There have been a lot of superhero games over the last three decades, too many to even count. But 2009’s Arkham Asylum was a massive turning point for hero-laden games, creating a veritable blueprint for others to follow. Others did indeed try to follow in Arkham’s footsteps — but it wasn’t until 2018 that another studio would not just match Batman’s heights, but exceed them with Insomniac’s Spider-Man. But perhaps most surprisingly of all, is that Insomniac managed to outdo even itself two years later with Miles Morales — a sequel that distilled the first game’s formula into something nearly perfect. Miles Morales is a tightly designed superhero game with exceptional pacing that perfectly captures why Marvel’s most beloved superhero has endured all these years.
The first Spider-Man squarely focused on an experienced Peter Parker, years after his superhero career started. That’s a pretty drastic difference from the origin story kind of setup we see when brand new universes are created. That’s what puts Miles Morales in such a fascinating space, as that kind of origin story within the context of a larger narrative. We’ve already seen Peter’s role in the world and his personal struggles, and Miles stepping into the mantle of Spider-Man has a ton of extra emotional weight because of that.
