Marvel’s Wolverine review: Strong story outshines its combat

The secret to any great superhero game is letting fans live out the fantasy of actually being that character. So, with three of the genre’s all-time-best games under their belt, Insomniac swapping webs for claws should have been a home run. 

They’ve already proved they know how to pluck out what makes a character special and craft a story and gameplay systems that serve that fantasy. The Spider-Man games dropped you into a huge open city to swing around, making even the journeys between missions exhilarating. 

And for the first few hours of Marvel’s Wolverine, despite the more streamlined approach, it seemed like the developer had done it again. However, while the foundation is stronger than an Adamantium skeleton, this bloody blast through Wolverine’s greatest hits never quite gets its claws into you in the same way. 

What is Marvel’s Wolverine about? 

Marvel’s Wolverine puts you in control of the iconic mutant who is suffering from amnesia. While he doesn’t know who he is, how old he is, or how he came to lose his memory, he’s found purpose as a member of Team X (not the X-Men) as they try to help young mutants in need. 

A mission to rescue the squad’s mysterious leader, Nathaniel Essex, from the mutant-hating scientist Bolivar Trask kickstarts a journey to uncover Logan’s past and save others like him. 

Fun fights that get old fast

For the first few hours, the combat is everything you could possibly want from a Wolverine game. Slicing your way through crowds of enemies feels incredibly satisfying, with every kill earning a gloriously gory animation.  

Fights are all about building up Logan’s Rage meter, which increases his strength and healing factor. This is done by stunning enemies with parries, big hits, or by booting them into walls, before mashing the Square button to unleash a barrage of stabs that turn foes into Swiss cheese. 

It’s a slick system that fits the character perfectly, encouraging you to play aggressively and keep hacking and slashing to survive. 

Insomniac Games

The problem is that it never evolves. Despite new abilities like a lunging knee that stuns instantly or a charge that pins enemies to the ground, each fight falls into the same old routine: parry, kick them into the wall, mash Square endlessly, repeat. 

Even as new enemy types are thrown into the mix, such as ninjas from The Hand or towering Sentinels, none of them force you to change tactics. It becomes clear after a few hours that you’ve seen everything there is to see. 

As a result, the final stretch of the 15-hour story becomes a slog, as you’re thrown into room after room full of the same enemies, but with more health just to drag the encounter out. By the end, Wolverine popping out his claws isn’t met with a twinge of excitement, but a sigh and a moment’s silence for the punishment your Square button is about to receive. 

The story saves the day

Luckily, the story that strings these battles together is much more gripping. There are standout performances across the board, from Liam McIntyre’s gruff yet vulnerable portrayal of Logan to Krizia Bajos’ instantly likeable Jean Grey. 

The MVP award, though, goes to the ever-reliable Troy Baker, who is clearly having a blast in a more villainous role, making Nathaniel Essex sympathetic without ever descending into parody. 

Insomniac Games

Although anyone who has ever skimmed a comic or watched one of the many movies starring Hugh Jackman will probably know where the story is heading, there are enough memorable character moments and emotional high points to keep things interesting. 

The story of mutants being persecuted and exploited for their powers is standard X-Men fare at this point, but it’s still powerful when done well. One especially harrowing sequence in Lowtown towards the end of the story is up there with the best Insomniac has produced.

It would have been nice to see a little more mission variety, as far too often do you find yourself chasing after runaway villains on foot or using Wolverine’s heightened senses to track someone’s scent. But a fresh cutscene was always a welcome reward, no matter what I had to do in the mission leading up to it. 

X marks the spot

Unlike the Spider-Man games, which are set in sprawling open cities stuffed with side activities, Wolverine keeps it simple with linear missions that offer little room to go off the set path. 

There are a few collectibles tucked away, such as Whiskey Bottles to unlock passive buffs called Adaptations and Material Boxes to craft new suits. However, these are signposted so obviously that finding them is barely a challenge. 

Insomniac Games

If you happen to wander within a mile of one, Wolverine will quickly inform you there’s something to pick up nearby, while either a giant blue circle or a scent trail points you to its exact location. 

It’s explained away using Logan’s animal-like hearing and sense of smell, but making them so easy to spot removes any satisfaction from seeking them out. 

The most egregious example is the Nightmare Doors, which appear throughout the levels and contain one-off combat or traversal challenges. Not only are these tedious extra objectives impossible to ignore, since a giant vine appears on the ground to lead to the entrance, but they also disrupt the flow of missions, often appearing just before or after key story moments. 

Verdict 

Marvel’s Wolverine nails the power fantasy of being one of the world’s most legendary superheroes, but it can’t live up to the lofty heights of the Spider-Man games. Combat is fun and hilariously over the top, but the lack of any meaningful changes or additions over the course of the journey means it quickly gets older than Logan himself. 

The missions themselves also repeat the same tricks, and being spoon-fed every collectable makes exploring less rewarding. With a bit more variety in the fights and objectives, Wolverine could have been nearly as good as Spider-Man, as the well-written story with lovable characters is a joy.

Instead, what we have is a game that’s occasionally brilliant but often repetitive.