There has never been a better time for web-swinging through New York City. Releasing not long afterMarvel’s Spider-Man,Spider-Man: Miles Moralesintegrated and improved on almost every aspect of the previous game.
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OnceSpider-Man Remasteredwas released though, much of the difference in fidelity, graphics, and time were compensated for. With the two games being ripe for comparison, here are the significant things that Spider-Man: Miles Morales did better than the original.
10Swinging With Style
Swinging through New York City in the Winter, Miles wearing Adidas Superstars as part of his Spidey costume, and using the noises of the city to make hip-hop beats all speak to the style that oozes through Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Not to say that the OG Spider-Man doesn’t have its own fantastic identity.
Miles Morales steps it up a few notches though, injecting nuance and details that were simply absent from the original Insomniac Spider-Man game. Take the web-swinging, for instance. Miles Morales flies through the city with unique moves, flare, and stylistic variation that makes Peter Parker’s swinging seem a little dorky by comparison.
9Streamlined Side Content
The side missions, though fewer in number, are ultimately better in Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Remember the original pigeon mission? Even though Morales makes fun of it, the fact is that some of the side missions in Spider-Man Remastered are a little outdated. The Harry Osborn ones come to mind as a good example of a whole set of side quests that felt like video game stuff just for the sake of it.
Though they only feel like side missions, Miles Morales also skips the exhausting “play as a non-super hero in stealth mode” sequences that plagued the previous title. Anytime players take control of both Mary Jane and Miles (before he gets spider-powers), Spider-Man Remastered is not at its best.
8Solid Side Characters
Despite being a side character himself in the remaster, Miles Morales features better overall side characters in his game. One of the main reasons for this is because Spider-Man: Miles Morales has characters that are naturally more involved in the story. Compared to Spider-Man Remastered, Miles’ story feels more like an intricate weaving of the side characters into the story, Miles’ life, and how each one has their own small arc throughout the story.
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Ganke, Rio Morales (Miles’ mom), Uncle Aaron Davis, and even the deplorable Roxxon head Simon Krieger all end up contributing to the whole of the story in a satisfying way. Not to say that isn’t the case with Insomniac’s first Spider-Man, but Spider-Man: Miles Morales simply executes it better.
7Focused Gadgets
A knee-jerk reactionary might disagree with this choice, but at the end of the day gadgets are all about enhancing gameplay. In other words, Spider-Man Remastered has more gadgets than Miles uses in Spider-Man: Miles Morales – but more is not always better. The scaled-down tools players end up with in Morales simply make for a more pure joyful experience.
Oddly enough, only having a few gadgets in Spider-Man: Miles Morales makes the game better. Players have to rely more on their stealth and fighting skills rather than flashy ways to eliminate enemies. Of course, the gadgets also pair nicely with Miles new abilities in Camouflage and Venom.
6Fantastic Puzzles
Many of the puzzle ideas in Spider-Man Remastered are great on paper. When doing them in game, however, that’s not always the case. This is the most egregiously true when doing the Circuit and Pattern puzzles in the original game. These are always tedious and often don’t feel part of the larger world, despite often being tied to important plot elements.
Compare that to Morales, where every puzzle is Miles using webs out in the world. Whether it’s connecting electric webbing or setting up subway cars, the puzzles feel native to Miles’ world and exist as another version of Spider-Man doing Spidey stuff with his powers, webs, and wits.
5Stylish Suits
Sticking to somewhat of a theme, Spider-Man: Miles Morales has less in quantity than Spider-Man Remastered – this extends to the number of suits each game has, too. Yet Miles Morales gains a slight lead in terms of overall quality. This may be true because Morales has less and therefore must make more out of each spider suit.
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The fact stands though, that the best suits in Spider-Man: Miles Morales are a bit better than those in Spider-Man Remastered, and the worst Morales suits are of a significantly higher quality than the worst of Spider-Man.
4Superior Stealth
Both games have stealth portions and great options, with level design often encouraging a sneaky Batman-stylesilent takedown strategy. However, Spider-Man Remastered lacks the Camouflage ability that allows Miles to become invisible. This power connects to various abilities and mods.
What it contributes though is the realization of stealth fighting in Insomniac Spidey games. In other words, all the stealth options in the game really don’t shine until players can use Miles’ Camouflage ability, which adds the perfect addition to the foundation of Spider-Man Remastered.
3Frenetic Fighting
The fighting in Spider-Man: Miles Morales is another one-upped element over the previous title. Utilizing Miles’ new abilities – Camouflage and Venom – helps this aspect quite a bit. Of course, the fighting in Miles Morales is built directly on top of the fantastic system laid down in Spider-Man Remastered. Ultimately, the changes, while incremental, make for better combat overall. Peter Parker does still hit harder than Miles, however.
Perhaps this is built into the difference in their body sizes or history, with Miles being younger and less experienced than Peter. Either way, Miles still gets the edge here with his new toolset adding to the cornucopia of takedowns, stealth options, throwables, webs, and gadgets being used during fights.
2PS5 Launch Hype
The hype around Spider-Man Remastered was palpable. It also marked the PC release of the game, much to the joy of non-console gamers around the globe. However, Spider-Man: Miles Morales was one of the key tent-pole titles to prop up the launch of the PS5.
If Morales wasn’t a part of the next-gen package when the PS5 arrived, there would have been a sizeable void in first-party titles at launch. Without Spider-Man: Miles Morales around to help justify the new console, the launch would have felt lackluster to many.
1Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Spider-Man: Miles Morales gets the win here because of how Brooklyn fits into the larger story concerning Roxxon, the Tinkerer, and the narrative of Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Working as a metaphor for corporations taking advantage of down-and-out communities, the suggestion is that upscale communities would eventually benefit from these guinea pig experiments, and that theme ties into Miles himself as Spider-Man and how everything fits together with the plot, the villain, and the setup of the story.
The Doctor Octopus arc in Spider-Man Remastered is a masterclass in Spider-Man storytelling. However, in consideration of the ‘friendly neighborhood Spider-Man’ element, Morales takes the win because in Spider-Man Remastered, Pete helps the police set up a permanent surveillance system on the people of New York City. He does this without ever questioning the act too, which complicates things in a way that probably was not intended. When comparing the aspects of “friendly neighborhood” in both games, Pete ends up seeming like a Narc while Miles seems like he’ll be helping Grannies cross the street.
