Insomniac’sMarvel’s Spider-Mancould’ve been a celebrated and wonderful franchise if it had stuck with mainline, numbered entries. However, the beauty ofMarvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Moralesas a half-sequel is that it didn’t need to stretch itself thin or bloat itself by conforming to a longer duration expected of modern AAA story-driven games, includingMarvel’s Spider-ManandMarvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Length should never truly dictate whether a game is exceptional or not, and inMarvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales’ case it is debatable that having a far shorter length—its main story taking roughly five hours as opposed toMarvel’s Spider-Man’s 20 hours—is ideal because it trims excess fat and guarantees the experience is refined. The stories inMarvel’s Spider-ManandMarvel’s Spider-Man 2are beloved, but there’s an argument to be made that they both suffer from third-act bloat or at least a rushed third act that struggles to balance everything it wants to dump into the game at the last second.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Franchise is Full of Third Acts Moving at Breakneck Paces
Because of their lengths,Marvel’s Spider-ManandMarvel’s Spider-Man 2both brush past who they establish as their main antagonist and render them weaker as characters as a result. InMarvel’s Spider-Man,Martin Li’s Mr. Negative seems largely forgotten about once Otto Octavius becomes Doctor Octopus. This isn’t random since Peter Parker and Otto’s relationship is built throughout the narrative and thus Doctor Octopus’ reveal as the leader of the Sinister Six is easily predictable.
But with Li’s story being fleshed out at the same time and much more prominently, it is a shame that he takes a swift backseat to Otto as soon as the Raft breakout ensues. By paringMarvel’s Spider-Mandown by about five hours, the game could’ve focused entirely on Li and merely teased that Otto would become Doctor Octopus in a sequel in order for Mr. Negative to have more of the limelight.
The same happens inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2as it undercuts the villain it had been developing the whole game, though Kraven is killed and doesn’t even get a chance to stick around thereafter.Kraven’s abrupt death at the hands of Venomincites a city-wide symbiote invasion that doesn’t get the attention it deserves by only being in a third of the game, and Kraven himself never getting to be reprised in a future installment seems nearsighted unless Insomniac truly is closing the door on itsMarvel’s Spider-Mansaga with a third entry, which would be disappointing in and of itself.
Insomniac’s Next Half-Sequels Can Learn from Miles Morales’ Brevity
To disregardMiles Moralesin theMarvel’s Spider-Manfranchise would be a grave mistake. Roxxon’s Simon Krieger may be a bland, throwaway antagonist, but what the half-sequel achieves with Phin Mason’s Tinkerer and even an upgraded Roxxon Rhino in its truncated runtime is phenomenal. Likewise,Miles Moralesintroduced side quests and city activities via the FNSM app, filtering them all efficiently and immersively.
Miles Moralesdoes suffer some of the same issues as the mainline games, such as having too many side quests for its own good—its egregious sound sampling quest for Aaron Davis’ Prowler in particular. Overall, though, the shorter experience it offers consists chiefly of terrific moments.
No upcoming half-sequel has been confirmed by Insomniac and despite having a full plate it would be excellent to see one flesh out another character, let alone a sequel toMiles Moralesto give him a full starring role on his own again. Either way,half-sequels certainly need to consider the ingredients that went intoMiles Moralesto produce a poignant story deserving of its own installment that doesn’t overstay its welcome.
