Miles Morales is a little disappointing for me. I went into the game expecting a full length game, but Spider-Man 2 doesn't have the length its predecessor does. I've heard people say it feels like a DLC more than an actual game, which I both agree and disagree with. I suppose Miles Morales was rushed, which is pretty obvious, considering last year's crazy rush to get games made, and Sony wanting a good lineup of launch titles for the PS5 (which was achieved IMO). I should also note that I experienced the PS4 version, because that may affect my review.
The story of Spiderman 2 is great. Peter Parker is in this rush of being spiderman, and we as an audience see firsthand that he's missing out on his studies in his college. Doc Ock calls him out for being lazy when Peter finally meets his hero, and- wait wrong spiderman 2. Miles Morales also has a good story, though. Not the greatest and most original, but still at the point where it's enjoyable and not annoying. I liked the little predictable twist, and the bridge sequence was pretty fun. There isn't a whole lot to dissect here, but the continuity of being a sequel to Marvel's Spider-Man is still noticeable. I also liked the ending. That was fulfilling enough, while still leaving a teeny tiny set up for a possible sequel.
When I saw the initial trailer for Miles Morales, I wondered only a little how Insomniac could incorporate Miles' powers from the movie that was really really good. Seriously go watch Into the Spider-verse. Masterpiece. I personally love the new mechanics with the invisibility and venom moves. My friend liked to punch a guy and just disappear as he's left confused, which is probably the second best part of the game. Being able to bring up and smash down a large group of enemies is awesome, and the few mini combat levels have a better purpose than just "we need to take out these bad guys". Not much changed with the combat, so I can't really treat it like a whole new thing.
One of the coolest changes is obviously the redesign for a New York in winter. Seeing the city you know from mostly real life and the previous game with a new coat of paint is refreshing, and the side quests are still fun to complete. There was a really heartwarming one with a deaf character, and another that shows the appreciation of Brooklyn for Miles. I also really like how most of the side missions are accepted from an app in the game that you access from swiping on the touchpad. That really provided a better use for it than the last game. The collectables feel like a retread of the backpacks from the last game, but finding a little Big Wheel toy in one of the time capsules makes up for it by being the best thing in the game. The graphics are very impressive, even considering I only saw PS4 gameplay. The PS5 definitely blows it out of the water, though. Just amazing graphics for the like 5 people that have a PS5.
Overall, Spider-Man Miles Morales is substantial, but not the giant that the big PS4 hit was. Miles Morales has AWESOME suits that I forgot to mention, mediocre characters, and Big Wheel. Not a console seller, but still a great game. The story is great if your favorite spiderman is Miles, like me, otherwise it's just good. Playing on a PS4 wasn't much of a problem for me because I didn't run into many performance issues, mostly just textures taking a couple extra seconds to load. I give Spider-Man Miles Morales a 3 venom strikes out of 5. Again, just decent, not better than Marvel's Spider-man.
Amazing graphics on the PS5, but then again, who has one??