So, Is "Spider-Man: Miles Morales" a Full Game or a DLC or What?

Consider this your friendly neighbourhood update.

With the starter’s pistol having fired for PS5 pre-orders, the gaming community has reignited one of its loudest debates: Is the hotly anticipated Spider-Man: Miles Morales a full game or just a DLC?

In fact, let’s not even call it a debate: it’s just straight up confusion, with some simply assuming Miles Morales is the equivalent of downloadable content for the original Spider-Man.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales ( I can’t wait to see if there will be any dlc but considering it’s not a full game itself I doubt they would have any besides maybe suits )

— The Dark Knightmare (@DarkKightmar3) September 22, 2020

They’re not confused for nothing: Simon Rutter, EVP head of European business at Sony Interactive Entertainment, initially said it was an "expansion and an enhancement to the previous game."

Well, for anyone who still isn’t sure, let these tweets from June by developer Insomniac Games clarify that this is indeed a standalone project.

They have also promised it contains a full story arc for the character of Miles, who was bitten by a radioactive spider at the end of the first game, and their CEO insisted they would not lead off the next-gen of gaming with something that was "trivial or misleading".

But even with that clarity, what can we really expect?

Games Radar suggests Miles Morales will really just be a "standalone expansion": smaller than a regular game, but bigger than a DLC, and closer to the likes of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy or Dishonoured: Death of the Outsider. For many, that affirms it's not a "full game", by definition.

It is confirmed miles morales is not a full game its more like
lost legacy first light

— Yanko (@Yanko67332011) September 23, 2020

Miles Morales may end up being additionally controversial for using the same map as the original, as both take place in New York… but the first game wasn’t exactly a 1:1 replica of the Big Apple, so who knows how Insomniac will combine Into the Spider-Verse’s star with ol’ NYC? We already know this instalment is set during winter, suggesting more snow-capped skyscrapers. What else?

Here’s how the PlayStation Blog described Miles Morales' differences: "Players will experience the rise of Miles Morales as he masters new powers to become his own Spider-Man. With PS5’s ultra-fast SSD, players can near-instantaneously fast-travel across Marvel’s New York City, or feel the tension of each one of Miles’s web-swings, punches, web shots, and venom blasts with the DualSense wireless controller’s haptic feedback. Highly-detailed character models and enhanced visuals across the game intensify the story of Miles Morales as he faces great, new challenges while learning to be his own Spider-Man."

Confusing matters is the fact that an Ultimate Edition of Spider-Man: Miles Morales is available for PS5 with a remastered edition of the original Spider-Man (in which you play as Peter Parker, although briefly as Miles and Mary Jane as well) and its three DLC releases, and comes in at 105GB.

Super excited but also extremely confused on if miles morales is a full game that just comes with spider-man ps4 or the other way around. pic.twitter.com/9GflvrV9sb

— Tohu Bohi 🎃 (@tohubohu0) September 19, 2020

Since Miles Morales, by itself, is 66GB, shouldn't that mean it’ll be larger than whatever the first game’s remaster (minus DLC) turns out to be.

We may not truly know how Miles Morales compares until its released at the end of this year, and even then, depending on the length and duration, we may keep debating it for years to come.

But one thing’s for certain: we, um, want it.

Header Image: Insomniac Games