I’ve been waiting to play a new Insomniac game for a while. When the chance came up to preview Marvel’s Wolverine ahead of launch, I cleared out my schedule quickly. Going into the session, I was pretty sure I would be playing a good game. Just over two hours later, I walked away convinced Wolverine would be a great game.

I think Insomniac Games understands exactly what makes Logan tick, and it shows in the smooth gameplay and well-crafted design. This one has GOTY potential, and I’m personally excited for September.

Not An Origin Story

The demo wastes zero time getting into how Wolverine got his claws and adamantium skeleton. He’s already got both. Logan is clearly carrying a complicated history with everyone around him, as evidenced by his friction with Sabretooth in the opening cinematics. This game gives us a fully-formed Wolverine and is an original story. Leaning into that immediately, you’re just thrown into the fray in the opening sequence. Frankly, that’s exactly where I wanted to be given the short time for the preview.

The setup is that Wolverine reunites with Team X. It’s a group that includes himself, Sabretooth and Mystique. Their goal is to track down and rescue the mysterious Essex, as well as stop an operation run by Bolivar Trask. Trask is not only anti-mutant, he’s been running experiments on them. Team X is there to put an end to it. While Logan’s full history with Sabretooth is a bit of a question mark, there seems to be a student-teacher relationship there.  I’m personally eager to see this question fully answered. I also liked that the game doesn’t spell it out for you right away. Exploring Wolverine’s relationships with different characters could be a major part of the story, and I’m here for it.

Also standing in Team X’s way is Omega Red. He comes across as a secondary villain across several cinematics during my session. Swooping in on a helicopter and barking orders at cybernetic Reavers (some of the regular enemies encountered in-game), it’s clear he’s doing everything he can to stop Team X. In one part of a scene, he takes Sabretooth out of the fight entirely. I unfortunately didn’t get to fight him directly in this build. This made me very curious as to how much of a role he plays in the narrative, and he’s clearly being set up as a serious threat.

Combat Is Animalistic

The intro/tutorial section tosses you into a fight where you also learn the basics. It’s not too hand-holdy, and it doesn’t take long before combat opens up. Combat in Wolverine is something that feels distinctly different from Insomniac’s Spider-Man games. This is very obviously intentional. Wolverine isn’t graceful, and he’s not a web-slinging New Yorker. He’s a vicious brawler. Every swipe of his claws felt like it had some punch behind it. This is a part where the PS5’s DualSense continues to shine. From basic to more special attacks, It felt really, really good. Combined with immersive audio design, the whole thing feels visceral in a way that I wasn’t expecting.

Similar to the Spider-Man series, combos flow into each other in a way that’s rewarding. There is rhythm, and it felt great to finish off enemies after dodging weapon fire. As said before, the real difference is it never stops feeling like Logan. He’s feral, animalistic, and relentless. Other gameplay elements also lean into this too. There are X-ray highlight visuals on enemies that show their heart and skeleton. You can hear heartbeats when Wolverine stalks in the shadows. It may seem like a minor detail on paper, but the combination works. Logan is a predator, and he should be equipped and act like one.

Rage, Healing, and Going Feral

All of the individual combat systems tie together in interesting ways. Logan’s healing factor can be exploited mid-fight. Health can regenerate, and skills can help improve this. Additionally, staying aggressive and racking up kills/damage builds up Wolverine’s Rage meter. Hit the final tier and the whole visuals change. Colors wash and drain out and Logan and enemies take on a reddish color. Critical Strikes become available that just shred through baddies. It’s a pretty cool design and mechanical payoff for playing the way Wolverine is generally built to be played.

Another cool feature to see (while it’s mostly exploited on the cutscene end) is damage to Logan himself. At various points during the preview, bullets tear into Wolverine and shred his skin. Parts of his adamantium skeleton are visible in between blood and flesh. It’s gory and glorious at the same time.

Stealth Is Optional

Another awesome thing about the preview was the different ways to approach completing an objective. Not every fight has to be an all-out brawl. Making use of Logan’s senses, you can sneak around and take out enemies in the shadows. I liked that the game treated this as a real choice versus forcing it one way or the other.

My session included a section built around sneaking through a training compound and disabling mutant detector alarms. Using visualized audio cues and some handy foliage, I slipped past some enemies instead of rushing into a fight. Thinning out enemy numbers quietly before things went south really felt like a viable alternative to play. Then, when I got bored of that, I was able to rush into combat. The game really seems built to support both options, and it feels awesome to have the power to decide.

Wolverine Gets Around

This isn’t a story that happens in just one place. During the session, I was able to experience the opening Telambang sequence, as well as a bit of Lowtown (Madripoor). Logan’s journey also covers ground across Tokyo, Japan and remote Canadian wilderness, two locations I’m excited to experience at launch. These locations fit Logan’s comic-book history, while also giving Insomniac a way to vary environments and mission types. This is a direct contrast with the large, sprawling metropolis in the Spider-Man games. 

In terms of level design, I was pretty impressed with what I saw. From offering Logan different pathways to get to the objective, to fun QTE (Quick Time Events) in and out of combat, I never felt like anything was too predictable. My only negative, if I truly had to pick one, was the boss fight with the Sentinel Prototype.

At one point during the session, you’re skipped ahead through the Act, and eventually face this massive boss. It was a nice break from multiple smaller enemies, and an opportunity to experience how Wolverine’s combat scales to one larger threat. However, I’m not sure if it was the repetitive attack sequences or the damage balance, but the pacing of the fight felt off as compared to the rest of the experience. That said, I’m sure we will see several tweaks and improvements to the game at launch in September.

Buttery-Smooth Visuals, Killer Sound

I played my session on the PS5 Pro with a stock DualSense and the Pulse headset. The video options included a Performance Pro mode running at a locked 60 FPS. I spent most of my time on this setting, but there’s also a Fidelity Pro mode that swaps frame rate down to 30 for a noticeable bump in visual fidelity. The details in the visuals were incredible with both options, though. Additionally and as with a lot of modern titles, 120Hz output and VRR support are both supported too.

On the audio side, the 3D audio from the headset is a game-changer. Conversations, heartbeats, and other in-combat directional cues were sharp. The overall mix of audio, from the music to ambient noise to the thumps and clanks of combat, sounded phenomenal. Combined with the haptic feedback of the DualSense controller, it’s clear that Insomniac wants you fully immersed in the title.

Little Details Adding Up

There were a few things that really stuck with me after the session ended. Logan’s model is aimed to mirror his true comic book-accurate height. He’s short, stocky, and almost comically small when he’s matched up to Sabretooth. It’s a design decision that I think says a lot about how seriously the team is taking Wolverine.

There’s also a deep layer of customization. I was able to preview multiple outfit options, including claws, and see various combinations of them. The outfits include some fan-favorite designs, and original skins designed by Marvel artists. There is also XP and skill progression based around unlockable Techniques and Adaptations. Techniques include Special Moves such as various context-specific attacks. Adaptations included various tweaks such as adding regeneration/healing upon a successful combo finish, for example. Combining these feel like they’re intended allow players to really shape how Wolverine fights. Additionally, some cosmetics also have various perks, which also felt like a clear nod to Insomniac’s Spider-Man games.

Make no mistake, though. While this is an Insomniac title and is littered with the studio’s DNA, the maturity level and subject matter here are turned up several notches. It’s new ground for Insomniac, and very different from anything Insomniac has put out before. The combat, tone, and narrative are all built around Wolverine. One direct example of the mood Insomniac is going for is the addition of Nightmare Doors. These are optional gateways that pull Logan into gameplay challenges, tied to glimpses of his dark past. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to
step through one, but the concept alone left me even more curious.

Finally, the model details and voice acting across the board were stellar. Even in the preview’s build state, this is one of the best-looking games I’ve played on the PS5 this year.

Aggressive and Accessible

After my session, I was able to chat to a couple of members of the Insomniac team, including Gavin Goulden, the title’s Art Director. Between the conversation and the demo session, it was very obvious that the team genuinely wants to do right by Wolverine as a character. That concept shows up everywhere in the small chunk of the game I experienced, including in the decision to tailor the experience towards more mature content.

Marvel’s Wolverine is indeed an M-rated, adult story. However, the blood and gore can be tuned down via in-game settings. I was also impressed at the other various accessibility options. There are also multiple difficulty levels to choose from, as well as enemy/camera lock-on options. Manual enemy lock-on is toggled off by default, but it never felt like the combat suffers from not using the feature. It’s there if you want to use it, and I’m glad whenever I see multiple options to tailor combat in a game.

Based on all of these features, I truly believe that Insomniac is gearing up to deliver a definitive Wolverine experience for fans of both the character and gaming alike.

Thank you to PlayStation for the invite to this hands-on Wolverine Preview event. Wolverine launches globally September 15 on PS5.