Marvel's Wolverine fans flock back to underrated X-Men game from 2009 as footage leaks

Plenty of superheroes have been through the wringer, but few have it quite as tough as Wolverine. While his healing ability and adamantium skeleton make him the ultimate killing machine, the gruff mutant has been torn in half by the Ultimate Hulk, had his skeleton ripped out by Magneto, and been run over with a steamroller by the Punisher.

Wolverine's colourful comic book history means gamers are expecting a much more mature game when they boot up Insomniac's Marvel's Wolverine on the PlayStation 5, and while many have been clamouring for an X-rated X-Men game, some remain unconvinced that the studio behind Ratchet & Clank is the one to do it.

With a fresh batch of leaks for Marvel's Wolverine, the skeptics are massing and claiming that we already got a much better game based on the clawed Canadian all the way back in 2009.

Marvel's Wolverine critics heap praise on X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Do you remember that phase when everyone and their dog was creating movie tie-in video games, with 2001's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone still being a certified banger? More than Peter Jackson’s King Kong – The Official Game of the Movie having a ridiculous game, the simple fact is most tie-in games simply aren't that good.

When it comes to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it's a rare case of the game actually being far superior to the movie.

Gavin Hood's 2009 movie of the same name was dogged by leaks, is largely panned as one of the worst superhero movies of all time, and gave us a Ryan Reynolds Deadpool performance that was so bad, Deadpool 2 retconned it out of existence.

Whereas the movie was rated PG-13 for more universal appeal, the game's infamous Uncaged Edition was exclusive to the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC with an M rating, allowing for far more visceral violence and even adding real-time dismemberment.

Marvel's Wolverine also has an M rating, but as more leaks come out, critics are pining for X-Men Origins.

Notably, a leak of a massive Sentinel boss fight from Marvel's Wolverine conjured up memories of Raven Software’s classic comic book caper as one person simply wrote: "Wolverine Origins game did this fight better."

Someone else added: "Loving how people are bringing the absolute banger of the Sentinel fight from X-Men Origins: Wolverine compared to this The fact that there's no remaster of this is borderline criminal."

Others have criticised the likes of Wolverine's look being closer to voice actor Liam McIntyre than the comics, and even roasted the game's apparent plot.

Another particularly vocal critic vented on X, writing: "It’s incredible that, looking at all the footage of Marvel’s Wolverine, no amount of blood or dismemberment can hide the weak California soyboy energy Insomniac is putting into Logan.

“Even when he strikes, you feel the lack of testosterone compared to X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

A fourth else took issue with the new rage mechanic that takes Logan's healing factor into account and mused: "The way Wolverine Origins still has better combat years later…"

READ MORE: Marvel's Wolverine promises to be cheek-ier than Spider-Man as ESRB ratings reveal all

Playing X-Men Origins: Wolverine isn't that easy

Sadly, X-Men Origins: Wolverine fell victim to Activision's licensing deal with Marvel ending, meaning it's joined the likes of the beloved Deadpool video game and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 1 & 2 as 'unplayable' games that are missing from all digital storefronts.

There are also a raft of Spider-Man games that have been put out to pasture, with the criminally forgotten Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions also missing in action from digital storefronts.

Even those who already bought the titles digitally can simply redownload them; the caveat has pushed the price of their physical versions through the roof.

More than this, PlayStation's plans for a disc-free future have us worrying about the potential day when the same things happen to Insomniac and your digital versions of the Spider-Man games or Marvel's Wolverine are left abandoned at Alkali Lake.

The good news is that Insomniac has made a big deal about Marvel's Wolverine getting a physical release, seemingly as a middle finger to GTA VI confirming it'll be digital only as Wolvie's biggest rival in 2026.

At the time of writing, you can get the Wii and PS2 versions of X-Men Origins: Wolverine for mere pounds, although there's currently a listing for the Uncaged version of PS3 that's going for £115 on eBay.

As Logan prepares to pop out his claws for Marvel's Wolverine, we're sure the X-Men Origins comparisons will only continue when the PlayStation powerhouse releases on September 15.