We Finally Know What The Next Spider-Man Game Will Be
Sony promised to show "the future of gaming" with its PS5 reveal event, and one part of that future is looking very bright. A new Spider-Man installment is coming to the PlayStation 5, and the wall-crawler this time around is not Peter Parker but Miles Morales. The game, appropriately titled Marvel's Spider Man: Miles Morales, is being developed by Insomniac Games — the same company that made Marvel's Spider-Man for the PlayStation 4.
Miles Morales takes up the mantle of Spider-Man after Peter Parker's death in the Marvel Ultimate comics, though more casual Marvel fans probably know him from the hit animated movie Enter the Spider-Verse. He's easily recognized by his black and red suit (not to be confused with the black and white suit Peter dons when he's trying to be extra sneaky). Miles' suit is an homage to the original Spider-Man, but with his own sense of style.
Miles didn't really want to put on that suit and start punching baddies. All he ever wanted was a normal life, and getting chomped by a radioactive super-spider was the last thing on his mind. However, after seeing Spider-Man's fatal battle against the Green Goblin (and getting a dose of the old "with great power comes great responsibility" speech), Miles realizes he couldn't live with himself if he didn't do all he could to help people. So, like Peter Parker before him, Miles decides to put on Spandex and start knocking some criminal heads.
It's unclear how closely Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales will follow that origin story. However, given the respect for the source material that Insomniac showed in Marvel's Spider-Man, it seems likely that at least the major story beats will be the same.
Miles has many of the abilities that people usually associate with Spider-Man: superhuman strength, speed, and of course the classic Spidey Sense that warns him of danger. On top of that, though, he's got a few powers that are all his own. Miles' camouflage lets him turn nearly invisible, and he can manipulate energy in small ways. He uses that power to turn his fists into biological stun guns, a technique he calls the Venom Blast. In the comics he can even create webs of energy without the need for artificial web shooters (although he has those, too).
While the trailer didn't showcase all those powers, it definitely hit the major ones. The speed and strength are a given as you see Spider-Man easily picking up civilians, dodging cars, and punching out baddies. Venom Blast is shown off multiple times in the minute and a half runtime, so it seems that will be a major weapon in Spider-Man's arsenal for this installment. You also see Miles using his camouflage to get in close to a figure who appears to be The Prowler. There was no sign of bio-electric threads coming out of his fingers, but even so, the trailer is a great sampler platter of superpowers and action sequences.
However, for many players. it's the web-slinging that makes or breaks a Spider-Man game, and Insomniac certainly doesn't disappoint there. It's brief, but you get the chance to see Miles swinging around the city, flipping and diving and generally showing off. If anything, the movement looks even faster and smoother than in its PS4 predecessor.
The real surprise, though, was the raw emotion that came through in the video. From the long, almost painfully slow pan up Miles' arms as his suit crumbles away, to watching him take a moment to rip off his mask and just breathe, there's more on display here than just a wise-cracking web-slinger.
It should come as no surprise that Insomniac is on track to deliver a great new Spider-Man game. Marvel's Spider-Man was praised by critics and players alike as the best entry in the franchise since Spider-Man 2 for the PS2 (but not the cringe-worthy PC version). Marvel's Spider-Man delivered exciting combat, incredible attention to detail, and web-slinging action that appealed to old and new fans alike.
After the success of Marvel's Spider-Man on the PS4 and Miles' introduction to mainstream audiences in Enter the Spider-Verse, the stage was perfectly set for this reveal. At this point, fans can only wait and hope that Insomniac hits another home-run with Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, but what Sony has revealed so far is promising. If Insomniac keeps up the great work it showed with Marvel's Spider-Man, the wall-crawler will have a worthy first title on the PlayStation 5.