It would have been fair to assume that Marvel’s Wolverine would play similarly to Spider-Man, considering Insomniac Games is the studio behind it. But as the studio has shown in its gameplay trailers, the game plays more like an Uncharted game instead. Now, having played a vertical slice preview of the game, that perception is now cemented beyond a doubt for me. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it may not sit well with those expecting more of Spider-Man, but with Logan instead of Peter or Miles.
PlayStation made it clear before we started the preview session that this instance of Wolverine is not related to any existing version, and that this story is an Insomniac original. So if any comic book purists take issue with any of that, you know who to take it up with. That being the case, the game has taken some liberties with the interpretation of Wolverine’s origin story, the team he joins as a result, and the other characters involved. I’ll try to keep mentions of the story beyond this point minimal, because spoilers.
As mentioned, the game, or at least this vertical slice of it, is very Uncharted-like. There’s a pretty even split of large chunks of story cutscenes, followed by a large gameplay-heavy section with maybe the optional stealth portions, and then slower busywork fetch quests. Granted, it is a vertical slice, but I don’t think the full game will be deviating from this formula much, if at all. Formulaic as it is, you know when you’ll be mashing your buttons, and when you’ll see character growth and progression.
With that in mind, I’ll be talking mostly about the gameplay of Marvel’s Wolverine from this point on. As mentioned, it’s very Uncharted-like, with minor differences. Obviously there’s more combat than climbing and platforming, but the bits that are there are pretty immediately recognisable, thanks to the cinematic, and often explosive, set-pieces that change your climbing path midway. Not much yellow paint that many games get memed on for in this game, but there are a fair number of white bandannas wrapped around handlebars that you can swing off of.
Pre-combat and combat sequences are obviously a lot better, though during the former, Wolverine’s enhanced animalistic senses may give players who decry hand-holding a bit of a groan. In more open spaces where you’re supposed to look for objectives rather than just snuff out the lives of your enemies, Logan’s enhanced hearing lets him detect enemies from their heartbeat. Combine that with his improved sense of smell, and objectives are often highlighted without you even being nearby. Of course, for those who can’t get enough of being told what to do at all times, there’s a “hint” button to immediately bring up a waypoint to your current goal.
With a combat-focused title – and with the precedent Spider-Man has set – it should come as no surprise that Marvel’s Wolverine also features a levelling and skill point system to improve your options during combat. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to explore this aspect much, as the only exploration and combat heavy slice of the preview is the opening section, before the game cuts to quite a bit further ahead, with about a third of the skills unlocked. But at that point of the preview, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity to test the new stuff out.
But even with Logan’s base kit, the combat system shows potential. There’s the usual Square button for light attacks, and Triangle for both the heavy attack and combo finisher button, as well as a gap closer. No Dynasty or Samurai Warriors-style combos here though, as the only one available is three lights followed by a heavy, or you gap close, add two more lights, and then a heavy. At least, that’s what the game tells you as part of the tutorial, but more practically, you can just add the Triangle button input at any time to end a combo early.
For better or worse, you can’t make Logan block. Instead, there’s a dedicated parry button on L1. You can stagger the starter enemies by parrying a single melee attack, but for deadlier enemies, you’ll have to parry their entire combo string to stagger them. Some cannot even be staggered at all, even if their attacks can be parried. Of course, there’s the safer option to just dodge.
Speaking of the stagger mechanic, you can hold Square to kick enemies too. This breaks the guard of enemies that can block, but more importantly, you can kick them into walls or off cliffs. For the former, they’re immediately staggered, and for the latter, if it’s a long enough fall, you can kill some enemies outright. There are very few stage hazards in the traditional sense, but with the way the kick interacts with the wall, every wall is effectively a stage hazard.
Staggered enemies are not only temporarily removed as an active threat, but more importantly, starting a combo on them lets you do a stabbing barrage string (think the Swiss Cheese move in UMvC3) that cannot be interrupted once it starts. This combo looks to inherently do more damage in addition to not being interruptible, and ending this combo adds more to Wolverine’s Rage meter.
And on that note, Insomniac has tied Logan’s immortality to this mechanic, which would make his healing factor seem neutered compared to the comics and movies. On one hand, it’s a perspective that I do agree with, but on the other, it’s probably the devs’ way of giving the game a fail state for times when the objective is simply to wipe out the enemy force.
If Logan’s health bar is depleted without even one bar of Rage, it’s game over. Have at least one bar, and you can spend Rage to gain a second chance. Have more than two bars, and Wolverine enters his signature Berserker Rage mode, gaining the ability to instantly execute some enemies, even while they are not staggered. That said, it doesn’t look like Logan’s health regenerates naturally at any level of Rage, but there are unlockable skills to help with that.
Also, if you have allies fighting alongside you, they will almost always have a quip when you fill at least one bar of Rage. They’re all character-specific, and there’s a good variety to each. But for whatever reason, I found it quite funny every time they trigger.
But that’s basically all there is to say about the combat system in Marvel’s Wolverine at its baseline. There are interesting skills that add a bit more depth, like improving stagger buildup with your gap closer when you hold down Triangle, or healing a chunk of health with combo finishers, but as mentioned, the vertical slice didn’t provide much opportunity to explore those.
I’ve gotten this far without mentioning graphics at all, and that’s because there’s really not much to say. As you’ve seen from the trailers, the game is gorgeous, and since the preview was played on a PS5 Pro, I dare say that the game actually looks better than the trailers. The level design can be a bit bland, but what is there is just very nice to look at.
Insomniac Games has gone for a pretty realistic depiction of the characters, and on a somewhat related note, Logan is tiny compared to just about everyone else. Needless to say, the really large characters like Sabretooth tower over him, and it makes for a pretty funny, if somewhat cringey, scene when they stare each other down.
Put it all together, and Marvel’s Wolverine is looking to be a pretty straightforward AAA title, and likely the kind that you play once and forget about. If there’s a New Game Plus mode that lets you play the game with all your unlocks, then that’s an added incentive. Otherwise, the collectibles and cosmetics probably won’t be enough to warrant repeat runs. At any rate, Marvel’s Wolverine releases on 15 September for the PS5 and PS5 Pro.
@lowyatnet We were given the chance to play a vertical slice preview of the upcoming Marvel’s Wolverine by Insomniac Games. Here’s a quick summary of the experience. #WolverinePS5 #insomniacgames
