“Marvel’s Wolverine” Falls Short of the Insomniac Marvel Universe Standards

Back in 2018, Insomniac Games introduced us to its own version of the Marvel universe in the form of Marvel’s Spider-Man. While the studio had made a name for itself with the likes of Ratchet & Clank, no one really knew what to expect from its take on the beloved web crawler. Upon release, players everywhere were blown away by just what it had created. And since then, Insomniac has gone on to expand the series with Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and now Marvel’s Wolverine.

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Compared to Spider-Man, Wolverine puts players in the shoes of a much more mature superhero. Because of that, the style is different, the gameplay is different, and the way the story is conveyed is different. Even though it still retains that Marvel feel, this title is unlike anything Insomniac Games has released in a while. While the risks it takes are admirable, it’s lacking in many areas that its predecessors excelled in.

One of those areas is the story. The story itself follows the titular X-Man as he rejoins Team X to investigate the abduction of mutants. In classic X-Men fashion, the ensuing plot delves into mutant discrimination and the extremes on both sides of that fight. And throughout it all, Wolverine himself is struggling to figure out just who he is in this world.

Overall, that story is just all right. It’s a story that X-Men and Wolverine fans have seen done countless times across comics, movies, TV, and so many other mediums. While there is nothing wrong with following familiar beats, the game doesn’t really do anything new or interesting with the concepts. That approach is very different from Marvel’s Spider-Man, in which the story was familiar but also put some very cool spins on the idea. On top of that, the characters in Marvel’s Wolverine don’t have the depth to truly make you care about them.

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Even if that aspect is not on the level of what Insomniac has done with Spider-Man, the core combat is definitely a great time. The studio seems to really understand just how savage a character like Wolverine can be and leans hard into the game’s M rating. Players will truly feel like the character as they are ripping through their enemies, and as the game progresses, their savagery only grows.

That combat will keep players coming back for more, which is a good thing, because the actual level design is another area where Wolverine is lacking. While Spider-Man gave players an open-world New York to explore, Wolverine gives them a more linear experience. There’s nothing wrong with that, and for the most part, it does work with the story Insomniac is telling. However, the actual content of the levels is a bit of a mixed bag.

The levels just don’t have much freedom, and they are structured in a way that feels like you’re being handheld through them. Additionally, the collectibles to discover are rather bland—all that players can find are whiskey bottles, material crates, and Nightmare doors. They are very hard to miss, and once you’ve discovered a couple of them, it becomes pretty monotonous to discover more. Throughout these levels, there are also some gameplay sequences that can be a bit aggravating, like the motorcycle sequences and some of the boss battles.

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It might sound like Marvel’s Wolverine is not worth your time, but it is not a bad game. The combat is exciting, the graphics and spectacle are captivating, and it mostly delivers what fans of the character want. However, its narrative is definitely underwhelming in places, the level structure needs some work, and it’s nowhere near the same caliber as the Spider-Man games.

If you’re interested in exploring more of Insomniac’s version of the Marvel universe, then it’s worth at least one playthrough. Yet, as the studio further expands this franchise with more titles, it may ultimately wind up being one of the weaker entries. Only time will tell.