The X-Man most known for hacking and slashing is here in brutal, gory and repetitive detail.
It’s not a fun time to be a PlayStation fan, and even less if you like Marvel. Regardless of physical conundrums and oversaturated media, the latest game from developer Insomniac Games has finally arrived. Marvel’s Wolverine may be one of the most controversial games this year as it has come under heavy fire in its lead-up to release. There may be some misinformation going around that people have latched onto, and I’m here to dispel those rumours or confirm them. Read on to find out all about how far the hand-holding goes and if Wolverine can live up to his legendary status in superhero lore.
Logan, aka Wolverine, is synonymously known alongside the friendly Mutants under Professor Charles Xavier. Here, however, we get a more stripped-back version of X-Men with something that resembles X-Force or even Team X from Wolverine: Origins, which ironically carries the same name in this entry. Nathaniel Essex provides a safe place in Canada for mutant-kind with help from his team, made up of Raven Darkholme (Mystique), Victor Creed (Sabretooth), and Logan (Wolverine). The set-up for the game comes as the leader of Trask Industries, Bolivar Trask, captures Essex. Known for his hatred of mutantkind, Team X aims to unravel his plans.
Throughout the story, you’ll also come across some other familiar faces, including the red-headed psychic, Jean Grey. As Logan travels across the fictional Madripoor, Canada and Japan, attempting to provide freedom to mutants, he realises his past is more important than first thought. With amnesia affecting him for the last 30 years, Essex has maintained that he found Logan in the wild, not dissimilar to a wild animal.
As most comic fans would guess, the true villain of the story is pretty obvious, but some of the twists and turns leading up to the final confrontation are very different to other X-Men battles we’ve seen in other media. With some pretty straightforward narrative plot points and some longer-than-necessary scenes, this is far from Insomniac’s best story. Although Logan’s story is a fresh take, it does little to make it stand out among some of his more noteworthy comic counterparts.
You may have heard that Marvel’s Wolverine is a 14-hour journey of just pressing square. Whilst that exaggeration isn’t entirely true, most of your time will be smashing the attack button whilst dodging and parrying. Aside from a few wall-climbing segments and rope sliding, there isn’t a whole lot of variety gameplay-wise. Whilst there are quite a few stealth segments, once an enemy sees you, it’s all over. As Wolverine doesn’t exactly hide well in the shadows with his bright yellow suit, this is mostly to thin the baddies down before you take on the rest head-on.
Alongside some hacking and slashing, you do have access to six abilities, once you level up enough to unlock them. From a spin attack to kneeing enemies into a stun, there are a few handy abilities. During combat, your rage meter also builds up to a total of three bars. Once into the third bar, Wolverine enters rage that can instantly kill enemies. Kill fast enough, and you can maintain that rage for the rest of the encounter.
The other benefit from this bar is that if your health bar reduces to 0 and you have at least one bar full in the rage meter, you can use it to get back up again. This is very handy on the greater difficulties or if you happen to get overwhelmed. Although this probably won’t happen unless you aren’t paying attention, the enemies featured throughout the game aren’t full of variety. As you go from Trask’s upgraded army to the Hand (well-known Marvel ninjas) and onto a few Sentinel opponents, by the end I was happy to see the end of them. The few boss fights you’ll encounter aren’t too bad but again offer nothing new aside from an extended exercise in patience.
As you continue through the game, you’ll also level up after completing objectives and beating enemies. These skill points let you unlock and upgrade abilities, but I never found myself lacking any at any point. The game gives you just enough levels and experience to stay on top of everything to unlock. This made it feel less like getting an exciting new upgrade and more like another tick on a checklist. The passive abilities and upgrades themselves also don’t do too much to change gameplay, as some let you kick further or heal more when blocking or killing. It’s all helpful, but there are no game-changing elements here.
Aside from the main abilities, you also have adaptations that enhance your powers. With 25 adaptations to equip, only a maximum of 10 (once all slots are unlocked) can be used simultaneously. These range from receiving additional healing whilst parrying to extra rage build up when taking damage. To unlock these, you must find collectible Whiskey bottles and optional challenge doorways. Whilst the first are pretty easy to find, letting off a distinct scent (yes, the blue trail), the doors require you to complete a certain objective before claiming victory over them.
As the only side content in the whole game, these nightmare doors are extremely repetitive, with only 4 types of challenges behind the 15 throughout the game. Wolverine will be tasked with quickly running through an area filled with obstacles, taking out particular enemies within a time limit or surviving waves of endless foes. Compared to Insomniac’s previous title, Spider-Man 2, which had a wealth of optional activities, this is pretty basic and, overall, just disappointing.
Although there isn’t a heap of customisation on playstyle, there are a whole slew of outfits to unlock and wear throughout the 12-15 hr adventure. The bulk of these require materials, which can be found in all levels, and provide a decent health boost once enough have been crafted. Comic fans will love some of the throwbacks to famous storylines, including Old Man Logan, Fang and Ultimate Wolverine.
Lastly, towards the end of the game you’ll be able to use some stronger abilities that don’t actually feel that strong. While Marvel’s Wolverine has been criticised for being easy to play or complete, if you turn up the difficulty, it definitely is not. The couple of motorcycle segments can be failed if enough damage is taken, alongside many of the QTE actions in certain parts of the story. On top of this there are also a few chase sequences that can easily fail if you aren’t fast enough. That being said it is a lot simpler in terms of gameplay and way too straightforward for gamers who enjoy branching out a little rather than being pigeonholed into a certain way to play.
An argument could be made that other games like Life is Strange or the recent Reanimal follow a similar experience, but Wolverine and Insomniac have enough prestige to bring fresh elements to this space rather than sink into an archaic game design. The main issue here isn’t a repetitive game, as many players may enjoy that; it’s that it doesn’t offer anything new for gamers who want more. Ultimately, it’s too safe despite how bloody you end up.
Say what you want about the preference for repetitive gameplay or hand-holding elements, Marvel’s Wolverine is the best-looking game Insomniac Games has ever released. Whilst it can’t be forgiven just on graphics alone, it’s a step in the right direction, as Wolverine’s claws have never had this much blood on them. General combat shows limbs being ripped off and splattering of blood over Logan and the environment, as nothing is held back. Ironically, the story is a little less graphic, but cutscenes are rendered well with some fantastically detailed facial models. Powers, explosions, enemy design and Logan’s beard all look fantastic.
Even though some great visuals are found here, there’s also a slew of bugs. From a large company that has invested a lot in this game, there are some surprisingly common errors I’ve experienced and seen from others. These include Logan getting stuck at the bottom of a tree, floating through the air or the ground, getting outside of the map confines and even a crash or two. For a triple-A game, this is pretty crazy on launch, but to be fair, none of it was game-breaking or frequent enough to quit. What was maddening enough to quit was the number of times I was re-told a simple command. Like press this button to run or this button to use an ability, as if I had just forgotten the last 6 hours of gameplay. These didn’t seem to be hints, as they only came up at specific times and didn’t seem like they could be turned off.
Despite the positives and negatives, this Wolverine is one of the best I’ve seen. Whilst there hasn’t been a tonne, it’s a hard act to follow Hugh Jackman, but who else could do it apart from fellow Aussie, Liam McIntyre. Known for his role in Spartacus, after replacing the main actor, McIntyre has poured his heart and anger into this role, bringing Logan to life. His co-stars also do a fantastic job, with Troy Baker as Nathaniel Essex and Krizia Bajos as Jean Grey.
With music put together by film composer David Flemming, it unfortunately offers nothing that elevates the excitement of stepping into Wolverine’s claws. With previous work on Superman and HBO’s The Last of Us, this seemed like a natural selection. However, unlike Insomniac’s Spider-Man series, there isn’t much here that complements the huge level of fame that encapsulates Wolverine. Despite that, the soundtrack is fine but again follows in the footsteps of the rest of the games, not standing out with anything in particular or providing something new.
The question about Marvel’s Wolverine isn’t whether it’s a good game; it’s from a skilled, award-winning studio with incredible, gory graphics. The real question is: does this game offer anything new or unique? Now, aside from one of the bloodiest games of recent times, everything feels familiar. Even the story beats follow in the footsteps of Insomniac’s latest game, as the main antagonist is perceived as a friend in the beginning.
Whilst the acting is super, Marvel fans may find the twists hard to swallow, as gamers who enjoy variety may suffer under a very repetitive and old-style gameplay route. If you’re expecting a masterpiece like Spider-Man, then keep looking, but if you really want to dig your claws into this, then I’d at least wait for a good sale.
Marvel's Wolverine
Marvels Wolverine is a non-stop thrill ride fuelled by blood and rage. Although the incredible graphics and interesting take on familiar characters are great, the rest of the game feels like it's been done 100 times over. Let's hope Insomniac's next outing has sharper claws
PROS
- Incredible and visceral visuals
- Interesting new take on X-Men lore
- Fantastic acting, especially Wolverine
CONS
- Repetitive combat and level design
- Lacklustre side content
- A lot of story elements are played safe and feel too familiar
