I think amnesiac James Logan Howlett would have a time on the internet.
I’d imagine his sense of wonder would be through the roof for a platform and service which is as divisive as ever. Having sunk so deeply into rage-baiting and illiteracy, the internet now seems forged from adamantium. The famously heavy metal which makes up a part of the hero known as Wolverine. And its posers are out in droves which would rival the likes of Sentinels and Reavers.
After a hack on Insomniac Studios exposed their roadmap up until 2032, the studio did something a lot of game studios weren’t doing. They slowed down. The hack reveals the title may have aimed for a 2025 release after the 2021 announcement. Yet as each revision came to life, it pushed it out to our September 15th, 2026 release for the public. As for me? I’ve been lucky enough to be playing it for the last fortnight.
You wake up on a VTOL aircraft.
All the while, Sabretooth is snarling at you and Mystique is yelling orders. You are Wolverine, and you are the first piece in Team X’s plans to rescue an unnamed hostage. I know right? For X-Men fans, waking up in something that more closely resembles The Brotherhood is a damned treat. This is where Insomniac’s first bit of strength comes from in Marvel’s Wolverine: Changing the norm.
We all have a part of X-Men we started with. It may be the comic books or animated series. Or maybe even the fighting games developed by Capcom, and platformers for the Fourth generation of consoles. There is something that got us hooked on X-Men. Each game found synergy with the major promotion of the time, think ‘Children of the Atom’ or 2009’s X-Men Origins game featuring ‘Huge Jackedman’. They inevitably led to some kind of love or hate relationship with Wolverine. I mean…heck. Even as recently as 2021, did we experience this with Fortnite’s first Marvel Battle Pass featuring Logan, Raven and more.
Because he’s him. He’s just ‘that guy‘.
And that guy is now the wider connective tissue for Earth-1048. That’s the official, designated Earth for properties from Insomniac in collaboration with PlayStation. Spider-Man? Or…Spider-Men? Their three titles have all taken place on Earth-1048. And Logan has sliced through this to free it from the shackles of, an admittedly large, New York City.
You wake up on a VTOL aircraft. Oh, we already did that. You’re in Telambang. One of many fictional locations which mix with the real-world to deliver an epic adventure fitting of the Wolverine. Yes. Only Spider-Man is allowed an open-world. But Logan? He is allowed A WORLDWIDE STORY. From the streets of Kabukicho, which players may recognise from Sega’s YAKUZA series. Through to Madripoor, the cyperpunk-esque city inspired by South East Asia and home to some of Marvel’s best underworld bosses. They all work together to present a wider vision of what Insomniac’s Marvel could be.
What is Insomniac’s Marvel when it comes to Logan? It’s a tighter, on-rails experience that intends to tell a story:
Who is Weapon X before and after they become a weapon?
While we start off with a small group of people who may have shaped the Logan we play as, it quickly becomes more. Expertly portrayed by Liam McIntyre, our apex predator is thrown back into his shadow-ops organization, Team X. While I mentioned Sabretooth and Mystique, the team becomes one of the biggest parts for growing the connective branches of Insomniac’s Marvel. Because when I tell you I spent 20 minutes in a hallway looking at all the equipment related to this team, I’m not lying. Seeing a reference to one of my favourite Marvel characters? You shut your damned mouth, Insomniac.
Also I was staring at a mirror. Am I in the damned mirror? After the hilariously named ‘Puddlegate‘, where the initial presentation of puddles in 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man trailers didn’t match the finished game. Marvel’s Wolverine feels like a cry for help from whichever developer worked on this. The amount of surfaces you are, and will be, reflected off is astounding. So Insomniac…I forgive you for Puddlegate. Not that I really cared. But because you maybe needed to hear that.
I won’t dive into the story too much, because damn. The story does that. It does that. Like I said earlier, Insomniac was about changing norms. When I got to speak with Senior Project Director, Jess Reiner-Reed, I was already noticing that. So much of Logan’s intrinsic nature is built-in, yet adapted.
Which also lends to the way you fight. Or slice.
Your base moves are assigned to the face buttons. Light attack on square. Heavy/Pounce on triangle. Dodge/Roll on circle. And jump is on ecks? X? These can then be modified in conjunction with L2, which will modify them into a technique. You have six different techniques you can choose to apply to your modified face buttons. There are also context-sensitive skills which react to a stagger-state applied to enemies. And adaptations which use Logan’s mutation to add more passive abilities. R2 is used for sprint, while L1 is a parry. R1 will be revealed in one of the games more exciting plot points, which I’ll leave for you to discover.
Accessibility-wise, Insomniac has gone above and beyond for Marvel’s Wolverine. They want a wide audience to play this. Visuals. Audio. Inputs. All of these can be changed to find a style that caters to you. While I consider myself a decent-enough gamer, I used the controller customization to change my inputs around. Ensure profanity and blood were on. Adjusted the visibility, colour and ability to track collectibles, all in an effort to earn my first review Platinum.
Which I did earn. Within three save files. Over almost 40 hours. I completed my first review Platinum without seeing the trophies. Okay, a certain website did leak them and I still have no idea how. But based off the percentage I had, and the way the trophies unlocked, I assumed they were something to do with the environment. Which they were! In areas I had already accidentally avoided in previous playthroughs. Because that’s why I loved this Platinum. The majority were unlocked from simply…enjoying the game. Which in the current climate is a thing that appears to be hard for the majority (of internet-based voices).
“Three save files?”
Yup. Three save files. Because I wanted them trophies. But also because Insomniac included New Game+ on release. You read that right. As the sanctions of ‘capitalism baby‘ grow stronger and wilier, features which should be available on release are finally back. While some could argue it’s to pad time in a game that doesn’t so much as need it. I appreciate it. Especially when it feels like you’re close to a definitive version of the unkillable machine that is Wolverine.
There’s also Nightmare Trials which begin as an “Oooo, trauma dumping!” exercise. Yet they become a bigger part of the picture. They offer challenges post-game which not only unlock more content. But a few more outfits if you’re wanting to feel like you ride…ghosts? (euphemism?).
Some will argue the runtime is short. But dare I challenge you with this year’s 007 First Light? The majority could get the platinum for this game within 20 hours. Or maybe 2009’s Batman: Arkham Asylum? If you played that in a specific way, it was possible to Platinum this COMIC BOOK-RELATED TITLE within 20 hours also. This not only only justifies the argument, but also calls back to the introduction, right? The division. The rage-baiting. I mean, personally, time is only a write-off if it’s not enjoyed.
And I have enjoyed all the time I’ve spent with Marvel’s Wolverine.
It does so many unnecessary, small things to be accepted. Whether it’s a changing the start screen per chapter. Letting you pop your claws with R2+L2. Or small interactions with the environment to slowly restore Logan’s bank of memories. It is a cumulative adventure to discover that a weapon may not want to be one. And it might just want to make things right.
If there’s any character more fitting of trying to do that, then it’s Logan. The Wolverine. The weapon from Insomniac’s Earth-1048.
Happy to be called a 'glazer' in a community of posers. I finished Marvel's Wolverine almost a week back but haven't stopped thinking of it since. I drop in, play a level I want to explore or I attempt another trial. Because I can do that. I don't need to think about it. I can just do. And if that isn't what Wolverine does. I don't know what is. Yes. It's a Weapon TEN from me.
