Marvel’s Wolverine | PS5 Review
Recently, Sony and Marvel released a brand-new video game for the PlayStation 5 called Wolverine. And this is one epic game. So this game delivers an all-new original story based on the legendary comic book character that you’ll all know from the X-Men movies, plus also the X-Men 97 animated series that you find on Disney+.
In this new game, Logan thought he was finished being Wolverine, but the past wasn’t finished with him yet. Three years after walking out on his team, Wolverine rejoins the mutant task force, Team X, in their darkest hour. Driven by his fanatical belief in human superiority, Bolivar Trask is kidnapping mutants. Only Wolverine has what it takes to save them.
In his fight for the future, Wolverine must team up with fellow mutants across the globe through locations like Canada, Japan, and the Marvel island nation of Madripoor. With the fate of humans and mutants hanging in the balance, Logan knows the world needs a hero; however, they’ll have to settle for Wolverine.
Much like the previous “Spider-Man” games from Insomniac Games, this is a high-quality single-player experience that defines the PlayStation experience. It’s a linear game, especially compared to “Spider-Man”, since there are no side quests to run around to deal with, bar collecting some hidden chests and whiskey bottles. I really enjoyed the traditional aspect of this game, as it is very similar to the kind of games that I grew up playing, where you’re just going through a campaign. It also reminds me a little of how the “Uncharted” games had a similar style, which is the type of game I wish we had more often.
While this is a video game based on a Marvel comic book, make no mistake: this is not a game that is suitable for kids; it’s full of violence, with you basically slaughtering thousands of enemies along the way, ripping them to shreds with Wolverine’s claws, often feeling like something out of Mortal Kombat with rather grotesque methods, all of which adds to the fun and style of the gameplay.
That gameplay loop of just running around and slicing open enemies is the core part of the game, and if that’s not something that appeals to you, this game probably isn’t for you. This game also includes lots of traditional game elements, including skill trees and upgrading the character as you go along. Personally, I’m not a big fan of this; I’d rather just have a character like Wolverine fully unlocked from the very beginning, and while there are lots of different costumes to unlock throughout the game, I’m also more than happy to just have the default costume; however, I know lots of people enjoy having more to do than the standard setup. I did like the look of the suit from “Deadpool & Wolverine” and the animated series look, though it is a little jarring with the art style of the rest of the game.
One element of the game that felt a little jarring was how they had these XP boxes or statues hanging around everywhere to break, unlocking XP points to upgrade your character. These all seemed very oddly placed, especially in the middle of a forest or just in the middle of streets. Personally, that was something that seemed like it was added to give people something to hunt around for, but since the level designs are so linear, they’re hardly hidden at all.
And this leads to another issue with the game’s design: it really holds your hand, constantly directing you where you need to go. One of Wolverine’s superpowers is that he has a heightened sense of smell and can track the person he’s looking for. This is represented in the game by a blue streak in the air, which you follow to your target, and if that wasn’t enough, you can also activate another beacon to find where you’re heading. The game design is very linear, its not really that difficult to get that lost and if you do, it would make more sense to have his tracking skills be activated when you want it, rather than constantly.
One other interesting game choice is how, during some of the cutscenes, in pivotal action moments, you need to press the trigger buttons at certain points to do a certain action. This isn’t uncommon in video games, but if you miss the trigger or don’t even bother, it carries on anyway, which makes the whole thing feel pointless and seems like a way to keep a player engaged.
As an older video game player, I only have a limited amount of time each day to play, so this game is much more enjoyable because it doesn’t fill my time with endless side quests and keeps it focused on the story. Being able to adjust the difficulty settings (especially at boss battles) is great for gamers of all styles. If you want to keep it simple and easy, there is a setting for that, but if you want a super difficult experience that takes time and practice, that’s there too if you want it.
The storyline of the game is also fun, as it’s set before Wolverine’s time in the X-Men and features lots of different characters like Sabertooth, Mystique, Toad, Jean Grey and Dr Sinister. No doubt they’ve got plans to move the story forward to introduce more X-Men characters in future games.
The big question has to be: is it worth £70? With the main storyline taking about twenty hours, you’ve got to understand this isn’t a game where you’re going to be investing hundreds of hours into, and this might be a reason to wait for a discount or for it to eventually land on PS+ in a couple of years.
Overall: “Wolverine” is a lot of fun; it’s a solid single-player experience with an exciting action loop that kept me engaged. Throw in a great story and high-quality performances, make “Wolverine” one of the best games I’ve played in the last few years, but it does have its flaws and isn’t perfect by any means. I really enjoyed my time with the game and can easily recommend it to Marvel fans.
Rating: 4 Out Of 5
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Note: PlayStation provided me with a copy of the game for review.
