A significant reveal during Sony’s PlayStation 5-centric “Future of Gaming” event (besides announcing the console itself) was Spider-Man: Miles Morales, a visually stunning adventure from Insomniac Games and Marvel. While the reveal trailer initially portrayed the game as a stand-alone title, conflicting statements over the next several days quickly led to confusion regarding what form Miles Morales would take.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a follow-up to the highly successful Marvel’s Spider-Man, released in 2018 for the PlayStation 4 and starring Peter Parker as the titular superhero. Morales appeared in the 2018 game as an important supporting character, eventually receiving his spider-based powers and training with Parker to take up the mantle. In a blog post, the new title was described as “the rise of Miles Morales as he masters new powers to become his own Spider-Man.”
The post also described how the game would utilize the PlayStation 5’s unique features, in particular the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback. Players will reportedly be able to “feel the tension of each one of Miles’s web-swings, punches, web shots, and venom blasts.” Additionally, the game has been revealed to feature the ability to fast travel “near-instantaneously” — definitely a plus if Miles Morales plans to utilize the same expansive New York City-based open world as its predecessor.
However, confusion quickly arose due to conflicting information from multiple sources. Sony Vice President Simon Rutter called Miles Morales “an expansion, and an enhancement to the previous game,” leading fans to believe that it might simply be downloadable content (DLC) appended to the base version of Spider-Man, possibly paired with a remaster of that title for the PlayStation 5.
This led developer Insomniac Games to respond in the form of an official statement made via Twitter. Insomniac described Miles Morales as “the next adventure in Marvel’s Spider-Man universe.” They also responded to several confused commenters with the repeated assertion, “It is a stand-alone game.”
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is the next adventure in the Marvel's Spider-Man universe. We will reveal more about this standalone game at a future date. #MilesMoralesPS5 pic.twitter.com/GOTAvNhUaF
— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) June 12, 2020
However, a source speaking to news site Bloomberg, who so far has chosen to remain anonymous, described Miles Morales as a stand-alone title, which would be “smaller in scale” when compared to its 2018 predecessor. The source used as an example 2017’s Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, which was initially designed as an expansion for 2016’s Uncharted 4 but ultimately received a separate release. Lost Legacy cost less and took less time to complete than a “main-line” Uncharted title.
This source’s revelation has been received negatively by gamers, in particular members of the Black community. Past titles, including the aforementioned Lost Legacy, have often relegated characters of color to smaller, shorter spin-off rather than main or “numbered” titles. Miles Morales, who is half-Black and half-Puerto Rican, recently took a turn as the main character in the 2018 film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The film was a massive success, with Morales’ role, in particular, receiving high praise. The character has more than proven his ability to helm a successful “main-line” project — so why have Insomniac and Marvel decided to keep his upcoming game “smaller in scale”?
Spider-Man: Miles Morales is anticipated to be a launch title for the PlayStation 5, releasing sometime during the 2020 holiday season. The title is confirmed to be a PlayStation exclusive, but it is not yet known whether it will also debut for the PlayStation 4. It is also unknown whether a PlayStation 5 re-release or remaster of Marvel’s Spider-Man is forthcoming, although the game has previously appeared as part of a PS5 tech demo.
What are your thoughts about Spider-Man: Miles Morales? Do you want to see a PlayStation 5 remaster of Marvel’s Spider-Man as well? Let us know!
