Insomniac’s next big hitter, Marvel’s Wolverine, launches on September 15th and it’s aiming to be PlayStation’s next major first-party exclusive, following the studio’s popular Spider-Man series. As this release date closes in, review embargoes have begun lifting and critics across the industry are weighing in.
In the run-up to launch, several official gameplay videos were released and gamers were quick to pick them apart, such as combat pacing, character designs and Logan’s tracking ability. The question is whether those early concerns held up once the full and final game landed or whether they turned out to be minor issues in an otherwise strong title.
To help answer that, we’ve gathered information from five different publications to produce this Marvel’s Wolverine review round-up. Each review has a closing short snippet, the score they gave and a link to the full article.
GameSpot – 6/10
Wolverine is a difficult game to come to terms with. As I’ve emphasized repeatedly, there’s nothing outright wrong or bad about it. It delivers an authentic, highly playable Wolverine experience. I don’t regret my time with it and, in fact, I left hoping there’s a sequel that makes good on what the game sets up. But at the same time, that inoffensiveness comes from the fact that it’s a barebones third-person action game executed in a no-frills way, with no real surprises.
At best, it’s a fun but forgettable experience that’ll entertain you for a few hours. At worst, it shows that just because you can make really good superhero games with one character, that doesn’t mean you can make really good superhero games with any character. Insomniac is an incredibly talented developer, but it shines with characters that allow it to flex its well-trained design muscles. Wolverine might be the best at what he does, but what he does hasn’t let Insomniac’s developers be the best at what they do.
Read the full review here.
GameSRadar – 3/5
Marvel’s Wolverine is never a bad experience, just an underwhelming one full of odd choices. I enjoyed it enough for the most part but never really felt blown away, or like I was getting the game Wolverine deserved. Especially considering this is the same studio that literally let Spider-Man soar on PS5. It also feels lightweight for such a blockbuster release – you’ll struggle to get more than 20 hours out of it even if you 100% what there is, and replaying missions just highlights how straightforward many of the areas actually are. There are some nice moments and ideas but they’re muted overall by lengthy and monotone combat, inconsistent gameplay, and a track jumping story. Ironically, for a character that’s the best at what they do, this is basically OK.
Read the full review here.
Giant Bomb – 2.5/5
I can’t shake the feeling that when this game was being made, it was decided first and foremost to retrofit the Spider-Man game structure with Wolverine’s set of powers rather than build a bespoke game from the ground up purely out of efficiency. This “shortcut” ended up being massively detrimental to the final product. Ripping out a massive chunk of that established structure and doling out its player rewards piecemeal throughout a much more linear game feels like a very messy, incoherent approach. With exploration removed, the remaining storytelling and combat pillars of Insomniac’s house style struggle to support the studio’s ideas.
Wolverineis a game with momentary sparks of fun, but its mostly-good combat getting constantly dragged down by mediocre storytelling, poor pacing, and an underwhelming amount of player agency left me very bored far too often.
Read the full review here.
But Why Tho? – 6/10
Overall, Marvel’s Wolverine is a fun, albeit safe, new entry in Insomniac’s Marvel universe. The combat is fun and flashy, but doesn’t really meaningfully change as the game progresses. There are some great narrative moments, but it lacks the buildup to make you care about them.
Marvel’s Wolverine is a stunning graphical showcase that really shows the PS5 has plenty left in the tank. The game feels intentionally packaged as a Wolverine game made by PlayStation to fit the first-party mold.
This is a turn-your-brain-off-and-go-for-a-ride spectacle that occasionally punches above its weight. That works to some extent, but Marvel’s Wolverine doesn’t live up to the creative standard Insomniac Games is known for, and Logan has never been known for playing it safe.
Read the full review here.
Eurogamer – 3/5
The result, sadly, is a sense that our old boy Wolverine is just caught behind the times. Were it not for the lovability of Logan himself, the animalistic warmth that Insomniac summons through its cast – and the sheer and genuine humanity that can be accessed through that – or the basic pleasure and occasional spectacle its action can offer when spread out into smaller doses, it could’ve been a bloodbath. Instead, it’s just fine. It might be in no small part thanks to the innate nature of the X-Men universe that it’s still ultimately enjoyable enough: these stories are all deeply sensitive characters and wearily timely themes. But still, there’s still just enough sincerity, character and camp here to keep this old dog alive.
Read the full review here.
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