Marvel's Wolverine Review

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Marvel's Wolverine certainly doesn't skimp when it comes to violence and gives you plenty of opportunities to enact it with style. But it takes more than blood to get my heart pumping, and it's in Logan's surprisingly nuanced tale of self-acceptance that I felt most connected to this latest portrayal of the most famous of the X-Men. That story is tasked with doing most of the heavy lifting here, with the initially slick and satisfying combat-wearing thin well before its conclusion. But even that solid character work can't quite carry the way it needs to. Marvel's Wolverine, much like its lead, is built on a firm skeleton, but what's crafted around it isn't nearly as strong. The animation work is outstanding. It really feels like after years of making sure Spider-Man didn't let anyone fall to their death, Insomniac has reveled in all the ways Wolverine can end someone's life. Marvel Finisher from sliced up limbs to stabbed up through jaws are employed for a variety of gory outcomes. Maybe I should be placed on some sort of watch list for saying so, but I really couldn't get enough of them, reveling in each squelchy spine sever and chest carving cleave. Throw in some slick camera work and fight choreography when teaming up with the likes of Jean or Sabre Tooth for tandem kills, and you've got an impressive combat flow from an aesthetic perspective. There's no denying that wielding those claws is slick, punchy and wonderfully bloody. It's just a shame then that halfway through Wolverine's 15-hour string of missions I felt like I'd had my fill. The fundamentals are solid, but combat needed a stronger sense of progression to sustain that sensation over a game of this length, especially when you're asked to cut down hundreds of enemies at a near relentless pace. Yes, there are unlockable skills and special abilities to build into your repertoire, but only a handful, and you'll gain access to them relatively early on. Outside of the action, there's not too much to shout about either. Each linear level does contain collectibles, including material caches required to unlock new outfits, which have both deep cuts and surface scratches alike when it comes to Wolverine's design history. I particularly enjoy how you can mix and match the over 30 suits and claws to create your own fantasy weapon axe. Alongside level up XP for skills, AP is your main resource for a progression, unlocking skills that give you a chance to shape a play style a little more to your liking, widening Perry Windows or reducing damage taken, for example. This can be acquired via two methods, collecting whiskey bottles and completing nightmare trials. There are surprisingly few boss fights, most are remarkably similar in design, but executed well enough, like an early face off with Omega Red, a mutant who stalked my nightmares as a young child. It made for some lovely payback as I chipped away at the tentacle terror stagger bar via well timed parries. Similarly, while I won't spoil anything, the final boss battle is a real spectacle that puts all of your skills to the test. On the other hand, there's a sentinel showdown that essentially boils down to whacking a metal arm for 15 minutes, which would feel more at home in a middle of the road 3D platformer than a top-tier action game. It's the sort of boss battle that should have stayed in the early 2000s, where your towering target mostly sits just outside of the arena. There's no denying each of its globe-spanning locations is beautifully rendered, and when you're not spending time in stretches of brown, underground caverns and grey facility hallways, they really feel visually alive. You'll occasionally be let loose to explore the streets, but don't expect open areas full of surprises. These are much more limited spaces restricted to a few blocks. That size reflects the scope of its story, though. Yes, there's a larger threaded play here, but it's very much a personal wolverine tale at its core, and I appreciate how restrained Insomniac has been in its approach to the wider X-Men Ensemble. It serves the few characters it chooses to hone in on well, never running the risk of bloating the cast. From this perspective, it's a decent first step into a different side of the Marvel universe. Marvel's wolverine is build 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. I wish there was more variety, as the combat shows its hand early on, and the level design plays it's safe more often than not. That means this 15 hour campaign is largely carried by its story, which, while not revolutionary, is an enjoyable tale with good character work at times and a strong portrayal of X-Men's lead. Marvel's wolverine is okay, just a step or two below Insomniac's other superhero efforts. Marvel's wolverines IGN score? 6 out of 10. Thanks for listening to IGN. My name is Tony Jackson, and for the latest updates on Marvel's wolverine, visit us at IGN.com.