In many ways, Insomniac Games’ work on Marvel’s Spider-Man the series was pretty definite. In addition to being some of the best licensed games ever made, they symbolized a new era for one of the most prolific developers in the business, and even had a clear influence on mainstream media such as Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Naturally, people then wondered how the legendary PlayStation studio would handle another, decidedly bloodier Marvel character: Wolverine. Now, five years after the official opening Marvel’s Wolverine, we have the answer. Although the game doesn’t quite hit the highs Marvel’s Spider-Manit’s a very worthwhile superhero performance in its own right, offering an exceptional look at Canucklehead that ranks among the best.
The best thing he does
First of all, Marvel’s Wolverine succeeds because Marvel’s Spider-Man did before, nailing down his characters. Thanks to Liam McIntyre’s ferociously intense and surprisingly restrained performance, James “Logan” Howlett is an outstanding protagonist. From the very first scene we see him in an incredibly vulnerable state in the jungle before being rescued by biologist Nathaniel Essex (Troy Baker), effectively setting the stage for the rest of the game.
This couple is not as emotionally charged as the one between Peter and Otto in Marvel’s Spider-Manbut it’s nonetheless a fascinating reversal of Logan’s longstanding dynamic with Charles Xavier in Insomniac’s vision of the pre-X-Men Marvel universe. What if, instead of a reassuring and empathetic professor, the perpetually lost Logan was led by a more world-weary and morally questionable Englishman? It’s especially fascinating to see their ideological clashes over how to achieve their common goal of protecting mutants, who are currently largely unknown to the public, from the genocidal conduct of Dr. Bolivar Trask (Jason Spisak) and his deadly, cybernetically enhanced Reavers.
But the beating heart Marvel’s Wolverine really lies in his relationship with Jean Gray (Krizia Baggios). While her role in the game caused great consternation among some comic book fans, Insomniac nonetheless tells a very poignant story about a second chance thanks to Logan and Jean.
They both don’t want to get closer; for him, it’s his feelings of self-loathing and fear of his unknown past, and for her, it’s her tireless efforts to escape her abusive mother and save her found family of hunted mutants. Watching them slowly grow closer over the course of the game and then testing that bond against great adversity proves to be truly impressive, especially in the ending and its implications for potential future games.
Mister World
The strength of these relationships, and the pacing of the overall narrative, is greatly aided by the game’s structure. Where Marvel’s Spider-Man the series allows you to travel through the open world of New York, Marvel’s Wolverine is an elaborate, worldwide adventure that takes you to Telembang, Japan, Madripoor and, yes, even Wolverine’s home country of Canada. (Vancouver is the game’s main Canadian location, and it’s significant, but Wolverine’s X-Team, led by Essex and including Sabretooth, Mystique, and fellow Canadian Walter Langkowski, is actually based in the Yukon. Thanks to Canadian art director Gavin Goulden and the rest of Insomniac for this wonderful—and all-too-rare—opportunity for Canada to play itself.)
Because of Marvel’s WolverineThanks to its linearity, Insomniac is able to dedicate a significant amount of time to Logan and his allies, working closely together to traverse immaculately detailed areas to the tune of David Fleming’s sublime score, infused with Western and Asian influences. Nothing attracts Logan and Jean more than them strolling through the bright, neon-lit streets of Japan’s Kabukicho entertainment district, bickering like an old married couple.
At the same time, it’s nice to have a more focused and focused experience, especially considering other recent action games like Onimusha: Path of the Sword perhaps they were delayed. I got the credits in about 15 hours, which is a decent amount of time after spending time sightseeing, and unlocked the platinum trophy in about seven hours.
And honestly, this extra content is absolutely worth it. The largest of these side quests, Nightmare Doors, are various challenges scattered throughout each level and centered around traversal and combat. Clearing them will unlock short, narrated stories that reveal scenes from Wolverine’s tragic past in a dark and even heartbreaking way.
And taking cues from Insomniac’s stellar work on Spider-Man, the collectible bottles of whiskey you can find to boost the Adaptation’s stats provide juicy bits of storytelling, with Logan recalling the fond memories he associates with each drink, like the one Essex gave him when he was welcomed into Team X.
Absolutely killer, (to some extent) no filler
If you’re wondering why I waited so long to talk about combat, it’s because, unfortunately, it’s the weakest part of the game. Wolverine Marvel. To be clear, this is by no means badwith a flurry of Wolverine’s claw attacks that pack a viscerally satisfying weight as you slice through enemies left and right. This cinematic style is only enhanced by dramatic camera effects that focus on close-ups of Wolverine’s claws impaling enemies, intense feedback from the DualSense controller, and McIntyre’s deafening battle cries. What’s more, pressing Triangle to instantly leap towards enemies within range like a charging animal is undeniably exciting, especially when Wolverine knocks wounded enemies completely off their feet, allowing you to hit them repeatedly.
Unfortunately, the feeling of tedious repetition comes with a relatively small lack of variety in Wolverine’s moveset over time. Indeed, you unlock new moves at glacial speed, including the crowd control flurry attack, the horizontal screwdriver launch, and several others, including one surprise that I won’t spoil. To Insomniac’s credit, the variety of enemies is unexpectedly wide, ranging from generic gun-toting Reavers to frantic pet ninjas and even frighteningly resilient Guardian Bots, as well as such hazards as healing-slowing blades and mutant inhibitor generators. But even so, they feel wasted when virtually all of them are defeated by the Square debacle.
Because of this, optional stealth is simply never worth using, even with the incredibly cool effect of Wolverine’s primal hunting senses creating a nasty blue glow around enemy skeletons.
Ironically, the combat really comes to life in the aforementioned Nightmare challenges late in the game when you unlock Wolverine’s full arsenal. One in particular, a series of wave gauntlets, throws all sorts of enemies at you, creating a welcome level of tension. Here, you’ll need to actually balance Wolverine’s layered rage mode (the third of which paints the world in sumptuous shades of gray and black while unlocking brutal instant kills) with his Last Stand ability to spend a full meter to provide a mortally wounded Wolverine with a burst of health.
All of this comes with juggling the cooldowns of all your unlocked specials and their associated invulnerability frames, various types of contextual parries, and the aforementioned late-game special ability. And Adaptations actually give the fights a dynamic, balletic rhythm. Here, I found myself actually dying several times because I missed a parry, failed to eliminate the threat of a supernatural Hand, or didn’t use my Technique that temporarily boosted my healing factor at the right time. This added a depth to the combat that I would like to see beyond the endgame.
Scenery in Marvel’s Wolverine also, unfortunately, unsuccessful. Even if my Canadian bias is put aside, the real standout is the convoy chase on the British Columbia Sea to Sky Highway, where Wolverine races along the roads to cut down his enemies while lovingly painted Squamish signs flash overhead. But other set-pieces, such as escaping an exploding factory with Jean or an attack on an airplane, are painfully stiff and, worse, contain some stale slow-motion events at a fast pace. While I don’t fault these segments for being elaborate and cinematic, even a little more freedom to run and jump instead of often just moving in a literal straight line would have gone a long way.
Isn’t this a hero
Marvel’s Wolverine is a worthy continuation of Insomniac. Marvel’s Spider-Man row. While the game’s uneven action prevents it from fully achieving the amazing accomplishments of its predecessors, it tells a truly heartfelt story about Wolverine, Jean Gray, and this first generation of mutants while foretelling a harrowing future for them. Only time will tell where Insomniac might take all of these characters next, but after this strong first outing, I, for one, am being X-cited to go along for the ride.
Marvel’s Wolverine will be released exclusively on PS5 on September 15th.
Image credit: PlayStation
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