Marvel's Wolverine Review: Brutal Claws, Short Leash

Five years after its reveal, Insomniac's Marvel's Wolverine is finally out - a PS5 exclusive that launched on September 15, 2026. And no, this is not Spider-Man with claws. There's no open city to swing through and no map full of icons. It's a linear, cinematic action game in the mould of the old God of War trilogy, and that decision is both its best idea and the reason it eventually runs out of road.

What you're actually doing

Logan returns to Team X after three years away, alongside Mystique, Sabretooth and Nathaniel Essex, while Bolivar Trask is snatching mutants off the map. The chase takes you from the snow of northern Canada to Tokyo's Kabukicho and the neon rot of Madripoor. Liam McIntyre's Logan is excellent - tired, funny, dangerous - and Troy Baker's Essex steals nearly every scene he's in.

The claws are the game

Combat is where Insomniac earned its money. You parry, stagger and then take enemies apart, and the rage meter turns momentum into instant executions, or a Last Stand when you're already on your knees. You equip up to four of six special abilities - Healing Factor among them - and tune the rest on an Adaptations grid. Dropkicking one guy through a wall, pinning another to a hazard, then pouncing across the room onto a third feels phenomenal, and the DualSense sells every hit. It's rated PEGI 18 and it earns it.

The problem is that the combat you have in hour two is essentially the combat you have in hour twelve. There are no real combo trees - it's attack, pounce, parry, execute, repeat. New enemy types force small adjustments, but bosses are mostly big health bars with a quick-time event at the end. By the final act I was admiring the animation more than I was actually engaged by it.

Story and pacing

The first half is propulsive. The second half gets tangled in X-Men lore and sequel setups, and it telegraphs its twists long before it reveals them. The motorcycle sections are stiff and feel like they wandered in from a different, cheaper game. Side content is modest: Nightmare Doors (challenge arenas and traversal gauntlets that unlock memories and upgrade points), whisky bottles that fill in Logan's past, and craftable suits. New Game+ is there if you want another round.

Looks and performance

Technically, it's a showcase. The lighting and ray tracing are among the best I've seen on a console, the jump from cutscene to gameplay is seamless, and the game is PS5 Pro Enhanced. Expect a campaign of roughly 12 to 18 hours, depending on how much you poke around.

The price problem

In our region the Standard Edition costs €79.99 on the PlayStation Store, with the Digital Deluxe Edition at €89.99 for extra suits and claws. For a linear action game you'll probably finish in two weekends, that's steep. Unless you're a Logan diehard, wait for the first sale.

Verdict

Wolverine has never felt better in a video game than he does here - and yet this is one of Insomniac's weaker overall packages. The fantasy is nailed; the structure around it is thin. Worth playing, just not worth €79.99 on day one.

Score: 7/10

Image: Sam Howzit / CC BY 2.0, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MegaCon_2010_-_Wolverine_(4572050910).jpg