After the critical and commercial success of 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man, it was only a matter of time before we’d see a follow-up. Spider-Man: Miles Morales serves as Insomniac Games’ next Spider-Man adventure, and it’s set to release for the PlayStation 5 on November 12. What else do we know about it, though? Despite its impressive reveal during the PS5 showcase in June 2020 along with a few follow-up trailers, there’s still a lot of mystery surrounding the highly anticipated title.
Still, we’ve gathered as much information as we could to round up everything we know leading up to the game’s release.
Further reading
- Sony PS5: Games, price, specs, release date, and more
- PS5 Future of Gaming event: Live news and announcements
- Marvel’s Avengers game: Everything we know, including playable heroes
Spider-Man: Miles Morales announcement trailer
During the PS5 showcase, we got our first look at the upcoming Spider-Man: Miles Morales, thanks to a short two-minute trailer. Check it out below:
Spider-Man: Miles Morales gameplay demo
That impressive announcement trailer was followed up in September with this gameplay footage. In it, you’ll see Morales walking around without the iconic spidey suit, then gearing up for a spectacular battle on a bridge in New York. The combat looks just as fluid and dynamic as the original, and there are even a few moves we get to see in action. You can check it out below:
It’s a stand-alone game, not downloadable content (DLC)
Considering its short turnaround time, it makes sense that Miles Morales isn’t a fully fledged sequel to its predecessor. That isn’t to say it’ll be of lesser quality, but it does aim to be a shorter, condensed experience, like Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. With that in mind, we expect Miles Morales to be around 10 to 15 hours, if the comparison to Lost Legacy is, indeed, accurate.
Assuming Insomniac started work on Miles Morales around the launch of Marvel’s Spider-Man, that would have given the team around two years to get this together. We expect it to reuse many of the same assets from Marvel’s Spider-Man, which would have helped with the fast turnaround time. It’ll still take place in New York City, though Miles resides in Harlem, so we’ll likely see that area fleshed out even further.
The initial reveal of Miles Morales was … confusing. At first, some thought it was a proper sequel, which was clarified by reports pointing to it being an expansion of the 2018 game. It was then confirmed that Miles Morales would be a standalone title, available for the PS5. Despite the unclear marketing, hype for the upcoming superhero adventure has been building.
Given its condensed nature, Miles Morales will also feature a reduced price tag. The game will retail for $49.99 on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
It takes place after the events of Marvel’s Spider-Man
We do know Miles Morales will take place around a year after the events of the original. New York City is covered in snow, and it’s Christmastime, giving us a change of pace with the game’s setting. As noted in the PlayStation blog, “a war between an energy corporation and a high-tech criminal army has broken out,” which we got a good look at in the 2018 game. Insomniac promises a “full story arc” that will expand upon the Spider-Man universe. It will include a new story, villains, quests, and set pieces to enjoy.
It’s unclear who the leading antagonist(s) of the game will be. It’s likely some of the surviving villains from the first game will make an appearance, along with fresh faces. Miles has been known to square off against Kingpin, Venom, Mysterio, and the Green Goblin, at least in comics and films.
And don’t worry — we’ll still get a sequel that features Peter Parker at some point. After all, the ending of 2018’s game alluded to a treacherous new foe, but we won’t spoil that here. Perhaps Peter will make an appearance in the new game and will guide Miles through his journey.
Who is Miles Morales?
If you’ve played its predecessor Marvel’s Spider-Man, watched the beloved Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, or have read the comics, you probably already know who Miles Morales is. If you haven’t, let’s go through a rundown of the character you’ll be playing as in the next adventure.
Miles Morales is effectively Peter Parker’s protégé, who also has superpowers of his own, thanks to being bitten by a radioactive spider. Peter trains him, leading to Miles eventually realizing his full potential and taking the mantel as the new Spider-Man. In the comics, Peter Parker actually dies, and Miles Morales replaces him entirely. That isn’t the story we’ll be getting in the PS5 game, but inspiration from the comics will still be drawn to bring the character to life on PS5.
The character was first conceived before the 2008 United States election of Barack Obama, in response to the possibility of the United States electing its first Black president. Marvel wanted to step in and take a look at one of its most iconic characters, so work on a Black Spider-Man began. Ultimately, though, Morales didn’t make his first appearance in the comics until 2011 in Ultimate Fallout #4. Morales is, indeed, the first Black Spider-Man, and he is also half Latino, marking only the second time a Hispanic character has worn the Spider-Man suit behind Spider-Man 2099.
Miles is much younger than Peter, but that doesn’t mean he won’t pack a punch. He, too, was bitten by a radioactive spider, but by a different kind, giving Miles a unique skill set. He can still scale walls, sling webs, and use super strength and agility, but he also has the ability to turn invisible, and he can use his venom strike attack to paralyze enemies. Miles’ Spider-Sense isn’t as strong as Peter’s, though he is still alerted of danger before it comes.
In the PS4 game, Miles is introduced, and Peter befriends him and ultimately teaches him how to hone his skills. Miles still has a lot to learn, though, and we’ll likely still see him struggle to become himself in the new game — unlike Peter in the PS4 game, who had been fighting crime as Spider-Man for eight years. We’ll also get to see Miles’ new suit, which is a variation of the famous suit we know and love. Instead of blue and red, Miles will wear a black and red suit that slightly resembles the one Peter wears in the previous game.
The PS5 box art
A few weeks following the game’s reveal, Sony revealed the game’s box art, which — at the time — was our first taste of what PS5 boxes would look like. The cover highlights Miles in his black and red suit as he uses a venom strike attack. For the most part, it’s a clean-looking box that mirrors that of the 2018 game. The main difference is in the white banner at the top containing the PS5 logo. Also new is the PlayStation Studios logo, which serves as a rebranding for Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios. Other than that, there isn’t a lot to unpack with the new box art, though it is neat to see it in action.
It will be playable in 4K at 60 frames per second
Recently, Insomniac confirmed we’ll get to play Spider-Man: Miles Morales in 4K at 60 fps in what is referred to as an optional Performance Mode. It’s unknown what other visual modes the game will support or what the default frame rate and resolution will be. Some PS4 games like Horizon Zero Dawn allow you to favor frame rate or resolution, similar to modern PCs. A similar scaling system might make an appearance in Miles Morales, though we haven’t heard much in this regard. It might even be playable at higher than 60 fps, as we know some PS5 games are aiming for 120 fps, such as DiRT 5.
We do know Miles Morales will take full advantage of the PS5’s capabilities and will feature “near-instant loading,” ray-tracing, and 3D audio. Characters have been upgraded with 4D scans, with ultra-realism in mind. Other than that, it’s unclear what other features the game will have, since we still don’t know a ton about the PS5 in general.
Swing through the city like never before on PS5 with an optional 4K / 60fps Performance Mode. #MilesMoralesPS5 #SpiderManPS5 pic.twitter.com/FhPEPLjnKL
— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) July 20, 2020
When can we play it?
Spider-Man: Miles Morales will be available as a PlayStation 5 launch title on November 12. The game will also be available on PlayStation 4 and includes a free copy of the PlayStation 5 version when you decide to make an upgrade.
