Finally after years of hype and anticipation, Marvel’s Wolverine is here. Can this new take on Logan, and his fellow mutants, capture the hearts and minds of fans? Or have years of excitement gone to waste?
Bring Out The Mutants
In many ways, Insomniac Games have been the premier studio for Sony during the PlayStation 5 era. They have impressively managed to release two hugely successful titles with Spiderman 2 and Spiderman Miles Morales. With the critical and commercial success of these titles, the anticipation and hype for Wolverine has only grown. Thus, I’m pleased to say Wolverine is another great effort from this stellar studio. This is a brutal, fresh new take on Logan and the world of mutants. However, that isn’t to say there aren’t some glaring issues in both narrative and design.
The story of Marvel’s Wolverine centres of course on our titular character, James “Logan” Howlett. Logan has been living for centuries now and has only fractured memories of past lives he has lived. Thirty years prior to the game’s events, Logan was discovered by Dr Nathaniel Essex in a feral state, and with Essex’s telepathic powers, had his humanity restored. Having been recruited into Essex’s mutant community, Logan joined Team X. Having become disillusioned with his time in the team of mutants, Logan had abruptly left three years prior. At the start of Marvel’s Wolverine, Logan re-joins the team to help save Essex who has been captured by Bolivar Trask of Trask Industries. This is a great way to begin the narrative as Logan has already been established as a superhero. However, with his memory loss, it gives the player the chance to be side by side with Logan on his journey of discovery.
Man Or Monster
After saving Essex from Trask, the narrative takes Logan across a series of different locations and environments. It’s a tale comic book fans will have seen before, but as for someone who isn’t particularly familiar with Wolverine comics, it’s a great entry point. The 14 or so hours of the campaign are full of heart, suspense and brutal moments, as Logan seeks to discover his past and the motives of Trask. Sure, there are some predictable twists and turns but they will still be enjoyable to watch unfold. The real beauty of the story is Logan himself. I adore this version of Logan, a broken and complicated man who, at his core, just wants to find his purpose and in many ways, find love. He’s isolated and alone when you meet him, guarded and wary of other humans and Mutants, but as the narrative unfolds, he becomes softer and vulnerable. Actor Liam McIntyre has superbly carved out his own unique version of this beloved character.
The cast of characters which joins Logan on this journey is a wonderful mix of weird and wonderful. Jean Grey takes centre stage as love interest and powerful ally. Sabertooth, Walter, Essex and Mystique round out a brilliant Team X. The brilliance of the narrative is fully shown during the moments Logan converses with each of these characters. The story is often action packed, making these smaller quieter moments steal the show. Whilst there are beautifully rendered cutscenes and incredible set pieces, it’s the rare occasions Logan has to converse and open up to these characters that stay in my mind the most. A brutal, raw and complicated take on the adamantium warrior.
Bumps In The Road
Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the story of Wolverine, I am left with some disappointment and frustration. The story has so much going on that it is hard for all these threads to be wrapped up in a satisfying manner. It feels like the developers have prodded and picked multiple comic book storylines and attempted to mash them all into one narrative. This hurts the cast of characters the most. As mentioned, I love the interactions Logan had with certain characters, but due to the chaotic pacing of the story, some get left by the wayside. They merely exist to be recognisable figures in a crowded room.
Along with frustrations I had with use of side characters, dialogue also suffers. The Spiderman games had tons of charm and wit from Peter, Miles and others but Wolverine lacks it. Outside of Logan himself, character dialogue feels extremely hit and miss. In many ways, the weakness of the supporting cast only highlights the superb job Liam McIntyre has done. He has made Logan feel approachable. It’s important to make clear this is still an enjoyable story; it just might be too predictable for some fans.
Unleash The Beast
Throughout the comics and in other media, the ferocity and viscousness of Wolverine is always at the forefront. Insomniac needed to craft a gameplay loop that shows off the brutality of Logan. His basic attacks are smoothly designed and look beautiful in full flow as you slice and dice your way through thousands of enemies during the campaign. You can parry and dodge, making it feel incredibly responsive and fluid, especially during the gorgeous kill animations. Some of the ways in which Logan dispatches enemies are bloody disgusting!
Throughout the game Logan is granted special abilities which show off beautifully choreographed moves to rip enemies literally limb by limb. Tornado slicing always feels so damn satisfying. Building up your rage meter allows Logan to go full beast mode and carry out brutal executions. It’s a solid combat system which feels satisfying. Add in a decent skill tree to upgrade these skills, and you have the foundation of a good gameplay loop. Unfortunately, it’s only a foundation.
Cracks In The Adamantium
Although there is a strong foundation of gameplay, here lies Wolverine’s cardinal sin: it wears extremely thin. By the end of the story there are only so many times you can enjoy spamming the same moves over and over. I never would have imagined an Insomniac game would have me frustrated and tired of combat by credits roll. It’s a constant loop of parry, dodge and spam attacks. It never innovates further from this concept. Add in some uneven boss battles, and you have a true mixed bag in combat. Traversal in Wolverine is as basic as it possibly could be, as Logan can only climb and jump his way through some of the environments. It feels solid but doesn’t serve a real purpose in the game. Throughout the game, Logan can enter into his memories in the form of Nightmare missions. These are traversal or combat challenges that give you a chance to master Weapon X. They are once again fundamentally sound, if not unspectacular.
At its core, Wolverine is a cinematic third person action adventure. This means it is an extremely linear title. Unlike the Spiderman games, this is a level based affair. Some people may not like the design of the game but I think this actually suits Wolverine perfectly. It is meant to be focused on Logan and his journey. There are some fleeting moments where the game allows you to discover hidden caches used to craft new suits or collectibles, like whiskey bottles, but for the most part, it’s an extremely linear game which will put some people off. I actually found it refreshing.
A Hot Debate
Throughout the last few days and through some early reviews, there has been a debate developing around accessibility that I would like to address. There has been some heavy criticism aimed at some of the design choices Insomniac have decided to implement. I believe for the most part this is not warranted, apart from one bizarre choice. Many people have taken aim at the games hand holding of the player. Yes, the game does help you a lot but it has been drastically exaggerated. The scent trail Logan has is not always active and most, if not all, of these accessibility pre-sets can be turned off in the settings.
The one egregious error on Insomniac’s part involves quick time events (QTE). I can confirm that even if you do not press the input, the game will autocomplete this for you. Even with the option to autocomplete events off, it still did this. Hopefully, this can be patched out, as this is bizarre. It was important for me to make sure people are clear on this issue, as misinformation is rife. Insomniac should largely be getting praise for these settings rather than condemnation. Baffling.
Bold, Bloody, Beautiful
Insomniac’s games always look gorgeous and Wolverine is no different. Every location is bold in colour and scale. Character models are superb and facial animations look vastly improved from the Spiderman games. Logan is detailed and looks spectacular, especially when you see the damage he has received during fights. It’s a joy to watch Logan regenerate his body, and this should be lauded as a feat in animation. As this is a mature take on the superhero, blood is a huge factor in visuals. The spattering both Logan and the environments receive is phenomenal. The vast amount of different suits available to unlock are full of variety and detail. This is a tour de force in visual presentation. Fidelity stays strong throughout the game with great performance. I only encountered a handful of bugs during my time but nothing too impactful.
Similarly, audio design and soundtrack are top notch. Wolverine grunts and roars as expected and his adamantium claws pierce flesh so wickedly. The sound of the claws clanging against the Reavers and other enemies is delightful. As mentioned, the voice acting by Liam McIntyre is superb and hopefully, he is rightfully applauded during award season. The rest of the cast do a stellar job with an uneven script, particularly Krizia Bajos as Jean Grey and Troy Baker as Nathaniel Essex. Finally, the soundtrack by composer David Fleming is a blast to listen to. He has blended American western themes with comic book orchestral moments which make a bombastic epic track. Every set piece is perfectly scored.
Verdict
I suspect Marvel’s Wolverine will be a hot topic for the months to come. For me, an engaging story with a stunning lead performance kept me hooked as I learnt more about the man behind the adamantium. Whilst combat wears thin after a while, and some uneven dialogue hinders the experience, this is still a worthy tale for the comic book legend. Superb visuals and strong performance, along with brilliant audio design and a pitch perfect soundtrack round out a solid adventure. ‘Solid’ is the word that I keep coming back to, and for some that may not be enough, due to the expectations. I hope Insomniac build from this effort and return to the world of mutants.
