Marvel's Wolverine review: "Missing that crucial X-Factor"

The middle section of Marvel's Wolverine feels like it nails the game developer Insomniac Games wanted to make. Set in a small semi open world Tokyo district, it sees Logan exploring and fighting – grumpily following leads as he criss-crosses the area following the clues that have brought him there. It's lively, layered, and just a fun place to be: full of cool little alleys, laden with eye-grabbing posters and neon lights, and, often, interesting places that, sure enough, wind up being somewhere you revisit in more detail later.

There's an enjoyable variety here where the texture of the game changes nicely, a range of gameplay and moments breaking up combat as you literally sniff out trails, look for clues, and enjoy existing in the buzzing neon lit space. I spent a lot more time than I needed here looking in shop windows, examining signs, listening in on conversations, or watching people just mill about. Most importantly there's a solid sense of progression to your time in Tokyo, with a clear arc and purpose to take you through it all, that feels meaningful.

By contrast the rest of the game feels thin, and largely consists of boxy corridors that top and tail Tokyo with shallow combat luges broken up by cutscene checkpoints and little else. Unlike the studio's Spider-Man games, Wolverine is strictly chapter-based and linear, more like Uncharted but without the finesse. You might find a corner here, hiding a collectible, or a forked path there, to give you a little agency to the type of forward progression you choose, but it's surprising just how nothingy these areas feel, especially in the opening act. After Tokyo, flow improves a little, with some occasional extra variety and scope, but combat still overwhelms many spaces that don't do much more than exist to house it, while the story sort of vaguely wafts its hand at reasons why it's all happening.

Not quite the best there is

Wolverine's gory, knife-handed combat is enjoyable for the most part, at least. It's functional and well formed, but it does lack the sort of magnetic snap that a great fighting system has when you lock into a flow. There's a good toolkit of moves to deal with enemies and situations, with a leaping attack to clear spaces fast as you bounce between meatbags, and some satisfying special moves you can pull out to mince through crowds or target single opponents for an unnecessary level of beatdown. It's bloody, messy and feels suitably Wolverine as claws end up in guts, faces, skulls and more.

However, all this people blending is built around a Rage system that feels both overcomplicated and inconsequential at the same time. There are three tiers: the first gets you started and enables a regenerative revive if you're downed; the second adds extra damage to combo finishers; and, finally, tier 3 amps up all damage and lets you perform insta-kill critical strikes against low health, staggered, or intimidated enemies.

That all sounds fine in theory but it never really feels like it actually does that much outside of the Last Stand revival. Insta-kill criticals are fickle at best thanks to the criteria needed to trigger them, and because certain key elements are locked behind Adaptation perks you need to unlock and equip - all the things that really make Rage sing is in these Adaptations, making it feel like you have the trial version for most of the game until you unlock its full potential.

By contrast, progression in the Techniques tree just sort of unfolds via a ladder of abilities that, thanks to an abundance of experience points, all gradually unlock over the course of play. The deepest choice you get in your build here is deciding on which four of the six special abilities you'll have equipped.

Combat ready

There's also the odd choice to keep the ability to parry multiple simultaneous attacks locked behind a fairly late game skill. That's a total game changer as, without it, you're trying to parry single individual attacks while surrounded by a horde swinging freely at all times. Until you get that multi-parry ability you're deflecting one attack only to be hit by another a split second behind it. But, once you have it, combat comes alive in a dance of ripostes as you weave through enemy crowds like a Whirling Dervish made of knives.

As a result, as you pick Adaptations and skills it seems less like you're improving Wolverine's combat, and more like you're just making it what it should be. The end result, when you've basically unlocked everything, feels like where it should have started. It means combat has some good moments, mostly as it improves much later into the game, but for a character defined by fighting it leaves a lot to be desired.

There's also an odd stealth system that sort of appears occasionally, but it's the kind of 'magic grass' set-up where you have no real control over it – just areas you automatically hide in. You can't wall hug, hide on cue, peek around corners, or lure enemies. Instead, you have to read the layout of what's ahead to plan a route that will take out the most enemies without raising the alarm. It's a strange system that, like a lot of things here, never feels like it was fully worked out.

The plot itself consists of three largely unconnected sections hot-glued together via a semi formed MacGuffin that changes purpose as the story develops, as well as a few basically random events.

I can't explain too much without spoiling things but everything's held together so loosely that you can't look directly at it without it all unraveling. You can feel it straining to exist in its own world, trying to carve out an existence devoid of most notable mutants and characters like the X-Men - the story starts with you attached to what is functionally a school for gifted youngsters but not that one.

Much of Wolverine feels like it's ended up in a shape it wasn't meant to be in, with both mechanics and plot points introduced haphazardly, and just as likely to be forgotten about as used again. Numerous combat, gameplay, and story ideas drift in and out of use or existence – audio diaries pop in and out of being 'a thing', for example; the story ping-pongs between antagonists looking for a firm villain, while re-using one of the (only two) enemy factions with a new leader at a later stage. There's also a relatively minor character that suddenly becomes pivotal to a sizable chunk of the story before largely disappearing again, save for a loose thread pinching last minute cameo.

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.