With the release of Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Insomniac Games has cemented itself as the de facto developer of Spider-Man games, a title that will likely stick with it until Sony loses the rights to the franchise. With two games under its belt and demand for a third, Insomniac could choose to go pretty much anywhere with the franchise, and, without spoiling anything, an after-credits scene in Miles Morales shows promise, but Insomniac has one problem to solve first.
Peter Parker is the most iconic face behind Spider-Man’s mask, carrying nearly a 60-year history with him. In recent years, however, Miles Morales has gained popularity as Spider-Man, offering a character with similar values to Peter but with a radically different background and unique abilities. Miles’ popularity peaked with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but he has now carried his own video game entry for PlayStation — and a well-received one at that.
That puts Insomniac in an interesting position. There’s a compelling argument for Miles Morales to take over as Spider-Man full time, letting Peter Parker retire or suffer some other fate over the course of the next Spider-Man game. In a lot of ways, Miles Morales is a more interesting protagonist than Peter Parker, and his powers are certainly more fun to use. There’s another solution though, one that can be taken straight from Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate didn’t make the biggest splash in the franchise, but there are those that consider it something of a hidden gem. Nestled between the disastrous launch of Assassin’s Creed Unity and the franchise re-imagining that was Assassin’s Creed Origins, Syndicate is an often-overlooked entry that brought with it some unique gameplay concepts and a relatively modern setting. It was also the last entry where players were members of the Assassin’s Brotherhood, featuring the Frye twins, Jacob and Evie, as playable protagonists.
Syndicate allowed players to swap between the two, offering unique skill trees for the two characters. Jacob was more of a brawler while Evie was geared more towards stealth gameplay, though players still had the freedom to pursue an objective however they saw fit, regardless of character choice.
The system did have flaws, of course. Evie was sidelined throughout big portions of the story, a fact that has resurfaced amid a wave of controversy at Ubisoft, which alleges toxic and sexist behavior, including sentiment that “women don’t sell” among some of Ubisoft’s senior staff members, many of whom have since been fired from the company. However, letting players choose between two characters with varied gameplay managed to shake things up. It’s a far better system than it’s given credit for.
Insomniac Games could implement a similar system, allowing players to choose between Miles and Peter depending on the situation. Undoubtedly, some missions would still need to force players into the shoes of one character, but it gives fans the ability to play as whoever they wish, emphasizing their unique skillsets and diversifying the gameplay in a unique way.
Peter is a lot more tech-orientated, evidenced by his wider library of gadgets, while Miles’ Venom powers make him feel like more of a superhero. There are benefits to both gameplay styles, and players likely have a preference, not just between the powers, but the characters themselves. The truth is that sidelining either one of them will be unpopular with fans, so Insomniac needs to delicately balance its approach to how they fit into the next game’s narrative.
There’s no indication that Insomniac Games will have trouble with that, of course. Both Spider-Man games took a lot of care to define the characters elegantly, showing Peter as a veteran Spider-Man that still struggles to find a good work-life balance, while Miles is still a rookie hero trying to find his place in the grand scheme of things. Their narrative arcs are now intertwined in interesting places, though the areas where they diverge are just as interesting as where they converge.
In a series that puts a heavy emphasis on the minutia of a character’s personality and actions, giving the spotlight to two characters is no small order. Both are worthy of all the time they’re afforded on screen, and if the next entry in the series is about the same size and scope of the first Spider-Man game, players can probably expect about 20 hours of gameplay. On the surface, that’s a decent amount, but if doled out equally between the two characters, it means that the time on-screen needs to put an even heavier emphasis on character development to sell how much the characters have progressed.
Beyond the narrative, there would also be some balancing challenges. Keeping both heroes on equal footing carries its own set of challenges, with suit powers and gadgets also requiring some love to feel compelling. Plus, the suit selection in Spider-Man games has been a major draw to the franchise, so it’s important to have a broad selection of them for both characters, something that would be more difficult with two heroes, as it would essentially require twice the selection. Getting new suits in the game is a more complicated process than many assume, possibly making it the greatest challenge for Insomniac to overcome, logistically.
There are undoubtedly mountains of other potential problems that could arise. Insomniac put special emphasis on Miles being the only playable character in Miles Morales, so two protagonists might not be something the studio is interested in from a narrative standpoint. Still, it’s a good way to balance things out for the players that want to play as both Miles and Peter Parker. If Insomniac were to look to Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, it could learn from what the game did well, and its mistakes, making for a compelling game.
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