May The Best Spider Win

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

- Tim Augustin

Spider-Man: Miles Morales hands over the Spidey-reins to Peter Parker’s protégé, but this isn’t a full-blown sequel, however. It largely features the exact same environments and gameplay mechanics.

By this point, Miles has grown quite a bit under Peter’s wing. But when Peter announces his temporary absence (he’s headed off to Symkaria to take pictures for a story Mary Jane is working on), Miles is unsure of whether he can step up to protect his city. This becomes a theme that runs through the entire game. His endearingly optimistic nature is occasionally hampered by questions like, “Is Peter my mentor or my partner?” or, “What pun would he have made after beating up that bad guy?”

The story that explores all this brings back multiple characters from the previous game like Miles’ mother Rio Morales and Gloria from FEAST. It also fleshes out Miles’ slice of New York with new characters and locations, like his best friend Ganke and new home in Harlem. Miles himself is a fantastic protagonist, and any doubts I might have had about him leading his own game evaporated almost instantly.