Despite his immense popularity, the quality of Wolverine video games has been a little undercooked.

X-Men have had same great games. The classic arcade. The Marvel Team up games. And even titles like Midnight Suns where he’s playable and even a main character.

But in terms of a solo adventure, the results have generally come down to movie tie-ins and they’ve been…less than wonderful. So when Insomniac, geniuses behind the awesome Spider-Man games decide to come in and try their hand at one, you pay attention.

They’ve perfectly understood the comic book world, but also stayed self aware of the films and literature that revolves around it. And in turn, built something that stands very much on its own merits.

Even when compared to the Spider-Man games themselves, Wolverine is a much more contained experience. No massive New York playground to swing around in, but moment to moment, level to level, action sequence to action sequence with Wolverine right at the forefront.

For the man with claws, it works. Unlike Spider-Man who is wise-cracking every few seconds, comparitively, Logan is a man of few words, but he knows action. And in case of this game, blood and violence. Think of this one closer to Hugh Jackman’s Logan, than X1-2, with claws that go right through enemy heads and sever off limbs when least expected.

But it’s also very important to get across that Liam McIntyre’s Wolverine plays quite differently to Mr Jackman. Or any other that’s come before him. He’s more subdued, calmer, his warmth shows more transparently despite his violent tendencies. He’s a man who’s lived a quiet life, who still wants to live a quiet life, but is dragged into situations he doesn’t want to. Whether it’s morality bringing him there or something else entirely.

And his past. His past haunts him. Mercilessly. And it’s a terrible past, lined with death.

But meeting Jean Grey seems to change Logan, and for a moment, he starts to feel normal again. Like maybe his life is coming together. That perhaps he may finally find the peace he’s so desperate for. But as we know of Logan, the man is a tortured soul and both Insomniac and McIntyre paint a wonderful picture of a man with a beast within.

Of course, as you’d expect, combat is Wolverine’s strongest suit. Leaping into action while plunging claws into an enemy from afar. Perching above and drilling down into them. Hacking, slashing, slicing, dicing and using all kinds of weird and wonderful movesets that will feel familiar to fans of the ‘best in the world’ Canadian from years of gaming and growing up with him in movies and cartoons.

It’s a celebration. A recognition of all this character is. All the stories told. And indeed, everything still to come. But there’s also a very interesting sub-plot layered under here with mutants, and teamups you’d never expect with the likes of Mystique and Sabretooth.

I don’t want to go down spoiler territory too far, of course, but suffice it to say, this Wolverine is different. He’s not bantering with X-Men or just running off on his own to do things the Logan way. He’s conflicted. Confused. He’s a being who’s yet to fully carve out that identity despite wearing the cowl and costume.

Which means, in terms of feel, Wolverine might be a bit closer to the Arkham Games than Spider-Man. The grittiness certainly helps with that, but there’s something about the movements and the focus on counters, and the confined spaces, whereas Spider-Man I feel like I could web away from a dangerous encounter, stay out of sight for a bit then just catch everyone by surprise again.

Wolverine gets swarmed and the only way to not get swarmed is to shish-kabob anything that moves.

Despite that, the game has been under intense scrutiny. It’s not this, it’s not that. And while I think it’s fair to say this isn’t Insomniac’s best work – their standards have been exceptionally high for quite some time – what we have in Wolverine is a decent, enjoyable story with some great action. And generally, it’s a cut above your standard release.

There can be some repetition in the moment to moment gameplay, some scenes do stretch out a bit too far, and it’s also fair to admit that 2026 has already been an exceptionally competitive year for great games. But that’s not something to hold against what’s been made here. If anything, it helps me appreciate this game more on its own merits.

And for Wolverine fans, the costume selection alone will definitely bring a smile to your face. From his Old Man Logan kit of the movies, to the classic X-Men 97 vibe. Even the vintage brown costume. You can pick out the Wolverine you want and run the game with him, immediately letting you connect with the style you know best. Well, for as long as it stays on his body as the game loves to add in that real damage filter and have the clothing ripped from his back!

Even his claws can be shaped and used how you like, from the Bone Claws to tapered and smooth edge.

Wolverine even lets you take things a step further with set techniques you can assign to a weapon wheel and DNA adptations which let you choose different strands to give Logan unique advantage, like building more rage from stealth or having attacks deal less damage.

There’s even old Whiskey Bottles to collect so you can relive old Wolverine memories and find out what happened in his sketchy past. And Nightmare doors which lead to unique runs which can give you additional powerups and prizes.

Insomniac could have just as easily dropped Wolverine into an open world Canada and let him run rampant in the Rockies. But unlike the character, they’ve gone for a more self contained narrative to try and differentiate him from the web-head, while still maintaining the authenticity they’re renowned for.

That said, their universes are connected. And so one wonders – especially after how Punisher was JUST treated in the new Spider-Man movie – how Insomniac could bring these characters together. Or even throw some of Team X into the next Spider-Man game. It’s anyones guess if they’ll even do it.

But what stands out here is the brutal way in which Wolverine matches up with opponents. It’s the right blend of comic book and violence that sits perfectly in that PlayStation portfolio right now. And helps seperate this from other games out on the hardware.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working my way through the story, meeting new versions of familiar characters, and seeing another side to this world Insomniac have been working in. And while I can’t rank it up there with Spidey 2 and Miles Morale as Insomniac’s best super-hero game, nor Rift Apart Insomniacs actual best game, Wolverine is a great, bloody good time. It just a great job of casting Logan in a slightly new – but similar – light, and gives us an X-Men team-up unlike any we’ve seen in recent memory!

Verdict

Wolverine gives us glimpses of Insomniac’s quality, yet it gets held back with some stagnation and limitation in an otherwise entertaining, combat heavy setting. You’ll come for the visceral combat, but stay for the compelling take on Logan and some of his altogether familiar team mates. Watching Liam McIntyre play this character in such a multi-faceted way is often a joy to watch and you’ll find yourself eager to find out more from one mission to the next. Generally great gamer fuel, even if perhaps it doesn’t quite hit the highest bars of quality we’ve come to expect from this world-class studio. 

Pros

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Wolverine is out now on PlayStation 5 

Code Kindly Provided by Sony for review purposes