Insomniac’s Next Marvel Game Has A Lot To Learn From X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Nothing hits you better than a blast from the past in the vast and diverse sphere of gaming, where you pick up a game years later after playing it for the first time, and end up liking it even more. This has been the case with me in recent times with one of the best movie tie-in games to ever exist, prompting me to think about whether Insomniac is taking this particular title as inspiration on how to deal with its game’s combat. 

That’s because, the action-adventure hack-and-slash title is unapologetically brutal, and is flat-out remarkable for getting a lot of things right when it boils down to character accuracy. You should know that this is the only standalone Wolverine game out there, and I’m glad that Raven Software understood the responsibility to go ahead and make an excellent, highly entertaining title. 

So, what is it exactly that makes this game stand out among its peers even more than a decade later following its initial launch? Let’s take a deeper dive into all that and then some, including some of the facets that Insomniac has to look into with respect to the making of its own Wolverine title.

Unrivaled Gameplay Freedom 

One of the very first things that I’d like to put the spotlight on when talking about this game is the combat. Quite fortuitously, it’s also that one single element that will stand out as soon as you start playing, no question about it. X-Men Origins: Wolverine takes pride in its no-nonsense, brutal gameplay, where attack moves feel slick and impactful, with each hit having a fair bit of weight to it to make the combat meaningful. 

The action-adventure has been panned by some for having tedious boss fights, but I’m of the opinion that this is hardly the case in actuality. One of the primary aspects of the game that incentivizes me to replay it over and over again is how you can handle bosses with the same freedom as regular enemy bobs. That is to say, Wolverine lets you employ light, heavy, and grab attacks, with the latter being something that only makes sense when employed on a low-level foe. 

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition – Swan song for movie tie-in games with unapologetic dumb fun combat
byu/Wynandrork inpatientgamers

Tell you what, the game, wherever applicable, lets you wipe the floor with boss fights in that same manner. Talk about giving Creed a run for his money when you throw him around the entire fight arena without breaking a sweat. Just do me a favor: Watch the following video and you’ll know what I’m on about. 

A Better Storyline Than Its Movie Counterpart 

Now this is a common sentiment shared by the vast majority of the people who’ve both watched the movie and played the game that the latter does more justice to the overall storyline than the former. Of course, there is more approachable leeway in the video games department, so Wolverine likely benefitted from that, but it still goes without saying that the game counterpart is exceptionally enjoyable on this front. 

Don’t think to yourself that its plot is going to bore you out, and that the gameplay is one big lump of a repetitive loop that’ll tire you after a couple of hours. The truth couldn’t be any farther from those scenarios. Some reviewers did complain about the tediousness of the combat, but I disagree with this thought wholly and urge potential players to try Wolverine themselves before jumping to a conclusion.

That’s because the plot of the title isn’t a scene-to-scene adaptation of its movie version. Instead, Raven Software decided to combine parts of the movie’s story along with an “original plot” that it created on its own. This is one of the reasons X-Men Origins: Wolverine sat well among fans and critics.   

When’s A New Wolverine Game Due? 

At the moment, there’s no telling when Insomniac will finally come forward with the official announcement of Marvel’s Wolverine release date, but do know that the game is coming sooner or later. The project was made public to the masses during PlayStation Showcase 2021, firing up player expectations, especially when it was learned that Insomniac is behind the wheel for this one. 

In addition, Insomniac has been subject to quite the misfortune over the last 7 months or so. It all started in December 2023, when the developer was hit with ransomware, with the attackers demanding 50 Bitcoins in a week so no exclusive information or other reports within the infrastructure of Insomniac would be outed. 

That didn’t proceed according to plan, and on several occasions, leaked Marvel’s Wolverine footage surfaced. We now know that the upcoming title might feature a God of War-esque camera style; not sure how to feel about that at the moment, and even a special mechanic called “Ghost Health.”

In any case, I have my hopes held high for Insomniac’s Wolverine title. With a franchise as high-end as Marvel’s Spider-Man, I think we’ll be all right.

Just one request: Please make it gory.