Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a 2020 action-adventure game created by Insomniac Games and released by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It is based on the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales and draws from his long history in comic books and other media. The game follows the story of Miles Morales as he learns to manage his life as a regular person and his role as a new Spider-Man. His home, Harlem, is in danger because of a conflict between the Roxxon Energy Corporation and a group of high-tech criminals called the Underground, who are led by a secret figure known as the Tinkerer.
The game is played from a third-person view, showing the player’s actions from the side. Players control Miles as he moves through New York City, talks to characters, completes missions, and gains new tools and costumes by progressing through the story or finishing tasks. Outside of the main story, players can do extra missions to earn more items and content. In battles, players combine attacks, use the environment, webs, and special powers to defeat enemies while staying safe.
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales was first announced in June 2020 and released in November 2020 for PlayStation 4 and as a new game for PlayStation 5. A version for Windows computers was later released in November 2022. Critics praised the game for its fighting system, story, and improvements in the PlayStation 5 version, though some said the game was too short. A follow-up game, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, which continues the story of the first game and directly follows Miles Morales, was released on October 20, 2023.
Gameplay
The main way to play Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is similar to its earlier version. The game takes place in a fictional version of modern-day Manhattan, which is covered in snow because the story happens during Christmas. Miles moves and fights like Peter Parker, but with new animations and powers that become available as the story progresses. These new abilities include Venom Blast, which lets players disable enemies using electric power from Miles' body and interact with electronics; Camouflage, which makes Miles temporarily invisible; and Mega Venom Blast, a large explosion of electric power that harms all nearby enemies. The game also adds new tools, such as Remote Mines that can stick to enemies or electrical panels; a device that creates holographic fighters to help in battles; and Gravity Wells that trap multiple enemies and make them easier to hit. As players level up, they can improve Miles' abilities and tools through a system that lets them choose upgrades. The game also includes a Spider-Man app that shows players where crimes are happening in New York City and alerts them to side missions that help them level up.
Miles has a "spider sense" that warns players of attacks, letting them dodge and fight back. He also uses web-shooters to fire webs for moving around and fighting in different ways. Miles can jump long distances, stick to surfaces, and travel quickly through the New York City Subway system. Players can unlock different suits for Miles, some based on versions of the character from other media and others made just for the game. Many of these suits improve his abilities, such as letting him take more damage, stay invisible longer, or recover energy faster. In some parts of the game, players control Miles as a regular person and cannot use his powers or tools.
Synopsis
The story of the game begins where Marvel's Spider-Man and its downloadable content, The City That Never Sleeps, ended. In that story, Miles Morales (voiced by Nadji Jeter) was bitten by a genetically altered spider and gained powers similar to his teacher and friend, Peter Parker (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal). A year after the first game, Miles has been trained by Peter, moved from Brooklyn to Harlem, and has taken on the role of Spider-Man. He is still learning and sometimes questions if he can live up to Peter's example. At the start of the game, Peter leaves New York for Symkaria for several weeks to help his girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson, with her work there. He trusts Miles to protect the city in his absence. Now the only Spider-Man, Miles must manage his superhero duties, help his mother, Rio Morales (voiced by Jacqueline Piñol), with her campaign for City Council, and defend his new home from a violent fight between the corrupt Roxxon Energy Corporation and a high-tech criminal group called the Underground.
Other characters from Marvel's Spider-Man return, including the villain Rhino (voiced by Fred Tatasciore), the imprisoned crime boss Wilson Fisk (voiced by Travis Willingham), the anti-Spider-Man podcast host J. Jonah Jameson (voiced by Darin De Paul), and F.E.A.S.T. volunteer Gloria Davila (voiced by Melanie Minichino). Peter's former teacher and employer, Dr. Otto Octavius (voiced by William Salyers), appears in a flashback, while Norman Osborn (voiced by Mark Rolston), the head of Oscorp and former mayor of New York, appears in a mid-credits scene. Miles's late father, Officer Jefferson Davis (voiced by Russell Richardson), is heard in a voice-only role. Norman's son, Harry, appears in a non-speaking role in the mid-credits scene through a first-person perspective.
New characters include Ganke Lee (voiced by Griffin Puatu), Miles's best friend and classmate who knows his secret identity and helps him as Spider-Man; Aaron Davis (voiced by Ike Amadi), Miles's estranged and overprotective uncle who secretly works as the armored mercenary Prowler; Simon Krieger (voiced by Troy Baker), the head of Roxxon's R&D department; Danika Hart (voiced by Ashly Burch), a podcaster who supports Spider-Man; Hailey Cooper (voiced by Natasha Ofili), a deaf street artist; Teo Alvarez (voiced by Yancey Arias), a bodega owner; Caleb Ward (voiced by Emerson Brooks), a barber; Camila Vasquez (voiced by Krizia Bajos), a restaurateur; and Phin Mason (voiced by Jasmin Savoy Brown), Miles's childhood friend who seeks revenge for her brother and Miles's friend Rick (voiced by Todd Williams) as the Tinkerer, the leader of the Underground. The mid-credits scene introduces Dr. Curt Connors, voiced by an uncredited actor.
After more than a year of training with Peter, Miles has mastered his powers and become Peter's crime-fighting partner, though he still struggles with his new responsibilities. While escorting a police transport carrying prisoners to the rebuilt Raft, Miles accidentally releases several inmates, including Rhino. During a fight with Rhino, Peter is knocked unconscious. Miles saves him and defeats Rhino using a new power called "Venom." After leaving Rhino in Roxxon's custody, Peter tells Miles he will be in Symkaria for a few weeks to help Mary Jane Watson with her work and asks Miles to protect New York as its only Spider-Man. Later, Miles investigates a break-in at Roxxon Plaza and stops the Underground from stealing Roxxon's new experimental power source, Nuform. Returning home for Christmas with Rio and Ganke, Miles is surprised to learn Rio also invited Phin, whom he has not spoken to in months. The next day, Ganke creates a Spider-Man app so citizens can contact Miles for help. Miles's uncle, Aaron, is the first to use it and reveals he knows Miles is Spider-Man.
Miles soon sees the conflict between the Underground and Roxxon grow, as the Underground attacks one of Rio's campaign rallies near Roxxon Plaza and steals Nuform from a Roxxon transport on the Braithwaite Bridge. Miles tries to stop the theft, discovering Phin is the Tinkerer, but his Venom Power causes Nuform to explode, destroying the bridge and harming his reputation. Ganke encourages Miles, reminding him he is New York's only Spider-Man, and helps him create a unique Spider-Man costume. While investigating Phin's connection to the Underground, Miles learns her brother, Rick, created Nuform during his work for Roxxon but became sick from its unstable effects. Phin and Rick tried to expose Nuform's dangers, but Rick was killed by Krieger, who took credit for Nuform's creation. With help from Aaron as the Prowler, Miles retrieves evidence of Krieger's crimes from a Roxxon lab, but the evidence is destroyed during his escape.
At Aaron's advice, Miles uses his friendship with Phin to learn more about the Underground's plans. He discovers Phin created the Underground's weapons using a special material called programmable matter in exchange for their help in punishing Krieger. Phin plans to destroy the Nuform reactor at Roxxon Plaza to expose its dangers. However, Miles must reveal his identity as Spider-Man to Phin to save his life, which strains their friendship. When trying to reconcile with Phin, the two are captured by Roxxon with Rhino's help. Miles and Phin escape, but Miles learns Aaron has been spying on him for Roxxon and that Krieger modified the Nuform reactor to destroy Harlem if Phin's plan succeeds. After being defeated, Rhino taunts Phin about Rick's death, causing her to attack him. Miles stops her from killing Rhino, but Phin escapes after knocking him out.
Ganke brings an injured Miles home, where Rio discovers his identity as Spider-Man but continues to support him. After recovering, Miles goes to stop Phin but is captured by Aaron, who imprisons him underground to protect him from harm, as he could not reconcile with Miles's father before his death. Miles escapes and defeats Aaron, explaining he cannot ignore people in need. Inspired by Miles, Aaron helps Rio evacuate Harlem as the Underground and Roxxon fight on the streets, allowing Miles to go to Roxxon Plaza to stop Phin. Unable to reason with Phin, Miles fights and overpowers her before trying to absorb Nuform from the reactor to stop the blast. However, the energy is too much to handle. Realizing her mistakes, Phin flies Miles to safety, killing herself in the process. Miles falls to the ground, where his identity is revealed to a few citizens he helped as Spider-Man, who promise to keep his secret and praise him as a hero.
Four weeks later, Roxxon faces many lawsuits, and Krieger is arrested after Aaron turns himself in and testifies against him. Peter returns from Symkaria and praises Miles for his growth and heroism, then they go to fight crime together as the Spider-Men.
Development
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales was created by Insomniac Games and released by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Sony vice president Simon Rutter told The Telegraph that the game is "an expansion and an improvement to the previous game," while Insomniac later described the project as a standalone game, stating it is "the next adventure in the Marvel's Spider-Man universe." The game is smaller in size and scope compared to Spider-Man and has been compared to Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, a game that was also smaller than the main Uncharted series.
The game includes "a new story, new scenes, new villains, and unique missions." The PlayStation 5 version uses the console's advanced technology, such as special hardware for realistic lighting effects, a fast storage system, the Tempest Engine, and the DualSense controller. These features support improved touch feedback, realistic lighting, 3D sound, and faster loading times. The PlayStation 5 version also supports better color and light details and an optional "performance mode" that allows the game to run at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second.
The game was "finalized" in October 2020, meaning physical copies were ready for production. Any additional changes were added to the game through software updates after release.
Music
John Paesano returned to create the music for Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales after working on the 2018 version of Spider-Man. The original game's music was mostly orchestral, while the soundtrack for Miles Morales combines orchestral music with hip hop. Three new songs were added to the soundtrack: "I'm Ready" by Jaden Smith, and "Where We Come From" and "This Is My Time" by Lecrae.
Marketing
A prequel novel titled Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Wings of Fury was published on November 10, 2020, and written by Brittney Morris. The story explores Miles learning what it means to be Spider-Man. He faces challenges when Vulture and his helper, Starling, introduce experimental technology into New York City. A companion book, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales – The Art of the Game, was released on February 16, 2021, by Matt Ralphs. This book includes concept art, images from the game, and information about the artists and Insomniac Games.
In March 2021, Funko Pop! Vinyl figures of the Classic and T.R.A.C.K. suits from the game were released. The T.R.A.C.K. suit had a special limited-edition version where Miles is shown without his mask. Additional figures featuring the 2020, Bodega Cat, S.T.R.I.K.E., Advanced Tech, Purple Rein, Crimson Cowl, Winter, and Programmable Matter suits were released the next month. The Winter and Programmable Matter suits had exclusive versions available at Hot Topic and GameStop, respectively.
Release
The game was announced in June 2020 during the PlayStation 5 reveal event as a launch title. It was released worldwide on November 12, 2020, for PlayStation 4. The PlayStation 5 version was released in North America, Australia, and New Zealand on the same date. A week later, the PlayStation 5 version was released globally. The game is available in several editions. The standard edition includes the base game and is available for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The PlayStation 4 version allows players to upgrade for free to the PlayStation 5 version. The Ultimate Edition is available only for PlayStation 5 and includes the base game and Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered.
Launch versions of all editions were sold in North America. These versions included immediate access to specific items: the T.R.A.C.K. suit and Miles' suit from the 2018 animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, three extra skill points, and a Gravity Well Gadget. International retailers provided these items separately as codes that players could redeem. All bonus items are available during the game for players who did not pre-order the game.
The standalone game includes a tribute to Chadwick Boseman, the actor who played Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Boseman passed away from colon cancer two months before the game’s release. An improved version of Miles Morales was released for Windows on November 18, 2022, through Steam and the Epic Games Store. This version was released three months after Spider-Man Remastered. It includes advanced graphical options, unlocked frame rates, support for ultrawide monitors, and compatibility with technologies like Nvidia’s DLSS 3 and Reflex, AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 2.1, and Intel’s XeSS. The Windows version was developed by PlayStation studio Nixxes Software.
Reception
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales received "mostly positive reviews" according to Metacritic, a website that collects reviews from critics.
Jonathon Dornbush of IGN liked the improvements made for the PlayStation 5 version of the game and the added story content. Chris Carter of Destructoid praised the game's plot and Miles' new powers. Andrew Reiner of Game Informer highlighted the better combat system and the depiction of Harlem in the game.
The PlayStation 4 version of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales sold 22,882 physical copies in its first week in Japan, making it the eighth most popular retail game in the country that week. The PlayStation 5 version sold 18,640 physical copies in Japan during the same week, ranking as the tenth most popular retail game. By March 2023, the game had sold 92,846 units in Japan. In the UK, it was the top-selling physical PlayStation 5 game at launch. In Germany, the game sold more than 100,000 units during its launch month and reached 200,000 units sold by the end of December 2020. In April 2021, Jeff Grubb of VentureBeat reported that the game sold more copies than The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima in the United States. It was the twelfth best-selling game of 2020 and the sixth best-selling game of 2021 in the United States.
By December 2020, the game had sold 663,000 digital copies across PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. It sold over 6.5 million units by July 2021. In December 2023, a ransomware attack caused a leak of information from Insomniac Games, revealing that the game was expected to sell over 10.2 million units and earn $260 million in revenue by June 2020. As of June 2023, the game had sold 14.4 million units worldwide, generating nearly $270 million in profit, which was a 242% return on investment.