Beyond Spider-Man, few Marvel heroes inspire as much love and excitement as Wolverine. He helped define a generation of superhero movies, dominated comics in the 1990s and remains a fascinating character because of his abilities and the many ways writers have used him in stories. When Insomniac Games teased that it was working on a game featuring the iconic hero, people were understandably excited. With only a few months remaining before Marvel’s Wolverine is released, PlayStation and Insomniac invited a group of journalists to Burbank, California, to test the latest build. You better believe I jumped at the chance to see what the game was all about.
After a brief introduction and a quick overview of how Marvel’s Wolverine works, we were set up with an early section of the game and dropped into the experience. Anyone who has played one of Insomniac’s third-person action games, especially Marvel’s Spider-Man or Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, will immediately recognize the shared DNA. However, the studio has changed the formula enough to make you feel like you are playing a nearly unkillable killing machine with a heart of gold.
Some core concepts remain familiar, including movement, attacks and the general flow of combat. However, much like its title character, Marvel’s Wolverine is a far more brutal and visceral experience. Wolverine is focused on tearing apart the many obstacles that stand in his way as efficiently as possible, which means you will kill a lot of people as you work through the game. His attacks centre on the many ways he can take down enemies, and Wolverine is very much a hands-on killer. You need to get close and use your claws, and I will say it is incredibly fun. Marvel’s Wolverine is bloody as hell, but that is part of the experience.
Even during the early sections of the game, you get a strong sense of how much punishment Logan can take and recover from. As you might expect, however, a character who can never die would remove much of the challenge. Insomniac has accounted for that. Although Logan can heal and withstand a fair amount of damage, he is not indestructible. The studio has developed a system that allows Wolverine to heal based on his rage level, giving you a way to recover health faster by embracing that rage, taking down enemies and controlling the battlefield.
It is a great system. Although Wolverine can technically be killed, he never feels weak, giving you a clear sense of how powerful Logan is when he is in his element. He is more than capable of taking on groups of enemies determined to bring him down. As long as you focus on the flow of combat and prioritize the right threats, you can feel the exhilaration of playing as one of Marvel’s most brutal heroes. It is an absolute riot.
When Logan takes near-fatal damage, the game also has a second-wind mechanic that uses his rage to give you another chance to defeat the remaining enemies. It saved me more than a few times during my play session and created a satisfying sense of overcoming nearly impossible odds. Insomniac has woven the system naturally into the core mechanics, making it feel responsive and fantastic to play firsthand.
Further showcasing Logan’s rage on the battlefield, Insomniac has given him a berserk-like mode that allows him to fully unleash during select moments. This is when you can cut loose and tear through anything standing in your way. With his rage at its peak, Wolverine is at his most animalistic and brutal, ripping through waves of enemies as though they were playthings. The combination of blood, movement and powerful sound design immerses you in the character’s headspace.
“Marvel’s Wolverine is bloody as hell, but that is part of the experience.”
Audio plays a major role in Marvel’s Wolverine, helping place you inside Logan’s head as the characters around him and the world itself react to what is happening. As mentioned, the soundscape feels very different when you are in a frenzy than when you are stalking enemies during stealth sections. You get a sense of how Wolverine hears the world around him, with the audio adapting to each situation. It offers a unique way to step into his shoes, and it is remarkable how well the effect works.
Speaking of stealth, Marvel’s Wolverine is designed around the many ways Logan fights on the battlefield. You can approach many encounters as a hunter, stalking your prey and slowly taking out enemies one by one. This style works well and feels natural within the game’s design. However, because this is an Insomniac Games title, you can also go full Leeroy Jenkins, throw caution to the wind and dive in headfirst, consequences be damned. Both approaches feel valid and work incredibly well. Marvel’s Wolverine rewards you regardless of how you choose to play, encouraging you to dive in and experience everything the game has to offer.
Speaking of the experience, Marvel’s Wolverine takes place in an alternate universe where Wolverine is part of Team X, working to protect mutants around the world from Dr. Bolivar Trask. The billionaire has made it his life’s work to eradicate mutants. We have seen the character brought to life in many ways, but this version gives him the air of a modern-day technology mogul, and it works. He was easy to hate, and the more I learned about him during the gameplay session, the more I wanted to take him down.
Thankfully, I had help from my team, including Sabretooth, Mystique and its leader, Dr. Nathaniel Essex. X-Men fans will know who he is and may have an idea of where the story is heading. However, because I only played an early section of the game, I did not get too far into the narrative.
I have to admit that even after an hour of play, I am hooked and eager to see more. Insomniac Games has done some interesting things with the opening sections and explored the universe in ways I did not expect. It would have been easy to play it safe and rehash stories we have seen countless times, but the studio has done something different, and I am here for it.
There are plenty of X-Men mainstays appearing in Marvel’s Wolverine, and the characters mentioned above are only a taste of what the game has in store for fans. Even during the hour I played, I encountered Sentinels, Jean Grey and Omega Red, along with several others that may be slipping my mind. Suffice it to say, this is a game made for fans of the franchise. From what I have seen, Insomniac Games is doing it justice and staying true to the characters while exploring new stories.
Graphically, Marvel’s Wolverine is stunning. This is the team that brought us Marvel’s Spider-Man, and it has not rested on its laurels. The blood effects are visceral, although players can turn them off if they want to experience the game without that level of violence. The game also does an excellent job of capturing a wide range of locations, each with its own distinct and memorable identity. Players will visit plenty of real-world and fictional settings throughout the story, all brought to life with care and attention to detail.
The characters also look excellent, with the performances conveying enough emotion to show who they are and what they are feeling at any moment. Insomniac Games has brought them to life in a way that feels modern while remaining true to their origins. Sabretooth is unmistakable, even with the creative liberties taken to make him feel like part of this world. The same is true of the full cast I encountered during my play session. Even the boss fight against a Sentinel felt epic, recognizable and distinctly Insomniac.
Suffice it to say, I am excited to dive back into Marvel’s Wolverine when it launches Sept. 15, 2026. Insomniac Games appears to have nailed the experience, building on what it delivered with Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 to create something that feels unmistakably Wolverine. I still have plenty of questions about the final game, but there is no question that I will dive back in this fall. It captures the qualities that make Wolverine so iconic and delivers them through gameplay that is fast, fun and brutal in the best possible way.
