8.3

Review: Marvel's Wolverine

After years of waiting Marvel’s Wolverine finally here. The expectations were quite high, especially since Insomniac Games has already proved that it knows how to translate a superhero to a game. Still, I had my doubts beforehand. Wolverine is a completely different character than Spider-Man and the first impressions didn't immediately tell me if a full game around Logan would actually work. Afterwards those concerns turned out to be largely unnecessary, because in the end I couldn't help how fat this game is.

From the first hours it becomes clear that Insomniac did not simply take Spider-Man and put Wolverine in it. Marvel’s Wolverine is a much more direct and linear action game. Not a huge open world in which you have to get rid of dozens of icons, but an adventure that sends you from one area to another. This gives the game a high pace and ensures that relatively little time is wasted on filling. The campaign furthermore takes Logan to quite different locations, including Canada, Tokyo and Madripoor.

But eventually a Wolverine game turns around naturally ééOne thing: the claws. Luckily, the game in that area does not disappoint at all. The fights are fast, aggressive and especially delightfully brutal. Wolverine moves completely different than Spider-Man. Logan does not avoid danger gracefully to then repel with acrobatic movements; He throws himself in the middle of a group of enemies and simply starts chopping.

That may sound shallow, but it fits perfectly with the character. Especially the finishers and various brutal attacks make fighting a small spectacle. Enemies are thrown into walls, pierced and eliminated in quite violent ways. Insomniac has clearly not tried to remove the sharp edges of Wolverine. The game is violent and bloody and that is why Logan actually feels like Wolverine.

The fighting system itself is not particularly complicated. You have various attacks, techniques and opportunities to avoid or counter enemies, but don't expect an extremely deep system that takes you tens of hours to master all nuances. There are two sides to that. On the one hand it makes the action nice and accessible and the tempo stays high, but on the other hand it starts to sneak in over time. Other critics have also mentioned the relatively simple and repetitive combat as a critical point.

Yet I had less trouble playing it than I had anticipated. It is simply too entertaining to rush through a room full of opponents as Wolverine. The sound of the claws, the animations and the impact of attacks sell every confrontation. Even when you meet yet another group of enemies, it remains satisfying to let Logan go completely.

Marvel’Wolverine looks fantastic. The environments are full of details and especially during the larger actionscènes shows Insomniac what the PS5 is capable of. The different locations also give the game enough visual variety. One minute you walk through an ice-cold environment in Canada and not much later you will find yourself between the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.

Logan himself is also well worked out. His animations, facial expressions and especially his body language make it clear that you are not dealing with a traditional superhero here. He feels heavy and dangerous. That sounds like a small detail, but it essentially contributes to the atmosphere. When Logan walks into a room, you actually believe everyone there has a problem.

Meanwhile, the story also tries to give sufficient attention to the person behind the claws. Logan is of course much more than just an angry mutant chopping people to pieces. His past and the search for answers are an important part of the adventure. Known characters such as Mystique and Sabretooth also play a role, while the threat around Bolivar Trask and the Sentinels is shaping the greater conflict.

Not every storytelling moment comes out as well and some developments are fairly predictable. Still, the story largely works because Logan himself remains interesting enough to follow. The calmer moments are also a pleasant contrast to all extreme action. As a result, Wolverine is not reduced to a walking set of adamantium claws.

However, you often notice that the game takes you very firmly by the hand. The linear design is in itself no problem at all – In fact, I like that not every big PlayStation game automatically has to be a giant open world. – But Marvel’s Wolverine sometimes goes a little too far with pointing out where to go. This has even become an important point of criticism among players, after which Insomniac has added some options via an update to disable certain instructions for optional content.

Besides the fights, not everything is equally interesting. The quieter pieces, simple puzzles and parts in which you examine the environment do not always reach the same level as the action. As soon as the claws come out, the game will live on immediately. This sometimes creates the feeling that you are especially waiting for the next confrontation.

On the other hand, the relatively compact and linear structure prevents Marvel from’s Wolverine turns into a game that lasts tens of hours longer than necessary. The campaign is placed by various critics around twelve to fifteen hours, depending on playing style and how much extra content you take. That actually fits perfectly with the kind of game Wolverine wants to be: a spectacular single player experience that essentially continues to progress.

And maybe eventually that's the biggest surprise. Before, I was afraid that Marvel’s Wolverine would become too simple or the concept would lose its appeal after a few hours. The combat is indeed not the deepest and the game has absolutely its shortcomings, but while playing it weighed much less heavy than expected for me. When all comes together – the music, graphics, speed, brutal finishers and Logan that goes completely loose – It's just really cool.

Marvel’s Wolverine is not trying to reinvent the wheel. You won't find any revolutionary gameplay mechanics here and players looking for maximum freedom or a huge complex combat experience will probably be a little short. What you do get is a tightly directed Wolverine adventure that understands exactly why it's so fun to play with this character.

Eventually Marvel fell’Wolverine especially with me. Not because all the criticism is wrong, but because I simply had much more fun when playing than I expected. The game can become repetitive, sometimes keeps you a little too clearly at hand and should have had more depth in certain areas. But when you rush into a group of enemies with extended claws and cause complete chaos within seconds, those critical points disappear surprisingly quickly to the background.