I almost didn’t buy Wolverine because of the negative discussion I’d been seeing online. But I also saw people enjoying it, and I wanted to make my own decision. After roughly half an hour, I enjoyed it. The combat felt brutal and feral, like the Wolverine I know. I bought my own copy of Wolverine, so I’m sharing these opening impressions as I play; this won’t be a full review as a result.
The Wolverine I Know
The word I kept looking for while playing was “brutal.” The Wolverine I know just kind of loses it. He loves using his blades, and he’s a feral animal. During combat, it really does come off like that. It is bloody and barbaric, and that felt true to the character I know. I made it past the prologue and into the grass, where I was doing stealth kills. Those were pretty fun. It seems to follow what people like to call the “Sony formula,” but I’m okay with it. I like it.
I also think the graphics in Wolverine look great. I’m playing in performance mode, and the graphics stood out to me during this first session. This is an early visual impression, not a verdict on how consistently the game runs beyond the time I have spent so far.
Enough to Keep Playing
When I stopped playing after my first session, I wanted to keep going. Since writing those initial notes, I’ve played another session, and the story has become more compelling.
The opening drops you into a mission without fully explaining what is happening. It is a dynamic, set-piece-heavy start with explosions, combat, and several characters being introduced very quickly. Still, the game gives you enough to start unpacking their relationships.
There is already some interesting tension between Wolverine and Sabretooth. Sabretooth comes across as the bigger and possibly superior figure, while Wolverine mostly takes his jokes and needling on the chin. Omega Red also makes a strong early impression, and his performance has me interested in seeing where his character goes.
I’m still early in the game, so I can’t tell you whether the combat stays interesting or the stealth starts to repeat itself. But right now, I’m genuinely enjoying both the combat and the story. It was brutal, it was bloody, and it felt like Wolverine. I genuinely want to play it again.
