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Wolverine game fails to match Spider-Man despite compelling Logan characterisation
Insomniac Games follows up its acclaimed Spider-Man trilogy with Marvel's Wolverine, a PlayStation 5 action adventure that gives players a well-realised, conflicted Logan but ultimately disappoints with repetitive, unimaginative combat. The review argues the game struggles to live up to its predecessor, offering a strong protagonist and intriguing X-Men-adjacent setup let down by combat that feels crude and a linear, restrictive world that lacks the freedom of Insomniac's open-city Spider-Man games.
Set before the founding of the X-Men, the story sees Logan reunited with Sabretooth and Mystique after their mentor Nathaniel Essex is kidnapped by mutant-hating billionaire Bolivar Trask. Combat features dodges, parries and combo attacks such as the barrage, tornado spin and spiral strike, plus a three-stage rage meter, but the reviewer found most fights winnable through repetitive parry-and-attack patterns rather than the varied techniques demanded by genre peers like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta. The game's structure is also far more linear than the Spider-Man titles, with cities such as Madripoor and Tokyo blocked off by invisible walls that funnel players between set-pieces.
In short
- Marvel's Wolverine follows Insomniac's Spider-Man games on PS5
- Strong lead character but repetitive, uncreative combat criticised
- World is far more linear and restrictive than Spider-Man titles
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The game’s focused, linear structure may suit a story centred on Logan, whose conflicted characterisation and ties to Sabretooth, Mystique and Essex give the adventure a compelling dramatic core. Its parries, dodges and rage abilities offer a direct, accessible combat style that can keep attention on the character and set-pieces rather than demanding mastery of elaborate combos.
The case against
Players expecting Insomniac’s Spider-Man games to offer fluid exploration and varied combat have a reasonable case for disappointment: blocked-off cities limit freedom, while fights can reportedly be won by repeating a narrow parry-and-attack pattern. Those limitations may make the action feel crude and unimaginative, leaving Logan’s strong characterisation unable to carry an adventure that does not match the studio’s earlier strengths.
Explained simply
Wolverine, also known as Logan, is a Marvel character with a healing ability and claws. He is often portrayed as a loner whose violent past and difficult relationships shape his choices. Sabretooth and Mystique are other mutants: Sabretooth is a longtime rival, while Mystique can change her appearance.
The story is set before the X-Men, a team of mutants who join forces in later parts of Marvel’s world. Logan encounters Bolivar Trask, a wealthy anti-mutant figure, and Nathaniel Essex, a scientist also known as Mister Sinister. Insomniac Games previously made a series of Spider-Man games for PlayStation, where players could move freely around a large city.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “Marvel’s Wolverine review – a gloriously conflicted lead is let down by crude, boring battling”.