are reflected. These elements are well integrated into the narrative. We can unfortunately regret the lack of relief of the secondary characters who take up all the archetypes of the genre. With one exception, the supervillains of the Marvel universe are conspicuously absent from the game and leave a certain void.

Acheter Spider-Man Miles Morales

Like a (good) feeling of déjà vu

For the rest, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales takes up the main lines of the Insomniac title released in 2018 on PS4. The gameplay is in all respects similar even if the addition of new powers based on bioelectricity and invisibility remains appreciable. The game alternates between walk sequences at the end of a web, nervous fights during which you have to dodge then attack like a Batman Arkham and infiltration phases. Two years later, the recipe still works just as well and delivers a real feeling of satisfaction once a confrontation is over.

New York has not moved one iota either except that the story takes place during the Christmas holidays. Snow and decorations therefore invade the streets for an absolutely splendid rendering on PS4 as on PS5 (we will come back to this later). We also take undisguised pleasure in throwing ourselves into the void and swinging from building to building with childlike simplicity. It is not necessary to have touched the adventures of Peter Parker to immediately get used to the controls. While the handling has retained its flexibility of yesteryear, it also retains the approximations of the time with a Spider-Man who does not always land in the desired place or who clings to a surface without asking advice. of the player.

JVFR

The scenery is frankly dizzying

A spider quickly dispatched

What earns its reputation as "luxury DLC" (or stand-alone) to Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is above all its lifespan. Before seeing the magnificent end credits scrolling, the main story keeps the player invested for eight short hours. It may not seem like much, but you should know that this opus is not sold as a real sequel to the original Marvel's Spider-Man (despite its fairly steep price). Secondary activities prolong the pleasure, but these objectives are too often off-putting and uninteresting. It is mainly about challenges, collecting objects across New York or stopping crimes committed in the city.

JVFR

Spider and cat team up to save New York

But not everything is to be thrown in the radius of the side missions. Some managed to make us smile (thanks to the cats!) and the sumptuous costumes to unlock as you progress are a real source of motivation. The diehards will probably not hesitate to launch a New Game + to have access to all the gadgets, skills and therefore costumes that can only be obtained by finishing the game a second time. Sure, we're a far cry from the monstrous content offered by a lot of open world games, but Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales narrowly avoids the silly, nasty filler...so we're not going to complain about that.

JVFR

Most of the costumes are incredible and their rendering is sometimes very surprising

Deafening beauty for all

Insomniac masters its craft to perfection when it comes to creating games that are both beautiful and practically technically flawless. This new Spider-Man is simply magnificent with an imperial modeling of the characters as environments. The lighting is also a real treat for the eyes (especially in HDR). Framerate drops are only very slight and above all extremely rare. If these observations are true on PS5 (see our box dedicated to this version), they are just as true on PS4. No version suffers from major problems at this level. The copy is almost perfect!

JVFR

Yes, we are on PS4!

More generally, it is the atmosphere that emanates from the game that is refreshing. If it does not invent anything about its gameplay or its scenario, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is adorned with an atmosphere that is both jovial and serious when the situation calls for it. All this is magnified by a high-end soundtrack propelled by skilfully orchestrated pieces and music that ideally fits the chosen sequences. Finally, the cinematics also contribute to the immersion thanks to their explosive staging which really has nothing to envy to the feature films produced by Disney.

JVFR

The very complete photo mode is back to capture sumptuous shots

What about the PS5 version?

Alongside the PS4 version, we were able to try Miles Morales on Sony's new next-gen console. This version benefits from the custom SSD to make loading times almost instantaneous. It will take less than 3 seconds to load your game, or perform a fast travel. From a graphics point of view, the game offers two modes: "fidelity" which introduces effects related to ray tracing in 4K at 30 frames / sec; and "performance" which deactivates ray tracing but allows you to play in 4K at 60 frames sec. You can see the differences between these two modes in our video below.

On our side, we preferred to play in the "fidelity" mode, which brings magnificent reflections thanks to ray tracing, and reinforces the immersion. On the other hand, we were disappointed with the use of the DualSense, very little used with basic vibrations and nothing to report on the side of the adaptive triggers. Really disappointing for a first party game!

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, l'avis de Clubic

It is clearly not this Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales that will revolutionize the formula launched with the 2018 episode... And that was not the goal for Sony. Indeed, this exclusivity of the Japanese manufacturer mainly plays the role of “loss leader” intended for the general public to promote the PS5.

But despite the wanderings in the script, this feeling of warming up (in the end not so embarrassing) and some small flaws in its gameplay, the game from Insomniac Games is pleasant to browse. What a pleasure to control with ease an agile, powerful and endearing Spider-Man. The creators of Ratchet & Clank love the Marvel superhero and it shows in every minute spent in his company.

Finally, how to sulk our pleasure in the face of such a beautiful and fluid open world. The technical copy made by the studio has something to excite us for future productions stamped PlayStation Studios on PS5. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a superb technological showcase for the Japanese manufacturer's console... And that's not nothing!

Test carried out mainly on PS4 Pro from a commercial version

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales

With Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sony has successfully transitioned to the PS5 while giving the PS4 one of its latest gems. The risk taking is minimal but the gaming pleasure is maximum!