Insomniac Games' rendition of Wolverine has followed a particularly turbulent path from announcement to release. First revealed in 2021, Marvel's Wolverine was one of several Insomniac projects caught up in a massive 2023 data breach that exposed roughly 1.67 terabytes of internal files. The leak included early gameplay footage, rough level layouts, plot outlines, and preliminary character bios, giving the public a rare glimpse into the game's developmental stages before it was finished.
Three years after that leak, the title finally arrived as a PlayStation‑first exclusive, arriving amid a series of controversial moves by Sony. Those moves included the 2018 decision to stop producing physical discs for its flagship titles and the company’s high‑profile split from Hideo Kojima and the cancelled Physint venture. The timing of Wolverine’s launch therefore carried the weight of both anticipation and skepticism.
Reception has been mixed. On Metacritic the game holds a modest 78, reflecting praise for its narrative and character work but also pointing to a number of recurring criticisms. Reviewers have repeatedly highlighted the combat system as feeling dated, overly repetitive, and too reminiscent of older beat‑'em‑up titles.
Comparisons to Insomniac's acclaimed Spider‑Man series have been frequent, with many critics noting that Wolverine lacks the fluid, three‑dimensional movement that made the Spider‑Man games feel fresh. The Guardian’s Keith Stuart gave the game a 3 out of 5, summarising it as "like its hero, an unreconstructed brawler." He singled out the rage‑meter—a mechanic that temporarily boosts Wolverine’s attack and defense—as a satisfying power spike, describing the final stages as "an almost indestructible machine of carnage, which is immensely liberating." However, Stuart also observed that while the fights feel smooth and empowering, they rarely demand creative tactics or strategic experimentation.
He contrasted Wolverine’s combat with the graceful, web‑swinging combat of Spider‑Man, calling Wolverine’s encounters "more akin to 80s arcade beat‑'em‑ups or PS3 brawlers—a bludgeoning production line of identical fights against increasingly familiar enemy types." Eurogamer’s Chris Tapsell, also awarding a 3‑star rating, echoed similar concerns. He described the overall gameplay as lacking invention, especially within the combat core of a linear action game. Tapsell wrote, "There’s the inherent satisfaction of a good parry‑counter, of leaping around fully in character as this unleashed beast, of enacting righteous vengeance on your foes. Yet it becomes a one‑note, one‑pace experience as wave after wave of identical enemies arrive with the same timing and bullet‑dodging patterns." Jordan Middler of VGC was even harsher, labeling the combat as highly repetitive and monotonous.
He noted that despite the promise of six abilities, players are limited to four, and the two he chose felt underwhelming compared to Wolverine’s basic moves. Middler added, "Enemies are repetitive; even when their outfits change they fall into the same small set of archetypes, making each encounter feel almost monotonous. Large foes are so sponge‑like that fighting them becomes a chore. By the end of the game I was sighing whenever another wave appeared because I just wanted the story to move forward." IGN’s Simon Cardy, who scored the game 6/10, agreed that the claws feel "slick, punchy, and wonderfully bloody," but lamented that the novelty wears off midway through the roughly fifteen‑hour campaign.
He argued that the fundamentals are solid, yet the combat lacks a strong sense of progression. Cardy pointed out that while unlockable skills and special abilities are present, they arrive early and are few, leaving the player with a static toolkit for most of the experience. This static nature forces the game to rely heavily on enemy variety and encounter design to keep the action engaging, and only the former succeeds to a limited degree.
A major point of contention is the game's linear structure. Unlike the open‑world freedom of Insomniac’s Spider‑Man titles, Wolverine confines players to a series of corridors that open into arena‑style battles.
Reviewers described this as a "repetitive, over‑long, and over‑familiar slog." The linearity makes sense from a design perspective, but critics argue it results in a world that feels more like a theatrical backdrop than a lived‑in environment. Stuart noted that iconic locations such as Madripoor or Tokyo are presented with beautiful detail only to be sealed off by invisible walls, forcing players back onto the main path. This design choice, he argued, feels almost cruel when the cityscapes are so richly rendered yet inaccessible.
Nevertheless, some reviewers found a silver lining in the game's narrative and character work. Across the board, critics agreed that the characters are Wolverine’s strongest asset. Middler praised the depth of Logan’s relationship with Jean Grey and highlighted Troy Baker’s performance as Nathaniel Essex as a standout.
However, Cardy felt that supporting characters received insufficient development, often appearing only to obstruct Wolverine or deliver brief bits of wisdom. The writing team, though, managed to keep these moments from feeling completely out of place amid the game’s heavy‑metal violence.
Both Tapsell and Stuart lamented that much of Logan’s personal growth occurs off‑screen. Tapsell described Wolverine as "something of a passenger in his own story," suggesting that the game missed an opportunity to explore the character’s classic themes of identity and inner demons. Stuart criticized the way the game handles Wolverine’s trauma, noting that players learn about his past through optional lore unlocked by completing timed parkour challenges or horde‑mode battles, a method he found insensitive to the subject of PTSD. Cardy also wanted more interactive storytelling.
He appreciated the high‑quality cutscenes but felt that the filler sections—walking through environments to collect photo frames and audio logs—added unnecessary bloat to an adventure that was already not overly long. He argued that a more interactive approach could have deepened the player’s connection to Wolverine’s backstory. In summary, while Marvel's Wolverine is not a terrible game, its shortcomings tend to outweigh its strengths. The title offers moments of genuine fun, especially when wielding Wolverine’s iconic claws, and its narrative benefits from strong performances and a compelling central relationship.
However, the repetitive combat, limited progression, and linear, often restrictive level design leave many players feeling that the experience is rooted in a decade‑old design philosophy. As VGC’s Middler summed up, "It takes a character that should be tailor‑made for video‑game fun and muzzles him with repetitive, basic combat and a game that feels like it’s from a decade ago. While playing, I was having fun, but the second I stopped, I felt absolutely nothing."