Marvel's Wolverine arrives on PS5 on September 15, and the review embargo lifted this week to a reaction that can best be described as a shrug. The game currently holds a 77 on Metacritic and an 81 on OpenCritic, which makes it the lowest-rated in-house PlayStation Studios title since the PS5 launched in 2020, sitting below Sackboy: A Big Adventure at 79 and far behind God of War Ragnarok at 94.
A step down from Spider-Man
The comparison that stings most is with Insomniac's own catalog. Marvel's Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 both scored 88, and Miles Morales landed at 85. Wolverine, a linear third-person action game set before the X-Men were formed, has drawn 6/10 scores from IGN, GameSpot and Eurogamer, and a 5 from Giant Bomb, though several smaller international outlets handed out 9s and 10s.
What critics liked and didn't
The praise is consistent on presentation. Reviewers call the lighting and ray tracing some of the best seen on the console, and Insomniac's audiovisual polish is intact. Some outlets frame the game's linear, gore-heavy structure as a welcome throwback.
The complaints are just as consistent:
- Combat that never grows beyond what you learn in the opening hours
- A story that telegraphs its own twists
- A structure that feels dated next to modern action games
The consensus, as one roundup put it, is a "perfectly acceptable game" that feels anachronistic.
Should you buy it?
If you want a shorter, brutal, well-produced action game and do not need Spider-Man-level variety, the scores suggest you will have a fine time. If you were expecting Insomniac's next masterpiece, the reviews say to wait for a sale. Sony gave the game one last push at its September 3 State of Play with a trailer featuring Jean Grey, Sentinels and Sabretooth.
Photo: PlayStation (source)
