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"Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a standalone game." What does this mean to you?

Phendrana

Phendrana

Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,044
Melbourne, Australia
I've noticed over the last few days that some people here seem to have a very different understanding of what this word means than I do, and I'm genuinely curious if I'm missing some baggage.

I keep seeing variations of "Spider-Man: Miles Morales is just a standalone game." Uhhh...what? Why is that being used as some sort of dismissal? From what I've been able to gather, it seems that some people think that a 'standalone game' is specifically a smaller DLC campaign that can also be played separately from the main game.

Whereas I have never taken 'standalone' to have extra meaning within the context of gaming. It's just an adjective that describes how a title can be played independently of other software, right? You can have standalone DLC packs, or standalone full-priced games. The word doesn't imply that a game is or ever was intended to be DLC.

I guess I can understand where the confusion is coming from, though. There's rarely ever a need to mention that something like The Last of Us Part II is a standalone game. It's just common sense. The term is not normally used to describe regular full-priced games, even though it is an accurate description of what they are. But the early miscommunication over whether or not Spider-Man: Miles Morales was an expansion is what forced Insomniac to clarify that it was indeed a standalone title. And again...that doesn't mean it is or was ever DLC. It just means it's a brand new game.

...right?
 
Kalentan

Kalentan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
44,602
To me it simply means that it will be much larger than some DLC but smaller than a full priced title.
 
Dest

Dest

Has seen more 10s than EA ever will
Coward
Jun 4, 2018
14,035
Work
When it was announced it appeared that it was DLC or something, it wasn't quite clear. They say it is a standalone game, but points towards being a smaller experience. Think of Last Light
 
Amnixia

Amnixia

▲ Legend ▲
The Fallen
Jan 25, 2018
10,411
I think they mean it's not a full sequel to Spider-Man, and it will have a self contained story.

Also, Sony kinda dropped the ball when they first said it was a remaster with an extra story.

SP/Jason Shreier had to come out and tell everyone it was actually a new game.
 
CloseTalker

CloseTalker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
30,539
It means you don't need Spider-Man t play it. If this was the size of a sequel, they would be VERY clear in using the words "This is a full sequel". The fact that they aren't specifically using the word "sequel" really tells you everything you need to know.

If this was bigger than Spidey PS4 in every way, it benefits them exactly zero to not be shouting that from the rooftops.
 
hydruxo

hydruxo

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,407
A shorter game in line with something like Uncharted Lost Legacy. Seems pretty straightforward really.
 
Uzupedro

Uzupedro

Banned
May 16, 2020
12,234
Rio de Janeiro
It's a new game, it's canonical, it's important to the franchise, but (usually) isn't a direct sequel to the previous game and smaller(and hopefully cheaper) than an usual AAA
 
Loudninja

Loudninja

Member
Oct 27, 2017
42,179
This is how they described it

The latest adventure in the Spider-Man universe will build on and expand Marvel's Spider-Man through an all-new story. 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.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

blog.playstation.com

Worldwide Studios: First look at 9 new PS5 games

First details coming out of today’s PlayStation 5 event
blog.playstation.com blog.playstation.com
 
reclaimerzzzzz

reclaimerzzzzz

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,136
That I don't need to have a copy of the original to play this. It's in no way an indication of the scope or length of the game. Left Behind is now also a stand-alone game.
 
Plinkerton

Plinkerton

Member
Nov 4, 2017
6,058
Didn't Infamous First Light sort of set the precendent for this? It was essentially an expansion for Second Son that you don't need the original game to play, so its "stands alone" from that. Then Uncharted Lost Legacy did the same on a bigger scale and Miles Morales is following suit.
 
TheGhost

TheGhost

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,137
Long Island
Sounds like a prolouge / short game for miles so not to have to deal with his growing pains in Spider-Man 2, which is a welcome way of not wasting our time in the begining of that game.

Stand alone also means you're not getting it with your copy of Spider-Man so we found a way for you to buy another Spider-Man.
 

Deleted member 679

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,741
You answered your own question. You don't need to specifically mention it's a standalone title unless there's reason to think otherwise. So don't expect the experience you'd get in a full blown sequel, but do expect something more than your typical DLC. Especially Spider-Man's DLCs.

It's not necessarily something that started as DLC, but when you have DLC like Witcher 3's Blood and Wine, that doesn't really mean that much anyway. It does imply "less than what a sequel would be".
 
s y

s y

Member
Nov 8, 2017
10,425
considering insomniac made ratchet 2016 in 10 months and they already have the map done for SM:MM. I'm expecting a better game than Spider-man 2016 with improved side missions, bosses, swinging and combat + 15-20 hour campaign. A sequel in everything but name.
 
Viol8tor

Viol8tor

Member
Oct 25, 2017
219
That you won't need the first Spiderman game to play it. Seperate purchase, like "Uncharted: Lost Legacy."
 
affeinvasion

affeinvasion

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,946
Vague messaging at the premier is to blame, but Sony's been vague about everything.

My first impression was something akin to the undead nightmare expansion for red dead redemption. You could buy it as a standalone product and it was only vaguely connected to the original game but utilized the same engine/assets. In this case, however, the assets have been updated or improved with the tech of the new system.
 
Damien1990

Damien1990

Member
May 23, 2020
2,043
To me, like others have said it means along the lines of Lost Legacy and First Light and you don't need the game it is based off to play it.
 
klauskpm

klauskpm

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,241
Brazil
Yeah. Brand new game, but, as others pointed out, to me standalone is a bigger DLC. So big that I can live on its own.
 
Larrikin

Larrikin

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,712
It means its a product that is not part of any other product.... what on earth is the debate here?

God of War 2018 is a standalone game. Donkey Kong 64 is a standalone game.

I mean, the term only ever needs to be used when people are confusing dlc or an expansion for its own product, so maybe it has that connotation but Stand Alone Game only means that its unrelated to other games.
 
Segafreak

Segafreak

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,756
~6 hour campaign

Sony has done this a few times: inFamous First Light, UC Lost Legacy, TLOU: Left Behind
 
Nephrahim

Nephrahim

Member
Jun 9, 2018
291
... That it's a game that does not require you to buy (Or re-buy) another game to play it. That it's not an expansion or DLC.

Anything else is just speculation.
 
Hanbei

Hanbei

Member
Nov 11, 2017
4,089
Same as what InFAMOUS First Light is to the InFAMOUS franchise. Built upon work done on InFAMOUS Second Son to bring you a new game.
 

Jiggy

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
9,270
wherever
It's a stand alone game, doesn't mean anything more than that. We have no idea how long or content-rich it's going to be.

First Light was like 4 hours long, but The Lost Legacy was around the same length as the first three Uncharted games.
 
Raide

Raide

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
16,596
Standalone has always meant, it's like an expansion pack but we are releasing it as it's own thing and you don't need the previous ones to play it.
 
Lord Fanny

Lord Fanny

Banned
Apr 25, 2020
25,953
I think the unspoken word in that is always "expansion." It's a standalone "expansion." But people probably think of an expansion as being less than the main title, so they don't want to use that wording?
 
RedHeat

RedHeat

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,682
Plinkerton said:
Didn't Infamous First Light sort of set the precendent for this? It was essentially an expansion for Second Son that you don't need the original game to play, so its "stands alone" from that. Then Uncharted Lost Legacy did the same on a bigger scale and Miles Morales is following suit.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Nah, Infamous 2 had Festival of Blood, and I'm pretty sure there are other similar spin-offs that came earlier.
 
Faintcolt388301

Faintcolt388301

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,013
Standalone means that you are able to purchase and play it separate from the main game and has a story that is self contained. Length is not set in stone but a full game usually isn't called standalone so it is most likely smaller than the previous installment.
 
nelsonroyale

nelsonroyale

Member
Oct 28, 2017
12,124
That it is a seperate game within the Spider-man franchise, but not a direct sequel to Spider-man one. Says nothing about the games length, etc. I don't expect it to be as big as Spider-man 2 though.

Pretty sure in this context they said standalone to asser that it wasn't DLC, that you won't need the base game, and that it isn't a direct sequel to the story in the first game. Seems pretty straightforward.
 
Tyaren

Tyaren

Character Artist
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
24,710
To me it means that it is its own full game, but it is on a smaller scale than the big main game that it is built upon. Think Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy.
I expect SMMM to be about 10-15 hours long and cost 40 bucks.
 
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