Some people had preconceived notions about they wanted the Wolverine game to be, rather than just wait to play the actual game that was delivered

By J.G., guest writer

There are some things you needs for a good Wolverine game: brutally slashing through enemies, a challenging rogue’s gallery of villains, exotic locales, mind games of what might or might not be actual history, and an engaging story that takes the audience on a journey of discovery.
The new Wolverine game from Insomniac for the PlayStation 5 is all of these things. It’s a fun game that understood the assignment.
For full transparency, my college roommate was one of the game designers, so has shared with me some of the behind-the-scenes struggles to bring the Ol’ Canucklehead to his first console game in years. I’ve also played all three of their Spider-Man games and had a blast with them.
One of the first comics I fell in love with was the 1982 four-part Wolverine series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. I still remember the forward where the two legends talked about Wolverine as a character and what made him so interesting. It made me fall in love with stories about Wolverine and he’s one of my all-time favorite comic book characters.
So here is a spoiler-free review from a Marvel fanboy:

What the Game Isn’t …
There have been mixed reactions to the Wolverine game. Some of the criticisms are fair – it is shorter than I wanted – but the majority of the reviews have been made in bad faith. Some people have critiqued aspects of game play without mentioning that those aspects are actually game play options.
So I think a lot of those bad faith arguments are because some people had preconceived notions about they wanted the Wolverine game to be, rather than just wait to play the actual game that was delivered. Those assumptions informed those opinions.
Wolverine isn’t Dark Souls – a game that is difficult for the sake of being difficult so gamers can brag about how they beat the difficult game. Wolverine isn’t Red Dead Redemption – a game with a huge open world where exploration is just as much part of the game as the story. Wolverine isn’t Arkham Asylum – A game where you run around using all your Bat-gadgets to defeat enemies or solve puzzles.
You don’t need gadgets. You don’t need loot. You don’t need weapons. You’re Wolverine. You ARE the weapon.

What the Game Is …
Imagine a game where when the story tells you that you need to stop an enemy NOW, there isn’t time to dawdle. Imagine a game where you didn’t have to stop and look around every single corner, in every single nook and cranny, just in case there was an upgrade you might need later. Imagine a game where your allies help you, your enemies hunt you. Imagine a game where combat is streamlined, but offers variety based on your game play style.
Wolverine is more like God of War. It is straight forward. It is brutal. It is Wolverine running through goons, through boss fights and through a story that has you guessing all the way until the end. And no breaking every pot to get rupees to buy anything.

But how does it play …
The game isn’t complicated. Your Wolverine slashes his way through waves of goons with different abilities across a variety of lore-accurate locations like Madripoor, a Hand hideout in Japan, a Sentinel plant and more.
There are upgrades that you can pick up, but are easy to find – the game does go out of its way to make it easy to find the collection items you need to unlock new costumes. And there are a lot of costumes. Fans of Insomniac’s Spider-Man games might be disappointed the costumes don’t have different effects – I know I was. What unlocking costumes does give you is more health. But the game has so many ways of healing in the middle of combat that even if you miss an upgrade, you’ll be just fine. (Side note from my friend – get the Hellverine suit and play a motorcycle level … you’ll see …)
There is some customization in creating your Wolverine build – is it easier for you to find whisky bottles (the other collectible in the game)? Is it easier for you to build your rage meter? And way more options than you can ever have all of in one playthrough, so you have to choose.
The game also launched with a NewGame+ mode, so immediately has replayability, either with or without the upgrades you’ve already unlocked. There’s no waiting for DLC to drop before you’re able to jump right back in.
In many respects, the game is very forgiving, which has been another critique that is both fair and also overblown. Yes, there are a lot of ways the game tells you exactly where you need to go. Yes, while riding a motorcycle you can take hits from cars and trucks without wiping out entirely. But all of this is to get you back to the action without being more punishing than it needs to be. And the action IS the point.
Another bad faith argument is about Wolverine following scent trails that tell the player exactly where they need to go. Those of us who played Superman 64 or other games based on established IPs remember our first reaction to those games: Why don’t I have all of Superman’s powers from the very beginning? Of course Wolverine can track by scent … it’s one of his core abilities! You also get the claws, the healing factor, the adamantium right at the start. Like you should in a Wolverine game. (Although no Masamune Blade, which I told my friend I was bummed about. But that’s a bit of a deep … cut.)

The Story
The game takes place before there are even X-Men, and only about 10 thousand mutants worldwide, which is one of the game’s plot points. Logan is part of Team X, a group of special ops mercenaries led by …

(Okay, here’s the deal. This is an original story with very different takes on all of our favorite characters. If you go into the game with pre-conceived notions of who Mystique is, for example, without allowing yourself the flexibility to shift your thinking, you’ll be disappointed before you’ve even given the game a chance. Which a lot of early reviews did. Insomniac is asking us to accept their interpretation of Wolverine in the same way we embraced their Peter Parker. And if you can do that, it becomes much easier to enjoy the game.)

… Nathaniel Essex, voiced by and modeled after Troy Baker (Joel, from The Last of Us, and lots of other things!) Essex gathers his team to defend mutants against a world that hates and fears them. The game opens with finding out about experiments on mutants and how a former ally is now an enemy.
From there you explore Wolverine’s memories, his relationships and go on missions to uncover exactly why those experiments were happening in the first place. And then it gets more complicated from there. Fortunately, you have some allies to help you along the way …

The Allies
Team X is Wolverine, Sabretooth and Mystique. They repeatedly show up to help you in various ways. There’s constant banter, but I missed out on a lot of it because of the chaotic combat on-screen.

In addition, you meet Jean Grey, who is protecting Callisto, Leech, Caliban and their friends without actually name-dropping “Morlocks.” Jean’s psychic powers go a long way in helping Logan accomplish both his missions and her own motivations. You also find out that this may not be the first time they’ve met. Or it is. Or it isn’t. There’s a lot to unpack there.

The Villains
The boss fights are fun! They’re challenging until you figure out the pattern, but even then can still surprise you. Fortunately, each of the boss fights has stages, so even if you get the boss down to a few slivers of health and you are downed, you don’t start over from the very beginning.
Again, a Wolverine game needs to have fights with some of his biggest threats. And this one does. You go toe-to-claw with Omega Red, Sentinels and … actually, anything more is a spoiler. But Wolverine fans won’t be disappointed.

The Verdict
As an X-Fan, I was constantly on the lookout for the Easter eggs, references and cameos. And there are a lot. When I was in a bar in Madripoor, as soon as I found an IOU, I messaged my friend. “I was hoping you’d find that one!” he said.
And that’s what makes this game just fun to play. It’s a game made by people who love the character for people who love the character. Wolverine, as a game, does all the things a Wolverine game needs to do.
It certainly has some areas where it could be better – the traversal system is nowhere as clean as Spider-Man, the different cosmetics don’t actually matter, the game is way too short.

If you’re looking to be the best there is at what Wolverine does, then this game is for you. It’s got creative storytelling, gameplay that is accessible for casual gamers and challenging enough for pros, and is a game for people who want to SNIKT! SNIKT! their enemies.
And after the credits scroll, the requisite sequel bait tells us where things might go next. Hopefully the game developers take the valid criticisms to heart without losing the soul of what makes Wolverine everything he is: a berserker, a samurai, an operator, a weapon and, most importantly, a hero. 8/10