The first reviews for Marvel’s Wolverine have landed, revealing a wide range of responses. While many reviews are positive, there is also strong consensus in the middle range, leading to a respectable MetaCritic score of 78, and an OpenCritic score of 79.
To know whether a game is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ the best thing to do is play it and decide for yourself, but scores on aggregate review platforms can give a sense of general vibe and what might appeal to personal taste. The spread of reviews for this particular, highly-anticipated game, reveals much in the way of flavour and what to expect of its winding plot.
In the five-star ScreenHub review, we called Marvel’s Wolverine a fresh take on X-Men lore with sharp twists to define a clever and tight story: ‘Marvel’s Wolverine isn’t the X-Men story you expect. There are familiar elements here, from tales told in other mediums, some better than others. But Insomniac Games isn’t aiming to tread familiar ground, making a concerted effort with this game to tell a new story in the canon of Wolverine and the X-Men that is consistently surprising, with well-manipulated twists.’
ScreenHub: Marvel’s Wolverine isn’t the X-Men game you expect
Here’s the roundup of other prominent critic voices.
Marvel’s Wolverine review roundup – quick links
IGN – 6/10
Writing for IGN, reviewer Simon Cardy gave Marvel’s Wolverine a 6/10, calling out the game’s ‘surprisingly nuanced tale of self-acceptance’ as being a major highlight dulled by elements of repetitive combat and ‘uneven’ story cadence.
‘Just like its hero’s adamantium core, Marvel’s Wolverine is built of sturdy stuff – it just fails to layer something special atop its initially satisfying action, which wears thin well before the conclusion as a result,’ Cardy says.
‘I wish there was more variety, as the combat shows its hand early on and the level design plays it safe more often than not … Marvel’s Wolverine is okay, just a step or two below Insomniac’s other superhero efforts.’
Tech Radar – 4/5
Writing for TechRadar, reviewer Matt Cabral gave Marvel’s Wolverine four stars out of five, praising the excitement of its campaign, its level of polish, and its ‘epic’ story.
‘Sony and Insomniac’s latest is another exceedingly pretty, single-player, story-driven epic that doesn’t skimp on the production values,’ Cabral says.
‘Supported by visceral, varied, and extremely violent melee combat, this set-piece-packed, cinema-rivaling spectacle puts you behind the claws – and mutton chops – of the fan-favorite superhero like never before.’
GamesRadar – 3/5
Writing for GamesRadar, reviewer Leon Hurley wrote that Marvel’s Wolverine was ‘missing that crucial X-Factor’ in a three-star review. He noted the game was ‘average’ and ‘whelming’ due to a ‘messy’ story, but did note an enjoyable variety in the adventure.
‘There’s an enjoyable variety here where the texture of the game changes nicely, a range of gameplay and moments breaking up combat as you literally sniff out trails, look for clues, and enjoy existing in the buzzing neon lit space,’ Hurley says.
‘Most importantly there’s a solid sense of progression to your time in Tokyo, with a clear arc and purpose to take you through it all, that feels meaningful … By contrast the rest of the game feels thin, and largely consists of boxy corridors that top and tail Tokyo with shallow combat luges broken up by cutscene checkpoints and little else.’
Checkpoint Gaming – 8/10
Writing for Checkpoint Gaming, reviewer Luke Mitchell gave Marvel’s Wolverine 8/10, and praised its action-packed story, intense combat, and more focussed approach.
‘By stripping away the open world and zeroing in on Wolverine’s naturally claw-based approach, it sits comfortably as a great thrill ride, but without the lasting power of its Peter Parker predecessors,’ Mitchell says.
‘Another visual and aural success for the PS5, and really showing what this generation can do, Marvel’s Wolverine consistently impresses with its production values across the board. There’s a fast, free-flowing pace to the action that remains smooth throughout, whether that’s slicing foes to pieces in quick succession or sprinting and leaping across rooftops.’
GameSpot – 6/10
Writing for GameSpot, reviewer Tamoor Hussain also called Marvel’s Wolverine a very ‘safe’ interpretation of the character and his world, with questions about why the game was created.
‘Insomniac doesn’t make bad games and Wolverine certainly isn’t one,’ Hussain says.
‘It’s a solid, cinematic, and occasionally thrilling experience that ticks all the necessary boxes for a decent action game. But it does so in a workman-like fashion and never aspires to much more than the essentials. Wolverine is an action game that serves the character well enough, but it doesn’t lean into Insomniac’s strengths or leverage its creativity, and the game feels unremarkable because of it.’
Across dozens of reviews, there’s plenty of mixed praise for Marvel’s Wolverine, with layered opinions contributing to its solid but unremarkable aggregated review scores.
Those keen to check the game out for themselves won’t have to wait long to make their own judgement.
A PlayStation 5 code for Marvel’s Wolverine was provided to ScreenHub by the publisher for the purposes of our written review.
