
Hands-on previews have begun coming in for Marvel's Wolverine, Sony's big PS5 exclusive launching in just over a month's time.
The game has looked pretty promising in the few glimpses we've seen so far, and these write-ups are largely very positive, painting a picture of another superhero blockbuster action adventure from Insomniac Games.
From what I've read, the game differentiates itself from Marvel's Spider-Man by adopting a linear game structure and focusing more on character and narrative.
It also has a combat system that's more direct, in line with Wolverine's character; his brutal efficiency turns into bloodthirsty recklessness as you build up his rage meter.
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A sentiment I've seen in a handful of previews is that the game is very good in many respects, but isn't reinventing the wheel. It seems to be doing a great job of putting you in that role and will likely tell a decent superhero story, featuring fellow mutants Sabretooth, Mystique, and Jean Grey, but it doesn't sound like it's going to push any real boundaries.
To be honest, I'm perfectly fine with that, if that's the case — a rock solid action game with a popcorn blockbuster story and some cool set-pieces is always a good time.
Here are a few quotes from some of the previews:
Eurogamer - "Ferocious, destructive and cinematic - but a little predictable"
"Logan's directness is an altogether different proposition to the mobility of Spider-Man. He's a force of nature - something I think Insomniac effectively conveys through those highly-destructable environments and combat that ratchets up in intensity until Wolverine is in a full rampage. And despite the design challenges, Insomniac has still created moments here where traversal and combat meld together brilliantly. Does Marvel's Wolverine reinvent the action game wheel? Probably not. Yet as an entertaining, cinematic spectacle and faithful rendering of Wolverine... I think it's going to do just fine, bub."
GameSpot - "The satisfaction of combat is what I left thinking most about"
"Wolverine is the latest in a type of game that PlayStation has become known for: a mostly linear action game that is narrative-driven and uses introspection, self-discovery, and personal growth as a theme for character development. Having spent ample time with the recent God of Wars, The Last of Us-es, Ghost of Tsushimas, Horizons and, of course, multiple Spider-Men, what I played wasn’t remarkable for its unique ideas, but nevertheless made a good impression in the way it was executed."
GamesRadar - "Insomniac has crushed my fears of a post-Spider-Man slump"
"Insomniac has repurposed the fundamentals of its previous games here, yes, but it's done so in a way that feels appropriate for Logan. The turn from friendly neighborhood wall-crawler to this brooding new hero makes all the difference."
IGN - "[Insomniac] knows how to make a hell of a superhero game"
"Overall, I walked away from my time with Wolverine impressed, but not thoroughly blown away. It’s clear that Insomniac is still holding a lot of cards close to its chest with regards to the story, and that’s the element that has proved to be most interesting to me thus far. Combat absolutely nails the spirit of Wolverine and is very fundamentally sound, but leaves me with some questions as to how it will hold up over the course of the entire campaign."
Are you excited for Marvel's Wolverine on PS5? Tell us in the comments section below.





Comments 75
The game looks very cool, and I was actually planning on buying it on release.
But with PlayStation's continuous anti-consumer actions, I decided to wait a year or two and get the game (physically) on a 50% off sale or something.
Removed - unconstructive
Would have bought the Collector's Edition, had there been one. Will still pre-order the game, but am slightly disappointed that we won't be getting some kind of badass Wolverine model...
Certainly looking forward to this more than that stupid game with a cube of jelly
What kind of reinventing the wheel that gaming journalist expect from a superhero game staring Wolverine?
@Fiendish-Beaver Same here, god could you imagine a Wolverine Steelbook 🤌
One saying I never quite understand is "it's not reinventing the wheel." I mean, the wheel is the perfect example of something that doesn't need reinventing. I don't know why we're always looking for things to be reinvented. Just do something really well.
Looks great, but it's a shame that Push Square rarely seems to get to preview these games themselves.
Sounds good though many of the previews say it’s not really doing anything new. But combat sounds great and still should be fun gory time!
Not expecting GoTY material with this one and that’s okay.
Looking forward to it. Now finally having completed all the Spider-Man series, definitely feeling a little itch that needs scratching in seeing Insomniac deliver on a different genre, however, needs must and all that. I understand now isn't the time for that with contractual agreements and timelines etc.
Though it won't be the Wolverine game I would envisage, it shall no doubt a wonderful one, I would prefer him to be a drunk, collecting a pension, struggling to put his clothes on as mini games. Like a drinking mini game, gambling ones and so on.
Basically, a Shenmue style lifesim of Wolverine, that would get me excited.
My personal dreams aside, I am sure this will be a great mindless romp, which is at present the best I can expect from a comic book storyline turned video game.
If reviews are already not thrustworthy, imagine previews. I'll wait for the voice of the people a month later.
Be great to see him with his back to us, fat cigar in mouth, revving his chopper (the bike, don't be filthy) then turn to camera and give us the Cavillrine
Already pre-ordered, Insomniac are one of the developers I trust!
Reading the previews, it feels like a pretty on-par Insomniac/Marvel game, but the story needs to deliver to really help the game knock it out of the park. I have a feeling it'll have the same issues with story like Spidey 2 but maybe I'll be proven wrong.
@Andre2999 why aren’t reviews trustworthy? All they are is someone’s opinion. Chances are, when people complain about a “dishonest” review, it’s because the reviewer either gave a game they like a bad review. Or gave a game they hate a good review.
@AhmadSumadi You're assuming its always the reviewers honest opinion without any external influence or pressure.
X-Men 2: Clone Wars on the Mega Drive back in the 90s was the last X-Men game I played (not counting Tokon). If Wolverine is better than that I'll be happy 🤷
@VanillaGorilla I see people are back to that Boogeyman again. Hilarious.
@Oram77 spain gets a steelbook. Hopefully well get one aswell
I actually took a few days off that week. I'm going to pretend I'm a teenager with zero responsibilities again. I can't wait.
@AhmadSumadi I think what they mean is they’ll wait for an echo chamber that lines up with their preconceived notions of what the game will be like.
60fps and raytracing on base ps5 too according to reports.
Playstation access got brand new video of marvel michigan 💛💙 wolverines it looks amazing. Word up son
Looks great i cant wait for this
this is easily my most anticipated game for September
Something about this game just doesn’t hook me, I went from wanting it day one after 2021’s announcement to not being sure if I will get it at all, way more hyped for Phantom Blade Zero and Control Resonant.
Game just doesn’t look very good to me. Something about the character models and environments. If people say it’s amazing I might check it out down the line. Not a lot of faith in, or excitement for, this style of game anymore tbh.
@Redefaul
To be fair, they’ve only developed four superhero games over their history and they’ve been around since the late ‘90s. They’ve just made a lot of super games since Spider-man released in 2018.
And a lot of times, licensing agreements are tied to releases. As an example, Sony must actively produce and release a Spider-Man film within a specific timeframe (generally understood to be every 5.75 years or less) to keep the license. If they let this window lapse without releasing a movie, the rights automatically revert to Marvel
I wonder if Insomniac will get a bite at the Marvel/Star Wars mashup, as that’s a thing now…


Glad to hear it's shaping up to be a solid game. I'm definitely waiting for a sale on this one, though. The gameplay deep dives we've seen so far look a bit... like something we've already played before? May be too harsh, but sounds like we're hearing some of that sentiment from early previews. I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun to play, though, and hopefully has a good story. I will absolutely get Wolverine (X-men was always my favorite Marvel joint), but I think I can safely wait for a sale on this one.
@PsBoxSwitchOwner @Mostik
Insomniac have been incredible this gen for their technical ability and polish.
Decima engine gets a lot of positive attention, and rightfully so, it is excellent. But, Insomniac have been wizards at what they can acheive with visual quality and RT at often greater than 60fps.
@PuppetMaster Are we saying we can't criticize a new MCU movie for being banal because that's the most we should expect from it?
Just an entertaining retread of things we've already seen.
@VanillaGorilla Bet you can't even tell us what Sweet Baby actually does.
I don't know what people expect a Wolverine game to do that's seen as "reinventing the wheel" every PlayStation exclusive always has this weird scrutiny about it where people are even complaining about sequels being like the previous game.
@AlexPorto So to "fight" Sony you won't buy the game at launch that could in turn impact sales what in turn could impact the studio. Also by not buying the disc at launch you're giving less sales to physical at the time its most important.
Also did you type that from your phone? Yeah your provider makes Sony look like a saint.
I’m glad this is linear and not open world.
Insomniac was the best money Sony ever spent. Shame they ruined it with Bungie but can’t win em all!
@Maverick85 You say that, but what if they invented something that made the wheel wildly obsolete? Then you'd be wondering why we just unquestionably used wheels for so long.
I’m SO SO hyped. Finally a new blockbuster game from Sonys very own studio. Our Pros (and base 5) will be eating goooood.
I’m still on the fence. I want to play it, but I still have this hangup about game length and cost. I know it’s $70, but have no idea how long it is. It’s looking like Nathan Drake with claws, which is fine, but if it’s under 10 hours I’ll wait.
Also doesn’t help they just announced the Ghost of Yotei Collectors Editions for $70, releasing the same day as the dlc, so maybe I wait a year and I save $15 and get the completed game.
Decisions, decisions.
I’m all here for it on day 1, can’t wait to play this.
I like the idea of the rage meter.
The only question is who’s the bigger mass murderer. Logan or Nathan Drake.
@RoomWithaMoose hahaha facts!
@RoomWithaMoose like hover wheels.
Those excerpts make it sound like it should be a 7 but knowing how game reviews work it'll get 8s and 9s.
@Blaze215 I assume this because I have no evidence proving otherwise. If I were to see evidence to the contrary, I’d update my thoughts accordingly.
Much better in my opinion to do something very well, even if it's not breaking new ground, than to do something new and do it badly.
Really looking forwards to this game, and I love what Insomniac have done with the Spiderman games.
This is currently only the second game I have pre-ordered this year - there are very few dev teams I trust enough to pre-order these days.
For some reason I'm still not feeling this one. All of the blood and gore in the preview left me feeling grossed out, and there is no way I'm buying a digital version with how Sony has ended disc production.
If I find this on sale on a physical disc someday I might pick it up, but I'm more excited about Control Resonant TBH.
And for anyone thinking of not buying this game as some form of boycott against Sony stopping physical discs - all you will do is prove Sony right, by skewing the sales data heavily towards digital...
Much better to buy the game and try and skew the data towards physical!
@PuppetMaster it’s on the devs to show players that.
I’m sold and the previews looks good, my only worry is that it devolves into ability spam that Spiderman 2 can devolve into or even Rangarok. I look at game in the action adventure genre that offer more meaningful thoughtful combat like Star Wars Jedi Survivor or the ghost games. Those games I feel like do a much better job of making the player have to meaningfully engage with the combat systems. That being said I’m not stupid and realize there’s only so much you can do with Wolverine but I just think offer some that more then just hold down L2 and spam face buttons.
I can't muster up any real excitement for this game sadly. It seems pretty by the numbers action and something I've played before but with a different coat of paint 🤔 but I'm sure it'll be fun and I'll probably play it at some point if it's on Plus or I get it at the library
@MasterChiefWiggum I do find it interesting they rarely get PlayStation first party previews anymore.
@cainhurst94 Not really surprising with their relentlessly negative and 'pot stirring' tone, and I don't just mean the disc issue. I guess you reap what you sow.
@lacerz LOVE this series!
@TheSingularity could explain some of tbe negativity from the writers especially wrt communication or lack thereof. They still do get early review codes though so that's good.
Is it just me or does Wolverine have the same movement animations as Spider-Man?
Pushsquare, you should do a comparison/contrast of this and xmen origins wolverine. 😆
At last the kind of game I want, great single player action adventure. The bonus no open world filler *****. Regards to reinventing the wheel, no game does that nowadays.
@DennisReynolds - It’s an interesting way for them to protest Sony ditching physical media, and at the same time proving Sony’s point that nobody is buying physical media at the same time.
@RoomWithaMoose Anyone can be a critic just like everyone can have their opinion. But are you a good critic who really knows what you're talking about or just a criticaster who spews nonsense after nonsense and try to look smart? My problem with gaming journalist this days is a lot of them are the later.
Also, we're not talking about marvel movies here but a Wolverine game and i still don't know what kind of "reinvent the wheel" that gaming journalist wants / expect from a Wolverine game.
IGN — the absolute beacon of truth in this dark, uncertain time we live in.
@DennisReynolds you defend Sweet Baby as pointlessly as Kayne fans defend flat earth, lol…
@Fishmasterflex96 No, the onus is on gaming journalist to show or at least explain in detail what they mean when they said "reinvent the wheel" from a Wolverine game.
@For-Kier Tell me what Sweet Baby actually does and why they are hired.
Maybe a Deadpool game. The marvel sky is the limited.
Yeah, gonna wait for reviews to pop in to see if this is a buy or pass.
Gotta be honest, from what I've seen its an ok game plagued by the same issues as SM2.
Reading the replies here makes me realize just how spoilt we are. Back in the day we had superhero games like Superman 64. Now we get this badass game with excellent gameplay, something we've never seen from a Wolverine game, but apparently, it's not enough.
Young us would be all over it.
@naruball Exactly
I only played two Wolverine games in my life:
I didn't get the chance to play Wolverine NES and X-Men Origins. But so far what Insomniac did with this game looks a lotttt better than every Wolverine games that i've played or seen.
idk, kid me and adult me would probably share the same opinion:
gameplay isn't everything and this game is most likely very narrative focused, which means depending on where the narrative takes the character it will be either a hit or miss.
Looking forward to this one. Its a definite day one purchase for me, I've enjoyed every insomniac game and I have every expectation that we will get a proper finished title with loads of polish. This alone would make it worthy of support, but I expect I'll enjoy the story and combat as well...
well that's some cherry picked comments in bold, most have the previews have been pretty average
@AhmadSumadi I would advise if you have no evidence either way to be sceptical
I am in several of these spots as others mentioned. Worried about the story, since SM2s was crap. Very excited as a Wolverine fan but share others weariness with the single player story type games, where we will be at some point pressing forward as Logan limps along slowly and we feel his emotional turmoil or whatever. Think there will be enough for me to enjoy as a fan of the character if they don't torch the writing.
The more gamers complain about something, the more I'm inclined to check it out. For example, all the whining and meming and parasocial hatred directly towards MindsEye and I ended up loving it. Shows that random people on the internet aren't to be trusted when I want to check a game out.
I'm not even a superhero fan, but I'm morbidly curious about Spiderman 2 since it seems to really trigger the terminally online chud types.
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