The next chapter in Insomniac’s Spidey universe is here, and as the game’s name suggests, it puts the focus squarely on Miles Morales. Out now for PS5 and PS4, Spider-Man: Miles Morales is going to take millions of players on yet another thrilling webswinging journey across wintery Manhattan, and in this feature, we’ll talk about some basic pointers that you should keep in mind while playing the game. Some of these will be familiar to anyone who’s played the 2018 game, though a few will pertain specifically to Miles’ many new abilities. So without further ado, let’s get started.
BASIC NAVIGATION SKILLS
Traversal is the primary pillar of gameplay in Miles Morales, just as it was in its predecessor, and while you’ll begin the game with a solid arsenal of moves as it is, you should try an unlock some other traversal-focused skills as well, to make swinging about Manhattan a bit more fun. Abilities such as Point Launch Boost – which unlocks Point Launch – and Quick Zip – which lets you web zip mid-air twice in quick succession – are going to become essential parts of your swinging moveset, so try and unlock them as quickly as possible.
VENOM ATTACKS
Miles’ Spidey differs from Peter’s wallcrawler in a few few ways, and the biggest by far is Miles’ bio-electric abilities. His Venom attacks add a whole new dimension to combat, allowing you to unleash a whole new arsenal of moves and deal deadly damage to enemies. And while that might make it sound like his Venom abilities should be saved for bosses or tougher enemies, it’s actually best to keep using Venom attacks basically any time you have them. As soon as you’ve charged up your Venom meter even a little bit, it’s time to let loose with your more powerful electrically-charged attacks.
SYNAPTIC BREAKDOWN
One of the most useful advantages of attacking enemies with Miles’ Venom powers is the fact that these attacks stun enemies, which can be incredibly useful in the busier combat encounters. But stunning enemies isn’t something the game hands to you right off the bat- you have to unlock that perk. So when you’re playing around with Miles’ skill tree, make sure to unlock the Synaptic Breakdown skill as quickly as possible. It is unlockable starting at level 4, and can be gained with just one skill point.
ENERGY SYPHON
Another crucial skill that you should prioritize unlocking in the early hours of the game is Energy Syphon. Miles’ Venom bar will fill up on its own as you attack enemies and dodge attacks during combat, but if you have Energy Syphon unlocked, the rate at which that bar fills up will go up significantly. Unlockable at level 3 with just one skill point, this is one of the earliest skills in the game’s skill tree, and should ideally be among the very first skills you unlock.
VENOM SMASH
This one isn’t as consistently useful as Synaptic Breakdown or Energy Syphon, but the Venom Smash attack – which is essentially an electrically-charged ground pound – is a devastating attack that does lots of area of effect damage, so get this move as quickly as possible. In fact, unlockable at level 1 with just one skill point, this is the earliest skill you’re going to unlock in the game anyway.
VENOM SMASH AND GRAVITY WELL
Venom Smash is incredibly useful no matter when or how you use it, but there are ways to maximize its usefulness. The best way is to combine it with the Gravity Well gadget. The Gravity Well, as its name suggests, sucks enemies in the vicinity into its gravity field, and letting loose with a powerful electric ground pound once that happens can quickly turn the tide of a combat encounter.
GRAVITY WELL UPGRADE
Upgrading the Gravity Well is something you should prioritize. The Gravity Well is an incredibly useful gadget even in its most basic form, but it becomes increasingly more useful as it powers up. Its second upgrade, for instance, instantly disarms any and all enemies it pulls into its black hole, and if used properly, can turn out to be extremely handy during the harder combat encounters.
PETER’S CHALLENGES
Miles’ skill tree isn’t the only place where you’ll be unlocking skills in Miles Morales. Peter may have left New York on a temporary basis, but he still wants to ensure that Miles’ training as the next Spider-Man continues, and so he’s left multiple challenges for him to take on. All of these are associated with unlockable skills of their own, which definitely shouldn’t be overlooked. Many of the skills you get through these challenges have a lot of utility (such as the traversal skills we mentioned earlier), so make sure you do Peter’s challenges.
CAMOUFLAGE
Other than Miles’ bio-electric abilities, another incredibly useful ability he has that sets him apart from Peter’s repertoire of moves is camouflage, which basically renders him temporarily invisible. It has a lot of uses, from giving you an edge in stealth sections to even letting you re-enter stealth if you want, but you can use it in combat as well. More specifically, if you find yourself low on health and overwhelmed by large numbers of enemies, using the camouflage and stepping away for a bit to give yourself a few seconds to breathe and heal up is a great use of this ability.
SNIPERS
Camouflage’s usefulness in stealth cannot be overstated, obviously, and something that it is particularly useful for is taking out ranged enemies during stealth sections. For instance, when you invariably come across groups of enemies with snipers placed at multiple points, Miles’ invisibility will come in very handy. You can use it to close the distance to snipers and immediately take them out, saving you the hassle of having to avoid their line of sight.
RANGED ENEMIES
As you progress further into Miles Morales, combat encounters will become progressively more complicated, throwing multiple enemies of varying kinds at you at the same time. In such situations, it’s best to take out the ranged enemies before all others. They can be a big nuisance while you’re trying to juggle multiple melee types and brutes, so it’s best to take them out of the equation first and foremost.
AERIAL COMBAT
This should be a pretty basic tip for anyone who’s played the first Spider-Man, but for newcomers, it still bears mentioning- aerial combat is your best friend in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Keep throwing enemies up into the air, keep juggling them, and keep pulling grounded enemies up. It incapacitates foes that much quicker, and should be your primary way of taking on large groups during combat encounters.
SUIT POWERS
A pretty important change that Miles Morales makes to progression is that suit powers are now no longer tied to suits. You can use any suit power and any mod you want with whatever suit you want to equip, and it’s important that you keep experimenting with combinations. Equip suits primarily based on whatever looks best on Miles, but make sure to try out different combos of mods and suit powers to match your play style.
TRICKS
Again, this is a very basic trip, especially for those who’ve played the first game, but given how easily skippable it is, it’s worth mentioning anyway. Like Peter, Miles can pull off some pretty sick looking tricks and stunts during freefall while webswinging, and you should be doing these any chance you get. Not only do they net small amounts of what is essentially free XP, they also recharge your Venom meter, which, as we’ve discussed, is a crucial tool.
SIDE MISSIONS
Like its predecessor, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales has plenty of side missions to dive into as well, and while many might be tempted to beeline it through the main story, it’s recommended that you don’t ignore the optional missions. Miles’ new home in Harlem has received something of a facelift in this game, and the collective flavour of this location is a crucial part of the story and Miles as a character, and these side missions add a lot to that part of the narrative. So make sure to tackle these side missions any time they become available.