Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales review for PC

Platform: PC
Also on: PS4, PS5
Publisher: PlayStation
Developer: Insomniac Games/Nixxes Software
Medium: Digital/Disc
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: T

As we?ve established time and again, we were pretty huge fans of Marvel?s Spider-Man. Paul and Jim were a little less over-the-top when it came to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales on PS4 and PS5, respectively, but on the whole, we really love Spidey round these parts.

How much do I enjoy Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales now that it?s out on PC? I?ll put it this way: I just bought a Steam Deck, and this is the first game I?ve played on it. I?m not saying that Spider-Man: Miles Morales single-handedly justifies my Steam Deck purchase?but I?m not not saying that, either.

Admittedly, I may be going a little over-the-top there. As much as I love Spider-Man: Miles Morales (and I?ll explain why momentarily), I imagine many people will still find one major flaw: it?s fairly short as open-world games go. You can see and do most of what the game has to offer in ten hours or so ? and given that it?s now portable (because, again, Steam Deck), you could probably fly through it even faster than you would if you were just playing it on a regular old PC. Given that it?s roughly the same price as Spider-Man proper (in fact, more expensive at the time of this writing, thanks to Steam?s Autumn Sale) and only half the length, you can see why some people may take issue with that.

Mind you, as someone who often finds most open-world games to be a little too much of a time commitment, I actually greatly enjoyed being able to play one that didn?t expect me to sink dozens of hours into it just to get the full experience. As we noted back in our review of the game on PS5, this feels like a streamlined version of a much bigger game (which, really, it kind of is) ? and I absolutely loved that.

To be sure, it helps that Spider-Man: Miles Morales is an absolute joy to play. The eponymous hero moves so quickly and smoothly, you always feel like the game is in motion, propelling you forward. Swinging through New York is a blast, and you can very easily swoop from building to building without ever touching the ground. Similarly, combat is incredibly fluid, and you can chain together massive combos, pummeling bad guys not just with your fists and your feet, but also with the world around you. Much like the Arkham Knight series made you feel like you were Batman, skulking in the shadows and stealthily taking out your enemies, much like its predecessor Spider-Man: Miles Morales captures the flavour of Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man perfectly.

It doesn?t hurt, either, that it captures the flavour of his city, too. This game?s New York is an appropriately bustling place, full of people and cars and activity.

And, best of all, the game is absolutely gorgeous on the Steam Deck. It runs flawlessly, and the load times are pretty much non-existent. If I think back to how another open-world Spider-Man game ran on a handheld nearly a decade ago, it kind of blows my mind how far we?ve come ? and it also underlines for me just how amazing this game is.

Because seriously, this is an amazing game. It may not last that long, but it also never comes close to wearing out its welcome. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is an excellent sequel to an equally excellent game, and now that it?s out on PC, it?s absolutely worth your time (even if that time is over far too soon).

PlayStation provided us with a Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales PC code for review purposes.

Grade: A