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Marvel's Wolverine will be Insomniac Games' first non-Spidey superhero game, and it needs to be adjusted accordingly. One of the most interesting aspects of the upcoming game is how distinct Wolverine, AKA Logan, AKA John Hewlett, is from the likes of Peter Parker and Miles Morales. These distinctions will be reflected Wolverines gameplay as much as its story and tone.
We know that, for example Marvel's Wolverine will be significantly more violent and meaner than the relatively all ages Spider-Man excursions by Insomniac. Wolverine is something of a mean killer, after all, he often walks a fine line between hero and anti-hero. His tortured past, world-weariness, and often enforcer-like role in the X-Men make Wolverine a very different kind of lead, one defined less by web-swinging whimsy and more by unstoppable forward momentum. As such, it makes a lot of sense for Marvel's Wolverine to abandon the open world formula Marvel's Spider-Man game, despite how central that formula has been to Insomniac's superhero endeavors up to this point.
Like Logan himself, Marvel's Wolverine's “Canadian Wilderness” says a lot with a little
After Marvel's Wolverine's State of Play trailer, the direction the story will take has become much clearer, although Logan's memory is anything but.
Open-World works for Spider-Man, but it's time for a break
The insomniac Spider-Man games are good in most respects, though certainly far from perfect. I have concerns about Spider-Mans toothless narrative, painfully simple stealth system and autopilot combat, but the series' broader open world structure shouldn't escape criticism entirely either. Basically is Marvel's Spider-Man game suffers from many of the same problems as other AAA open-world titles: its open world can grind against story pacing and prioritize filler over high-quality, meaningful content. It can be hard to take a tense story seriously when you're free to spend days in-game relaxing and helping people and small businesses with comparatively trivial things.
At the same time, Insomniac couldn't have done it right Marvel's Spider-Man without an open world. It has been great linear Spider-Man games of the past, but a modern, system-selling PlayStation exclusive version of Spider-Man the imagination must be definitive. Because so much of Spider-Man the image is connected to not only the thrill of web-swinging, but also the character's New York roots, Marvel's Spider-Man games never really had a chance to be anything other than open world. Again, this can make the gameplay and storytelling feel less deliberate and less well-paced, although the open world balances such shortcomings with other strengths. Marvel's Wolverineon the other hand, has no such compulsion towards the open-world format, which is good.
Worth noting is that Insomniac Games is not an “open-world studio” in the same way that Ubisoft and Rockstar are. The company's second largest IP, Ratchet and Clankfeatures more linear adventures, which can actually inform the structure Wolverinein a way.
Marvel's Wolverine will be greatly served by Ditching the Open-World
In an interview with IGN, Marvel's Wolverine director Mike Daly described the game as having “comic book-like pacing”, and that this is rooted in a more linear, mission-based format: “I can say that we didn't set out to make an open-world game or a sandbox game. What we really wanted was a linear, high-octane, high-plot single-player adventure, and the missions reflect that in their structure.”
This works for Wolverine on multiple levels, as Daly and his team seem well aware. Peter and Miles are young and optimistic despite their traumas, and serve their communities as “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Men”. Of course, these characters will often leave New York, sometimes for other countries, other times for other planets, galaxies and dimensions. But they generally stick to their NYC roots, and that's where they tend to return. Wolverine has less consistent status quo.
Although we don't yet know how much Marvel's Wolverine deviates from mainstream Marvel canon (the game exists in a world without the X-Men, for example), we can assume that Wolverine shares at least one important characteristic with his Earth-616 counterpart: extreme old age. Wolverine was born John Hewlett in the 1830s, his healing factor kept him alive and reduced outward signs of aging. As such, he has been all over the world, fought in several different wars and participated in a number of historical events. He also usually suffers from amnesia and identity confusion. All of this is to say that Wolverine isn't associated with a single location, making him a poor fit for a traditional open world structure.
Marvel's Wolverine director Mike Daly described the game as having “comic book-like pacing” and that this is rooted in a more linear, mission-based format
It's also important to remember Wolverine's powers. He has a healing factor, supernaturally sharp senses and iconic adamantium claws, but that's basically it. He is certainly stronger and more capable than the average human, but not to an extreme degree – Wolverine's ability comes more from his endurance and determination than raw power scaling. For Marvel's Wolverine to stay true to character, it can't give him, say, the ability to jump 50 feet in a single bound like Spider-Man or the Hulk. This severely limits his traversal options, which in turn makes him less mechanically interesting as an open world avatar.
Finally we have Marvel's Wolverine story, which ostensibly involves investigating the kidnappings of various mutant children. It's already been established that this is going to be a doodle adventure, which is fitting for this kind of mutant rescue plot. Marvel's mutants are fundamentally different from other Marvel groups, as they are connected by their strange biological differences rather than geography. In other words, stories about recruiting or rescuing mutants are well served by having many different premises, which drives home the extensive nature of mutations in this fictional world.
It will also be quite interesting to see Insomniac adopt a more linear, quest-based structure after so long. Also Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart have a kind Mass effect-like structure, where you can revisit different planets and explore wide-open areas, making it feel like a semi-open world at times. Given the fierce and driven nature of the Wolverine character and the high stakes of mutants from different corners of the world, this swing towards a more deliberate, carefully crafted structure is not only fitting, but exciting from a player perspective. There's been no shortage of open-world extravaganzas in recent years; Marvel's Wolverine may actually stand out more by being a carefully controlled plot-narrative experience.
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- Released
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September 15, 2026
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases
- Publisher
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Sony Interactive Entertainment
