Marvel’s Wolverine is a brutal hack-and-slash adventure that plays it safe
Marvel’s Wolverine is the highly anticipated new action-adventure from Insomniac Games, the studio behind Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. First announced during the PlayStation Showcase in 2021, Marvel’s Wolverine has been one of the most eagerly awaited Marvel games for years.
Now the wait is finally over, and there’s plenty to enjoy with its brutal and high-octane combat. However, while Marvel’s Wolverine successfully sets itself apart from Marvel’s Spider-Man, some questionable character choices and an uninspired story ultimately feel like a missed opportunity for a game that has the potential to offer much more.
The story takes place in a pre-X-Men world, with Wolverine being part of Dr Nathaniel Essex’s Team X, with its most notable names consisting of Sabretooth and Mystique. Without giving too much away. Wolverine hoped to leave the past in the past. But when mutants and humans come under threat, he and Team X are here to save the day, with Wolverine being the reluctant hero that he is. You know, the typical superhero affair.
Marvel's Wolverine isn't another Marvel's Spider-Man, and that's a good thing
Perhaps a common mistake going into this game would be to draw comparisons to Marvel’s Spider-Man, and that would be fair; after all, it's created by the same developer. However, other than a similarity in combat, attention to detail in the visuals and world, and the fantastic use of a soundtrack, pretty much all similarities end there. Both Marvel’s Spider-Man games are open-world webslingers. Marvel’s Wolverine has a linear mission structure with some room to explore for secrets. It’s kind of like Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series, in that respect.
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The combat in Marvel’s Wolverine is fast and frantic, and as you would expect from a game with Logan as its star, it’s far more brutal than Marvel’s Spider-Man. Put it this way, you won’t see Peter Parker penetrating sharp objects through an enemy's cranium, impaling them against a wall or any other number of ways in which NPCs can be killed. While its gameplay doesn't reinvent the wheel, Marvel’s Wolverine is bloody and brutal, just how we like it.
If I had a complaint with the gameplay, it’s that Wolverine can’t scale a lot of walls and structures. I’m not expecting him to sprint and jump up a wall like Spider-Man. But Wolverine can penetrate just about anything with his adamantium claws, and that includes most walls. He may not be as agile as some other superheroes, but he is reasonably athletic for a mutant, so he shouldn't struggle all that much. So when I found myself unable to climb certain walls in the game, including concrete buildings, it felt like Logan was hitting some kind of invisible wall, which did break some of my immersion.
Throughout the game, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to level up Wolverine, whether it's unlocking new moves via earned XP or discovering a container with resources to upgrade and unlock a ton of new suits. These suits can be entirely new, inspired by Marvel comics of old or TV and movie productions. Another surefire way to unlock and level up Wolverine’s skills is by taking on the Nightmare Doors that can be found in just about every level in the game.
Nightmare Doors are challenges that consist of defeating enemies in the fastest time possible, surviving a long gauntlet or traversing from start to finish in a speedrun segment. These missions are fun and had me naturally wanting to earn the maximum award. However, you’ll also unlock a monologue of Logan talking about a lost memory. In theory, these should be great lore details, but they are read incredibly slowly, and had me switching within seconds of Logan opening his mouth.
Marvel’s Wolverine also has its fair share of QTE’s. I don’t have a problem with QTE’s if they make sense and are not overused. But when they’re used in Marvel’s Wolverine, it felt like a simple button mash would do, rather than abiding by on-screen prompts. Speaking of which, I tested this out, and in some parts, it doesn't matter if you match the on-screen prompt. For example, there were moments when I was instructed to press R2, so I deliberately pressed L2. Yet, I still passed the QTE. Which begs the question: what is the point of those QTE’s?
Marvel's Wolverine looks visually impressive, but some areas fall short
In terms of visuals, Marvel’s Wolverine is a fantastic, detailed game. The world looks awesome in places, the detail on faces and animations is exactly what you’d expect from Insomniac Games, and it has some quite brilliant reflection, shadow and lighting effects. In that respect, Marvel’s Wolverine is a great-looking game. Then we get to the questionable character design choices.
This is not a reflection of any of the actors' performances in the game, whether it’s their voice or motion capture. They have all done a superb job and should be commended as such. However, the actual art design of its leading characters was another element that broke some of my immersion.
For example, Wolverine walks and talks like Wolverine; his actor, Liam McIntyre, knocked it out of the park. It’s just, in terms of how the character looks in the game, he’s a little cuddly, and I shouldn't really be saying that about Wolverine. Look, Wolverine has always been an emotional character, and some might say that he cares too much.
On the flip side, he still looks rugged, rough and like he wants to kill you simply for breathing the same air as he does. But this Wolverine looks like he has a skincare routine. That’s not a knock on men who have skincare routines; I have a daily routine, and I have more skin products than my wife. But again, this is nothing I'd expect from the grizzly Logan. I will say, though, at less than what looks to be 5ft 5”, he at least has a comic-book-accurate height, and the real-time damage and healing look impressive. Seeing Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton makes me wish Insomniac Games would make a Terminator game.
The character designs for Jean Grey/Phoenix and Mystique/Raven also look off. Both of their respective actors do a great job, but how they’re designed to look in-game is beyond their control. With her blue skin and red hair, Mystique is typically portrayed as a confident, seductive character who can easily manipulate her targets. In Marvel’s Wolverine, she’s awkward and unconfident. She just feels off.
Jean Grey is typically striking and elegant, but approachable. Her character design in Marvel’s Wolverine looks too ordinary for one of Marvel’s most powerful and at times imposing characters. If the designers wanted some of Marvel’s most recognisable characters to have normal human vibes, that’s their choice.
However, for me, when I play a superhero game about godlike mutants, it’s about escapism and living out a fantasy, and I feel that’s not quite reflected in Marvel’s Wolverine. Then we have Lady Deathstrike, who looks like a Comic-Con cosplayer (no disrespect to cosplayers, but she is supposed to be the real deal). I feel it would have done the game the world of good to not stray too far away from the popular comic book designs we all grew up with, while still adding a hint of Insomniac Games’ own twist.
Marvel's Wolverine has the potential to become a major series
It might seem like I’m being overly critical of Marvel’s Wolverine, but it comes from a genuine place, from a fan who read so many of this character's comic books growing up. But if I were to take the Wolverine bias out of the equation, what we have here is fun hack-and-slash-inspired gameplay, nice visuals, good performances and a comfort-zone storyline that doesn't break any boundaries. So what we have here is a fun game at its core, that’s far from perfect, that may satisfy the needs of those who want something easy to pick up and play.
If Marvel’s Wolverine were to get a sequel, and I really hope that it does, because there’s a solid foundation to build upon here, it would be great to see it venture into X-Men territory and witness how the developers might evolve the series with any lessons that may be learned, just like any good mutant should. Because Wolverine and the X-Men deserve that.
If you go into Marvel’s Wolverine with lowered expectations, able to look past some of its flaws, and not expect another Marvel’s Spider-Man, it might not hit the same heights as some of Insomniac Games’ best work, but there is enough here for it to be a worthwhile adventure for fans, both casual and devoted, of Marvel’s ever-popular but grumpy hero.
Pros: Fun combat, nice graphics, strong performances
Cons: Uninspired story, questionable character designs and direction
For fans of: God of War, Devil May Cry, Uncharted
7/10: Very Good
Marvel’s Wolverine will be released on September 15, 2026, on PlayStation 5. A review code was provided by the publisher. Read a guide to our review scores here.
Topics: Marvel, Insomniac Games, Reviews, PlayStation