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Wolverine on the PS5 made me care about Marvel’s mutant for the first time
The Verge’s preview of Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Wolverine says the PS5 game combines graphically violent claw-based combat with a more emotionally vulnerable portrayal of Logan. The writer, previously unfamiliar with the character, found that contrast made Wolverine compelling: he is formidable in battle but presented as isolated, regretful and wary of hurting people close to him.
The preview covered roughly two hours of gameplay, beginning with Logan rejoining the mutant task force Team X after several years away. Combat requires players to chain attacks, dodge gunfire and parry melee strikes to build a Rage meter, unlocking stronger moves and a Last Stand revival ability; despite his healing powers and adamantium skeleton, Wolverine can still die. A later social sequence at Princess Bar highlights strained relationships and reinforces the game’s focus on Logan’s emotional barriers.
In short
- Insomniac’s Wolverine balances brutal action with an emotionally vulnerable Logan.
- Combat rewards parries, combos and Rage-powered finishing moves.
- The preview suggests characterisation is the game’s strongest hook.
Explained simply
Wolverine is the name used by Logan, a Marvel character and mutant with retractable claws, a powerful ability to heal and a skeleton reinforced with the metal adamantium. His long life and fighting skills have made him a formidable combatant, while his past and fear of putting others at risk often leave him guarded.
The game is being made by Insomniac Games, the studio behind Marvel’s Spider-Man games, for PlayStation 5. It follows Logan as he reconnects with Team X, a mutant task force, and explores relationships that have been strained by his years away.
Wolverine stories often put his capacity for violence alongside questions about identity, regret and closeness to other people. That tension helps explain why the character can be portrayed as both a powerful fighter and someone wary of the harm he might cause.
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