PS5’s Wolverine Sparks a New Appreciation for Marvel’s Mutant Hero

Heading into my hands-on session with Marvel’s Wolverine, my main goal was to dive into the game’s intense and gory combat. And let me tell you, it does not disappoint on the blood-soaked front. After a couple of hours of slashing and stabbing (and parrying!) foes with Wolverine’s claws, I walked away unexpectedly attached to Logan, despite not having a prior connection to the character.

The demo kicked off at the start of the game, where Wolverine is rejoining the mutant task force Team X after a hiatus, ready to fight for his fellow mutants. He’s portrayed as a reluctant hero with a troubled past and fractured relationships—an effective way to introduce newcomers without diving into a full-blown origin story.

As Logan rediscovered his identity as Wolverine, I was figuring out how to embody him for the first time. Initially, the combat felt a bit clunky for me. It revolves around chaining attacks and kills to fill the Rage meter, which unlocks more powerful and devastating moves to finish combos, all while dodging ranged attacks and parrying melee strikes. It was a lot to juggle amidst the blood splatter from vanquished enemies. I often found myself dodging instead of parrying, leading to a few frustrating deaths as I got the hang of things.

Wolverine felt more vulnerable than I anticipated. This is a character known for his resilience, yet I found myself struggling at times. Building up the Rage meter activates Last Stand, allowing you to rise from a downed state and unleash a feral burst of power, which definitely adds to his dangerous persona. The brutal finishing moves, often involving shredding or impaling enemies in spectacular fashion, also contribute to that feeling. However, despite his rapid healing and adamantium skeleton, Wolverine can still be taken down. He’s an apex predator, but also a wounded creature reacting out of fear.

This complexity is highlighted by the original narrative crafted for the game and how it portrays Logan outside of combat. After the bloody opening, the demo transitioned to a quieter moment at Princess Bar, where Logan interacts with his friends. These relationships are steeped in bitterness, regret, and the emotional walls Logan has built around himself. In these exchanges, he comes across as a sad, lonely figure, an outcast among outcasts.

It was during my time at Princess Bar that I truly connected with the character. My last significant encounter with Wolverine was in the film Logan from 2017. While I enjoyed the movie, I didn’t have a strong attachment to him. However, after experiencing his lethal combat style alongside his vulnerabilities, I gained a deeper understanding of the character. I felt a wave of empathy for the man who yearns for connection but fears his own capacity to inflict pain on those he cares about.

If you’re a Wolverine enthusiast, you likely already grasp this depth. But coming off the success of Insomniac’s Spider-Man games, the immediate bond I felt after just a couple of hours with this version of Wolverine is a crucial aspect of his appeal. Spider-Man is a well-known hero, consistently making waves in theaters, so the games didn’t need to convince anyone of his allure; they focused on delivering the fantasy of being him, a vision many already had in mind, and Insomniac nailed that.

While many recognize Wolverine, fewer truly understand what he represents compared to a cultural giant like Spider-Man. It speaks volumes about Insomniac’s characterization and the gritty yet vulnerable combat that I entered the demo expecting just some chaotic fun and emerged wanting to protect Wolverine at all costs.

Marvel’s Wolverine is set to launch on the PS5 on September 15th.