{"id":596236,"date":"2026-09-10T16:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T16:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/596236\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T16:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T16:38:11","slug":"marvels-wolverine-is-the-bloodiest-superhero-movie-of-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/596236\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Marvel’s Wolverine’ Is the Bloodiest Superhero Movie of 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a dour 2010s, this decade has given the X-Men a more elevated position<\/a> in comics and other media. This team effort has given many A-list mutants<\/a> a chance to shine, which can\u2019t help but include Wolverine. Co-starring in the cinematic juggernaut that was Deadpool & Wolverine and being a primary player in X-Men \u201897 was followed up with appearing in multiplayer games like Marvel Rivals and the more recent Marvel\u00a0T\u014dkon<\/a>. For players looking for a more solitary affair, Marvel\u2019s Wolverine<\/a> is here and happy to remind you what makes him a compelling presence when taking center stage.<\/p>\n

Wolverine last headlined his own game in 2009 with a tie-in to X-Men Origins, and those who remember that title may get some deja vu here. Similar to Raven Software, Insomniac Games prioritizes combat and the damage Wolverine\u2019s able to take and dish out. Simple melee combos are joined by dodges, parries, special attacks, the whole shebang you\u2019re used to by now. Attacks build up a rage meter, which can heal you if you go down or bring you into a berserker rage when you reach tier three, which you can sustain by executing weakened enemies.<\/p>\n

Going from a slide to a lunge, plunging your claws into someone before parrying attacks has a nice flow, even in the more hectic moments where the game\u2019s camera isn\u2019t entirely agreeable. Compared to Spider-Man, Wolverine\u2019s got a much more limited kit to work with, and the creative spark Insomniac is known for that shows in Spidey\u2019s gadgets, or the many weapons of Ratchet & Clank, is understandably absent.<\/p>\n

\"Marvel's\u00a9 Insomniac Games\/PlayStation <\/p>\n

Save for one nod in that direction, Marvel\u2019s Wolverine embraces brutality. That the titular hero\u2019s special techniques focus on crowd control or a last-minute save from death, and he can get impaled by a health-blocking katana only to use it on an enemy to regain health, are nice combat flourishes that lean into his skillset. Logan kills like he\u2019s been born for it, and as Insomniac\u2019s first M-rated game in at least a decade, the violence on display definitely feels like the studio\u2019s letting off some steam. Those who loved the bloody carnage of Logan and Deadpool & Wolverine will feel right at home with the game\u2019s base settings, but anyone who may understandably want a break from the bloodshed and language have options to toggle both off at any time without any real consequence.<\/p>\n

Really, the combat\u2019s biggest problem is that there\u2019s so much of it; every fight in the game\u2019s second half could almost certainly be improved by having at least half a wave less than they do. (Dialogue bemoaning that \u201cthey just keep coming!\u201d only adds to the feeling of tiredness.) Depending on one\u2019s prerogative, the stealth and investigation sections will feel like either a decent enough reprieve from slashing and dodging or a roadblock getting in the way of the same. None of the stealth is mandatory, so you\u2019re free to just get caught without consequence and cut to the combat immediately, and the investigation moments aren\u2019t as obnoxious as they could be.<\/p>\n

As a linear action-adventure title, Marvel\u2019s Wolverine lives and dies on its set pieces. They\u2019re all generally strong, some may even be considered great, depending entirely on your appreciation for spectacle. Logan\u2019s healing factor allows Insomniac to put him through hell in a way that embraces the game\u2019s already MCU-like storytelling and popcorn-worthy flair. Whatever else can be said about this game, it can\u2019t be denied how well the boss fights embrace a dumb, comic book fun that Wolverine often works best in, and one briefly mixes story and gameplay in a way that\u2019s hilariously, wincingly grim.<\/p>\n

This is all wrapped in a narrative that sees Logan in a familiar spot as a black ops soldier reluctantly pulled into fighting for mutants. To the larger public, they\u2019re not well-known, but Bolivar Trask and the Reavers are very much looking to wipe them out, opposed by Team X and their leader, Nathaniel Essex. What starts as \u201cone last job\u201d for Logan to do right by his father figure becomes much more complicated when he meets a group of runaway mutants led by Callisto and Jean Grey. \u201cComplicated\u201d in that Jean\u2019s presence definitely drives a wedge between Logan and his teammates, but he was already on shaky ground after having left and not easily slotting back into place as they\u2019d hoped.<\/p>\n

\"Marvel's\u00a9 Insomniac Games\/PlayStation <\/p>\n

Rare is it that Wolverine and Jean Grey are in proximity to each other without other top-tier X-Men alongside them. It\u2019s not a spoiler to say there\u2019s sparks between them\u2014Wolverine\u2019s down bad for women and charms them in a way only comic book men can!\u2014but the relationship generally works, in part because it\u2019s able to play out without feeling like it\u2019s directly opposing another. It\u2019s completely secure in its own skin, allowing for Liam McIntyre and Krizia Bajos to bounce off each other as Logan and Jean feel out one another before various wrenches get thrown into their relationship.<\/p>\n

X-Men characters are famously messy, which the narrative mostly captures well. Reframing Essex as an evil mirror to Charles Xavier and Team X as his X-Men equivalent lets Logan fit comfortably between who he used to be and who he\u2019ll eventually become, and McIntyre sells that this Logan is both aimless and focused in a way that aligns with Team X, but only just so. His being self-aware enough to understand his talents for violence but refusal to fall fully into the darker impulses his teammates do is a good angle, and he\u2019s got good chemistry with Brett Gipson\u2019s Sabretooth, Nicole Pacent\u2019s Mystique, and others who can\u2019t not let their past history with Logan color how they see him now.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the dissolution of Team X and how mutants fit into the world where Marvel\u2019s Wolverine is at its strongest narratively. When the scope widens, the game may be swinging a bit too high, or at least doing it too soon. There are some interesting swerves taken throughout the journey, and credit to Insomniac for holding off on its biggest reveals until the final stretch of the game. But those flags planted in the last hours may come across as excessive shot-calling when the story\u2019s otherwise pretty good about how it chooses to escalate and let the characters respond to those moments.<\/p>\n

\"Marvel's\u00a9 Insomniac Games\/PlayStation <\/p>\n

Even with those issues in mind\u2014and a small handful of bugs, like a floating gun during a cutscene\u2014Marvel\u2019s Wolverine is a solidly put together work that provides a comfortable dose of action PlayStation\u2019s first-party output doles out on a consistent basis. That cuts both ways, though: while it slots in nicely as a chapter in the next phase<\/a> of the X-Men\u2019s life, elements of the game will feel dated, such as searching or listening for multiple clues to continue the mission or being given control mainly to observe the admittedly well-constructed scenery. If you already aren\u2019t into the PlayStation house style of games, or how this particular studio makes them, it won\u2019t change your mind, and it\u2019s also not really trying to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As such, and after making Marvel games for nearly a full decade, it\u2019d be nice if this were allowed to be Insomniac\u2019s last for a while. The studio\u2019s been a hard worker, reliably churning out games for PlayStation over the last two console generations, and has more than earned the right to step out of the spotlight and catch its breath, maybe work on something entirely new.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And after there\u2019s been proper time to miss this type of superhero game? Well, ask any Big Two comics fan, and they\u2019ll tell you that absence is what makes a major hero\u2019s eventual comeback so exciting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Marvel\u2019s Wolverine releases September 15 for the PlayStation 5.<\/p>\n

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel<\/a>, Star Wars<\/a>, and Star Trek<\/a> releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV<\/a>, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a dour 2010s, this decade has given the X-Men a more elevated position in comics and other…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":596237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[156,266359,287524,134135,409,111,139,69,32002],"class_list":["post-596236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-insomniac-games","tag-marvel-games","tag-marvels-wolverine","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-wolverine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=596236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}