Despite my overwhelming love of the superhero genre, I have never been the biggest fan of stories involving the X-Men. While I’ve watched all the movies and read several comics, something about the stories themselves never quite clicked for me. Still, there were plenty of exceptions to my lack of immediate interest, chief among them being the character of Wolverine. His role in the X-Men films of the last few decades, as well as in various cartoons and video games released throughout the years, has made him the most famous member of the team by far. So, when Insomniac Games announced that it was making a Wolverine game, I believed it was a match made in heaven.
The first trailer for Marvel’s Wolverine had me unbelievably excited, and further trailers only increased my anticipation. The prospect of a Wolverine game by Insomniac that balanced the tone of Logan with hack-and-slash gameplay sounded incredible. After all, Insomniac has proven to be capable of making great superhero games thanks to its work on the Marvel’s Spider-Man series. Despite the five years of anticipation and a somewhat divisive release, I was extremely eager to play Marvel’s Wolverine for myself when it finally released. Unfortunately, Marvel’s Wolverine is one of the most disappointing superhero games I have played in quite some time, mainly due to its poorly written narrative and lackluster gameplay loop.
A Failed Origin Story
Marvel’s Wolverine takes place in the same universe as Spider-Man, but unlike the average Wolverine story, the X-Men don’t currently exist yet. In fact, most of the world is completely unaware of the existence of mutants. However, there are still figures eager to stamp them out by any means necessary. One such threat is Bolivar Trask, the CEO of a fiercely anti-mutant corporation, who has just captured a mutant by the name of Nathaniel Essex. Essex just so happens to be the leader of Team X, a small strike force of mutants comprised of Mystique, Sabretooth, and of course Wolverine. The game starts with you, as the titular character, saving Essex from Trask.
As the game progresses, Wolverine’s world is shaken by the arrival of Jean Grey, a fellow mutant who inspires him to be a better ally to mutants. His growing infatuation with Jean is frequently hit with obstacles, though, such as the consistent threat of Trask and his new army of Sentinel robots, the mysterious group known as The Hand, as well as Essex’s own sinister nature. All the while, Wolverine is forced to overcome his animalistic nature as he tries to protect both mutants and humans alike, especially as a mysterious voice in his head goads him into embracing the rage within.
The narrative of Marvel’s Wolverine had a lot of potential to be truly great. The use of characters like Sabretooth, Nathaniel Essex (also known as Mr. Sinister), and Jean Grey should have made for a great Wolverine story, even without the use of the X-Men. The voice performances of the characters highlight that potential, as these are easily the best part of the game. Krizia Bajos, Troy Baker, Brett Gipson, and Jason Spisak in particular do amazingly as Jean Grey, Essex, Sabretooth, and Trask, respectively. I would be remiss if I did not mention Liam McIntyre as Wolverine, who especially shines in the moments where the character’s rage takes center stage.
Yet, the great performances are not enough to distract from the story’s messiness, which is a result of the game’s poor writing and pacing. The former primarily applies to the dialogue and characters. Jean Grey, for example, does not really have much of a personality of her own, and rather, she exists only to further Logan’s story. Specifically, she has no character flaws or traits that distinguish her from Wolverine himself. The two never argue or have differences in the way they approach their shared goal of saving mutantkind. As for their love story, while they do have some chemistry thanks to the performances of their voice actors, a third-act twist ruins any potential interest I had in their interactions due to just how convoluted the reveal is.
Then, there’s Wolverine himself. In most other interpretations, Wolverine is a character that ranges from being a cowboy-esque figure to an anti-hero with a heart of gold, one that favors action over words. Here, though, he is making constant quips in much the same way a character like Spider-Man would. Wolverine constantly talks in the middle of battle, throwing out wisecracks while rarely showing the edge that has defined him in the past. Worse still, the other characters treat him as though he is the Wolverine that more people are familiar with. He often describes himself as someone who doesn’t talk much, while others tell him that he doesn’t care about anything. Despite those comments, these words do not coincide with how he actually acts in-game, creating an odd disconnect between the dialogue and the characters themselves.
Speaking of other characters, the use of a supporting cast that is traditionally known to be villains to the X-Men is a cool idea in theory. In execution, it falls short due to their lack of meaningful development. For instance, Nathaniel Essex starts the game out as a kind figure and leader who genuinely wants the best for mutants everywhere. However, at a certain point his personality does a complete 180. There is no slow devolution of his morals; one mission he is warm and kind, and the next, he is almost comically cruel. The same lack of cohesive development applies to every character, as they all frequently change motivations and personalities at the drop of a hat.
Part of the character’s inconsistencies can be attributed to the pacing. The first act focuses on Trask and his Sentinels, but once that act ends, the danger that the character represented is shrugged off in favor of introducing the Hand. Then, in the final act, the Hand are brushed off in much the same way as Trask was. There is very little connective tissue between the game’s three acts, and to make matters worse, the aforementioned third act plot twists only make it harder to follow what is really going on.
Beyond the poor pacing and writing, the worst part of the narrative of Marvel’s Wolverine is how derivative it feels of Insomniac’s other Marvel games. For instance, one of Wolverine’s key allies throughout the story ends up being a major antagonist in the third act. This is now the fourth time Insomniac has used such a trope, as it has used the exact same concept in Marvel’s Spider-Man, Miles Morales, and Spider-Man 2. Characters have none of the intensity and rage that you’d expect, and even if they curse more often due to the M-rating, they act more like the sort of characters you would see in Spider-Man‘s supporting cast.
There is nothing unique about the story of Wolverine. At its best, it is an attempt to apply the writing style of the Spider-Man games to the story of the most famous mutant, all without understanding the fundamental differences between the two. At its worst, it is a poorly paced mess that throws a bunch of random ideas together with little to no cohesion or well-written characters to make it work. Annoyingly, the gameplay of Marvel’s Wolverine is just as flawed.
Going Through The Motions
When I think of how a Wolverine video game should play, a few things come to mind. The use of the healing factor as a key mechanic, alongside the character’s signature claws lending themselves to a hack-and-slash-style game, feels like a no-brainer. The gameplay should also be fast-paced, and above all, extremely violent. The first gameplay trailer for Marvel’s Wolverine had me and many others deeply excited, since it seemed to hint that these elements would be a fundamental part of its combat mechanics. In reality, this latest game from Insomniac is slow and mindless, especially with how often it tried to handhold me through basic mechanics.
To start with, there’s the world of Wolverine. Unlike Spider-Man, Wolverine will visit four major key locations throughout the game: Telambang, Canada, Madripoor, and Japan. These are not open hubs that you can freely explore; instead, they are backdrops to the game’s 30 levels. Granted, the visuals of each locale are beautiful, especially in the few moments of exploration you get. On the subject of visuals, though, a lot of the facial models for the game’s key characters look off. There is a slight uncanniness to them, mainly due to how they clearly try to mimic the face of the actor performing the motion capture for the role. Wolverine’s face in particular is a poor imitation of Liam McIntyre’s face, likely due to the limitations of the game’s engine.
In regard to the level design itself, it is frustratingly repetitive. Each level is very linear and does not really allow for broader exploration. While most of these levels are comprised of combat encounters, there are several segments where you are doing small traversal puzzles. These range from parts where you have to move at a snail’s pace around an environment as part of a story sequence, or where you have to chase a certain figure across the map. While some of the motorcycle segments add some nice variety, these sequences are largely identical to each other.
Having to chase enemies in back-to-back levels quickly got exhausting, especially since it often killed the game’s overall pacing. These are made even worse by just how frequently the game would try to hold my hand the moment I deviated from an objective for even a second. For instance, when I was trying to explore an area before I progressed to the next area, Wolverine kept remarking to himself that “I should keep moving.” In addition, the use of guides like a blue stream that guided me to my next objective, as well as tutorials that would constantly explain the same mechanic over and over again, was more irritating than helpful. Annoyingly, I did not even have the option to turn off these features.
Then, there’s the combat, which is easily the best part of the game. It is at its best when you play it on the hardest difficulty, and you have to master the use of both Wolverine’s healing factor and six claws. The occasionally visceral nature of combat was fun to play around with at times, which was certainly helped by the abundance of costume options. My favorite detail is how the more damage you take, the more your costume is torn apart. Yet, the combat’s high moments are not enough to distract from its several major flaws.
Slashing enemies often lacks any real impact. It feels more like you are cutting into hard steel, rather than slashing through human bone. This is likely due to the consistent use of android or robotic enemies, which comes with the side effect of less of the brutality that I had been hoping for. Plus, each encounter often felt mindless. Even on the hardest difficulty, I rarely died at all, and I instead found myself just pressing the square button over and over again without putting any thought into what I was doing.
In terms of the bosses, they range from being too easy to being too spongy; the latter is particularly frustrating as it only further emphasized the combat’s lack of weight. There are plenty of additional challenges that can be completed to get more upgrades, but having to do traversal and other smaller combat scenarios to get those upgrades quickly got old. The game also has stealth sections, but they are hindered by the same handholding problems as the rest of the game. Namely, enemies and their positions are visible at all times while in stealth, which removes any of the challenge that could be present.
Additionally, I encountered quite a few bugs and glitches. These were thankfully fairly minor, such as collision glitches where characters would glitch into a wall or float in mid-air. There were one or two more major bugs, such as how the game would sometimes fail to register parry inputs. Moreover, while it may not be a bug, it is frustrating how there are several quick-time events that complete themselves automatically, even if I pressed an entirely different button than the one on-screen. While these do not single-handedly ruin Marvel’s Wolverine, they are some of the many reasons why I did not find much enjoyment with this game.
Overall, so much of Wolverine‘s gameplay lacks any meaningful depth. Every component of the game feels lifeless, with the lackluster combat and the exploration only being the tip of the iceberg. While there were some moments where I had fun with Marvel’s Wolverine, these were few and far between. By the time the credits rolled, I was relieved to be done, a feeling that genuinely saddened me considering how much I’ve loved Insomniac’s prior Marvel games.
The Dark End of the Street
Ever since 2018, I have loved Insomniac’s Marvel games. Marvel’s Spider-Man is a near-perfect masterpiece thanks to its brilliant story and gameplay. Spider-Man: Miles Morales may not have the same narrative depth as its predecessor, but the modified setting and gameplay changes more than make up for it. Spider-Man 2 is fantastic as a result of the perfected gameplay and exciting story moments, even if the third act falters a bit. These three games may not be perfect, but they are still worthy adaptations of their respective characters. So, the thought that the same developers would be the first to bring Wolverine to the gaming world since 2009 seemed like a recipe for perfection. Needless to say, I was extremely infuriated with the finished product.
The narrative of Wolverine is a cluttered mess. While the performances of the game’s characters do shine, the poor writing of said characters is likely to frustrate anyone regardless of whether they are a fan of the original comics or not. The protagonists and antagonists lack any development or depth, and instead, frequently change motivations at the drop of a hat. The fast-paced pacing and absurd third-act plot twists further highlight the story’s incoherence.
The gameplay is equally all over the place. Yes, the background visuals look great in some parts, but the facial models look uncanny in a very distracting way. The linear nature of each level means that it is hard to appreciate the bright spots of the graphics, as I was constantly forced into doing the same activities over and over again. The shallow combat loop and Wolverine‘s tendency to flash tutorials and guidelines the moment I strayed off the beaten path meant that the gameplay was more obnoxious than fun.
Marvel’s Wolverine had all the building blocks necessary to be one of the best superhero games of the 2020s. As a result of the poor implementation of those blocks, it is instead one of the most mediocre games in the genre as of late, in spite of its few high moments. While the prospect of Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 was my most anticipated game, as it is now, my excitement for the future of Insomniac’s work on the Marvel property is lower than ever. I can only hope that it is able to address these problems in whatever their next game is. In the meantime, I sadly doubt that I will have the motivation to replay Marvel’s Wolverine anytime soon.
Disclaimer: Marvel’s Wolverine was reviewed on PlayStation 5.
