If you are lucky enough to have a PS5, "Spider-Man: Miles Morales" is probably the first game you will play. (If you don't have a PS5, you'll probably still enjoy it on the PS4 as well.) This sequel to the highly successful "Marvel's Spider-Man" is, like its predecessor, generally well done, just a little shorter and more focused. This time around, he controls Miles Morales, who is in his element as Harlem's Spider-Man.

While the game isn't too difficult in its default settings, there are a few things you can do to maximize your play. So here are some spectacular tips to help you get through the ground and rooftops. Excelsior

As in the original "Spider-Man," you have access to an entire wardrobe of different suits, and like the original, each suit comes with useful new powers. Not all of the new skills are tied to the suit, but you may want to prioritize the suit's skills. Not only are the skills useful, but the suits themselves are particularly rewarding because Miles wears the ones he chooses in both gameplay and cutscenes. Some of the suit skills are useful and some are purely aesthetic, but they are all worth trying. (Get a suit from the Into the Spiderverse and equip it with skills as soon as possible.)

Spider-Man: Starting with Miles Morales, you'll have access to a standard web shooter, but not much else. Rudimentary punches and web slings will get you through the early combat, but gadgets can be used to damage enemies and passively disable them from acting. The Gravity Well gadget is especially useful, allowing you to hang enemies in midair and beat them up at your leisure. Other great benefits come from simply upgrading the web shooter, which is automatically charged and can immobilize even the largest and toughest enemies.

In "Spider-Man: Miles Morales," there are two ways to dodge enemy attacks: dodge as soon as you see the attack indicator or dodge just in time when the indicator turns red. The latter, called the "perfect dodge," is the more dangerous strategy, but also the better one. The Perfect Dodge neutralizes the enemy with a web shot to the face. This skill can also be upgraded to instantly KO most enemies after a Perfect Dodge. Perfect Dodge is both stylish and functional, and if performed several times in a row, it can whittle down an overwhelming enemy's strength to something more manageable.

In the original "Spider-Man," replaying side content (random crimes, bases, skill challenges, etc.) did not offer much benefit. Completing all of the activity objectives did not provide any additional rewards. In "Spider-Man: Miles Morales," this is not the case, and every activity gives you at least one activity token, regardless of how many times you have done it in the past. Since upgrading skills and gadgets requires a large number of activity tokens, thwarting crimes and revisiting holographic challenges is almost always worth your time. It takes a little more time, but it is much easier than trying to get a perfect score on every activity.

There are so many side activities in "Spider-Man: Miles Morales" that you may be tempted to interrupt the plot and follow every last one. I made this mistake and I'm here to make sure I don't make the same mistake again. If you follow the plot, there are actually plenty of opportunities to do side missions. In between most missions, Miles has to interrupt and work on side quests until the plot gets moving again. If you do all of the optional missions right away, you will have to stop robbers at random in between Miles' intervals and give them a thumbs up.

Like the original Spider-Man, the fast-travel subway allows him to get around New York City almost instantly. (In this case, I really mean "almost instantly". The PS5 loading speed for this game is ridiculously fast.) While this saves a lot of time, it also means that many interesting activities are skipped over. There are many collectibles in Miles' NYC, many of which you have to go very close to find. If you have already cleared an area, use fast travel to get there.

Some of Miles' powers are shared with Peter Parker from the previous film. However, Miles can also use Venom's abilities to defeat tough enemies. In this case, "Venom" does not refer to the villain's symbiotic anti-hero (who may appear in the next film), but to Miles' special ability to supercharge his attacks. By using Venom, Miles can strike down individual enemies, stun multiple enemies at once, and even leap from a stationary position into the air. (Even if Venom's attacks do not directly damage the enemy, he can soften them up and inflict additional damage from regular punches and kicks.

Toward the midpoint of "Spider-Man: Miles Morales," the titular webslinger is able to use another unique power: camouflage. This allows Miles to become invisible for short periods of time. While not usually needed in combat, it is absolutely invaluable during stealth missions and challenges. With a few simple upgrades, the duration of Camouflage can be extended and made completely silent. This means you can take out two or three enemies and be back in a safe place before the bad guys know what happened. Investing in camouflage can save a lot of time and grief, especially with the optional holographic stealth challenge.

Spider-Man may have awesome powers, but "invulnerability" is not one of them. Like Peter, Miles is also quite vulnerable to fists, lead pipes, guns, and other tools of destruction. As such, he is easy to swarm and usually only takes a few blows to bring him down. It is best to sneak up on enemies, especially in large, open areas where there are many places to hide. Even if you usually can't clear an entire room this way, taking down an enemy before fists fly will mean one less threat you have to deal with in a chaotic combat situation.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales is not a particularly long game (8 to 10 hours, depending on how much you want to play the extra elements), but there are reasons to play it again and again. Once you finish the story, you can jump into the New Game+ mode and replay the campaign, keeping the skills and equipment you have acquired. This allows you to speed through the story without having to stop to look for side content, upgrade items or complete skill trees. In fact, many upgrades only open up in New Game+, so you'll need to take on Miles Morales at least twice to see the whole game.