Watching Miles Morales swing through New York makes my heart ache. Seeing Central Park from Miles's vantage point opens up a deep well of nostalgia. I can't remember the last time I went to Manhattan—at least, the last time I went that wasn't part of a protest.
Great write-up Gita. Ever since Miles showed up in the original game I’ve been eagerly awaiting the day to jump into the tights of “our” Spider-Man. It’s a bummer that the series is still buddy-buddy with policing, but that seems par for the course with a lot of Miles Morales focused stories, including Into the Spider-Verse. At the very least, am I not installing police surveillance towers this time?
Also, minor correction, AOC is a Representative, not a Senator.
Great review. In all honesty as someone who has never experienced and will never experience the kind of discrimination talked about in the article, it’s impossible for me to actually know how this sort of thing feels and how upsetting it can be to see that erased for narrative convenience. I can’t imagine the disappointment, pain, and anger that must come from seeing such an important aspect of modern life just vaguely hand waived away.
I thought the review was mostly off-topic. I think Gita could have done much better.
Honest question, why was my first comment flagged? All I was doing was offering honest criticism.
I fail to see what is wrong with the game not being anti-cop. They are suppose to be force for good. Also, they kind of need to be good guys in order for both Spider Men to be able to do their jobs, since they don’t kill. I do wish that Gita didn’t focus on the real-world politics so much in the review.
Please know I’m trying to say this in the nicest way possible, but if you don’t want politics in a review, perhaps Waypoint isn’t the place for you.
Okay. Thanks for letting me know. I think if Gita was to write this same type of review on any other website (except maybe Kotaku), a lot of people would probably complain about it talking too much about the real-world politics instead of focusing on the game. For an example, everyone is (rightfully) making fun of Kotaku’s review of the PS5 for awkwardly forcing in real-world politics in a video game console review.
It’s true, a lot of other gaming websites are completely interchangeable.
yeah, that’s why she wrote it for waypoint. this site has a pretty different audience, as you’ll find if you look through more of the forum
Wouldn’t make more sense to at least write an editorial instead of a review? As it is, it’s not that useful as a review. Maybe the Kotaku writer that written the PS5 review should come to Waypoint then.
there was a significant period of time where waypoint didn’t actually do “reviews” for this very reason. it’s the reason they still don’t do scores. and if you look back through the site’s archives you’ll find a piece that talks about their decision to start calling articles “reviews” (I think in 2018) while making clear that they’re not aiming for the kind of “objective,” quasi-product review kind of thing you’ll find on other sites. basically every piece of writing you’ll find here is in the vein of commentary and criticism.
Thanks for the explanation. That’s pretty weird.
eh, most of us are here because we’re interested in games as art, and believe that pieces of art have an inherent politic (because they were made by people who believe things, and those things end up in their work intentionally or unintentionally, because that’s how creation works). so things like this are why we come here. doesn’t have to be your jam, but it should explain where this forum and the site’s audience comes from
It’s a review of a game that’s mechanically and graphically extremely similar to an existing game on the market for which reviews are easily accessible. The really major difference between this and the PS4 game is going to be character and plot which is the meat of this review. Almost no one is going into a review of Miles Morales wondering if the swinging is ok or if it looks like trash.
This is something built into Miles from the start of his character in the comics. His Uncle Ben moment is his cop dad dying. That’s probably because he was made by a white guy in the mid 2000s. Insomniac could’ve found a way to push or critique that, but if they made Peter Parker a cop lover when he definitely is not in the comics, it’s no surprise - but no less of a disappointment.
I appreciate the review.
Hold on a moment. I remember reading the start of Miles’ run before I fell off of comics, where he branched off of Ultimate!Peter Parker after he was killed. In those comics, I remember his Uncle Ben moment is his mother being killed, and she’s a nurse. Did they change it for later iterations of the character?
Wow, you’re right, I thought the game was adapting more directly from the comics. They went even harder on the cop thing than the comics did originally. Yikes.
this really isn’t the biting critique you seem to think it is bud
like really, who the hell cares? a rule of the internet is that people complain about everything — in fact, you’re here complaining about it throughout this thread. maybe just stop veiling your discomfort with the opinions expressed in this review by pretending that your issue is that some nebulous “people” somewhere, would or should be mad about it
that aside, the line you commented on in your other post is a reference to the idea that miles, if/when he grows up, will be viewed by the systems he assists in this game (police and carceral) as an enemy, and treated like one when he’s not wearing his suit. it’s a narrative critique, regarding an incongruity between the game’s themes and mechanics and how they become dissonant in context with the actual world
“Leave politics out of games critique” is not a reasonable comment towards Waypoint. If you want to read technically focused reviews, there are other outlets for you.