What is the difference between Spiderman PS4 and Spider Man Miles Morales? A deep dive comparison
As a passionate gamer and content creator, I get asked this question a lot – what are the key differences between the acclaimed Spiderman on PS4 and its follow-up, Spider-Man: Miles Morales? At first glance, they may seem similar since they‘re both PS4/PS5 titles featuring everyone‘s favorite web-slinger in Marvel‘s New York City. But once you swing into the action, there are some significant distinctions that impact gameplay, story, graphics and more.
After playing both games extensively, I‘m here to give you the definitive breakdown so you know exactly how these two Spidey titles compare. Let‘s dive into the details!
Release Date and Platforms
First, the vital stats – Spiderman PS4 originally launched as a PlayStation 4 exclusive in September 2018. Developed by Insomniac Games, this title marked Spider-Man‘s debut in the PS4 generation with stunning visuals and fluid web-swinging that finally did justice to theWall-Crawler.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales then arrived over 2 years later in November 2020 – notably as a launch title for the next-gen PlayStation 5. While also available for PS4, Miles Morales really shined on PS5 where its updated graphics could be fully realized.
So if you‘re still gaming on a PS4, Spiderman PS4 is the ideal choice. But Miles Morales serves as a great showcase for the PS5‘s capabilities if you‘ve upgraded consoles. Let‘s dig into why…
Characters and Story
The most obvious change between the games is the protagonist. In Spiderman PS4, you play as Peter Parker, the original Spider-Man with over 8 years of web-slinging experience under his belt.
The story picks up with Peter graduated from college and working as a scientist while moonlighting as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Long-time Spidey villains like Kingpin, Electro, Vulture, Rhino, and Doctor Octopus all emerge to challenge New York‘s hero.
Peter‘s characterization as an experienced hero trying to balance his personal life with crime-fighting duties was praised by fans and critics alike.
By contrast, Spider-Man: Miles Morales puts you in the suit of Miles Morales – a teenager still discovering his powers after being bitten by a genetically-modified Oscorp spider.
Set one year after Spiderman PS4, the story follows Miles patrolling New York while Peter is away on vacation. With only a few weeks as Spider-Man under his belt, Miles must rise to the challenge of protecting the city on his own when a war between the Roxxon Energy Corporation and the underground criminal empire known as the Tinkerer erupts.
Getting to play as Miles provides a fresh coming-of-age tale as he struggles to fill Peter‘s shoes against deadly enemies. The contrast between Peter as an established hero and Miles as a novice injects some great variety across the games‘ narratives and tones.
In terms of length, Spiderman PS4 has a much bigger scope – its main campaign clocked in around 20 hours during my playthrough. With all the side content, you‘re looking at over 40+ hours for full completion according to HowLongToBeat. That offers a ton of narrative content and gameplay time.
Comparatively, Miles Morales can be finished in around 7-10 hours focusing just on the main story according to players. It has a more compact narrative, but that focus results in a tighter and more emotionally impactful experience compared to Spiderman PS4‘s sprawling story.
So if you‘re looking for a huge world with lots of play time, Spiderman PS4 is superior. But Miles Morales tells a more personal, contained superhero story if that‘s your preference.
Gameplay and Content
When it comes to actually suiting up and fighting crime, Spiderman PS4 definitely offers more quantity of content.
With its massive 40+ hour playtime, Spiderman PS4 features way more unlockable suits, skills, and side activities. There are dozens of Spider-Man suits to unlock inspired by various comics, films and pop culture references.
The skill tree also has over 250 upgrades to earn, allowing you to customize your playstyle extensively. And the New York City map is packed with side quests, collectibles, challenges and random crimes to interrupt.
Miles Morales trimmed down these elements to match its shorter playtime. There are only 19 suits, around 30 skills, and fewer random events and side activities.
However, Miles Morales brings some excellent new gameplay ideas to the table. Most notably, Miles has unique "Venom" powers that let him turn invisible, deliver devastating bio-electric attacks, and gather energy to supercharge his combos.
These fresh abilities expand the combat in really fun ways. Miles also has his own gadgets like web-wings for gliding and holographic decoys to outsmart enemies. The game does a great job making Miles feel distinct from Peter as Spider-Man.
So while its content is limited, Miles Morales innovates gameplay in cool ways. Spiderman PS4 admittedly offers way more suits, skills and missions for players to dive into and customize Spider-Man. But the experience feels very similar throughout, whereas Miles Morales experiments with some creative new twists.
Graphics and Performance
One of the biggest differences between the two games comes down to technical graphics and performance, especially when comparing the PS5 version of Miles Morales.
On PlayStation 4, Miles Morales only looks marginally better than Spiderman PS4 visually. It has some modest graphical improvements like enhanced lighting, facial animations and additional pedestrian/traffic density for a more lively city.
But the general textures, models, effects and environment design are very similar. That allowed the game to run smoothly on PS4 hardware with a consistent 30 FPS framerate at 1080p resolution.
However, Miles Morales on PlayStation 5 flexes the new console‘s power with two enhanced modes not possible on PS4:
Fidelity Mode: Runs at a native 4K resolution with ray-traced reflections and shadows at a 30 FPS cap. This provides jaw-dropping visual quality with crisp detail and realistic lighting that simply stuns in motion.
Performance Mode: Runs at a dynamic 4K resolution while targeting a smooth 60 FPS. The ray tracing features are disabled, but the performance is super silky and responsive.
According to Digital Foundry‘s technical analysis, Miles Morales on PS5 maintains these high performance targets very consistently too.
Meanwhile, Spiderman PS4 on PS4 Pro targeted 30 FPS at 1440-1800p resolution – and would often drop below that, especially in busy scenes. So Miles Morales represents a massive visual leap.
For players still on PS4, you won‘t notice a big graphics jump between the two titles. But the PS5 allows Miles Morales to achieve 4K/60 FPS gameplay that massively improves image quality and responsiveness. It‘s a real showpiece for the new hardware.
Price and Value
With all that in mind, how do these two Spider-Man experiences compare in terms of price and overall value?
Spiderman PS4 now retails for $39.99 after some price drops given its age. For that cost, you‘re getting a massive 40+ hour superhero epic with tons of content and extremely polished gameplay. Even 4 years later, Spiderman PS4 stands tall as one of the PS4 generation‘s best titles.
Comparatively, Miles Morales costs $49.99 which is a premium price for a game that lasts around 10 hours. However, you are getting a visual showcase of the PS5‘s capabilities and fun new gameplay ideas with Miles‘ Venom abilities. Quite short, but very sweet.
Overall, I‘d say Spiderman PS4 offers more bang-for-your-buck given its lower price and wealth of content. But Miles Morales is a worthwhile pickup if you want to be wowed by next-gen graphics and experience Miles‘ coming-of-age journey.
For players without a PS5 yet, Spiderman PS4 is easily the better value with its huge campaign and lower cost. But if you want to show off your shiny new PS5, Miles Morales will blow you away with its visual splendor and silky smooth 60 FPS web-swinging. Different strokes for different folks and budgets.
No matter which experience you choose, you really can‘t go wrong with either of these Spider-Man titles! Just know what you‘re getting into so you can manage your expectations around content length, story focus, and technical performance on PS4 vs PS5.
With this definitive comparison guide, you now have all the key facts to decide which friendly neighborhood Spider-adventure suits your needs and budget. Let us know if you have any other questions – and most importantly, enjoy yourself when you finally leap into the awesome open-world web-slinging yourself. Excelsior!
