Marvel's Wolverine reviews: solid action, but well below Spider-Man's bar

Marvel's Wolverine lands on PlayStation 5 on September 15, and the first reviews are in — the verdict is good, not great. Insomniac's latest PS5 exclusive scores 78 on Metacritic and 81 on OpenCritic, with 79% of critics recommending it. That's a respectable score, but it sits more than 10 points below the studio's Spider-Man games (87 and 90 on Metacritic), which is hard to ignore after a five-year wait.

The game

Wolverine is a linear, semi-open-world action game set across three locations: the island city-state of Madripoor, rural Canada, and the streets of Tokyo. The campaign runs 12 to 15 hours — intentionally compact in an era of 100-hour open-world epics, which some reviewers see as a feature rather than a flaw. Critics broadly agree the combat is satisfying, the story holds up, and the character work is strong. Logan feels like Logan.

The criticism lands in a familiar place: ambition. Reviewers acknowledge every individual element is well-executed, but the game rarely takes risks. Eurogamer's critic compared Wolverine unfavorably to Alan Wake 2 and 007 First Light — two linear action games that swung for something genuinely distinctive. Wolverine, by contrast, plays it safe. Some reviews also flag that the combat system starts to feel repetitive in the back half, and that boss encounters lack the challenge or variety to keep things fresh.

GameSpot's reviewer stopped short of a negative verdict, but expressed hope that a sequel would let Insomniac build on the stronger ideas here. That framing — "good foundation, sequel potential" — shows up across several reviews, which tells you something about where the game lands right now.

What to know before buying

Marvel's Wolverine is a PS5 exclusive — no PC version announced. Physical copies are priced at £62.99 and digital at £69.99 in the UK; US pricing sits at standard new-release rates via PlayStation Direct and major retailers. Limited Edition hardware bundles (Battle Yellow and Adamantium PS5 variants) are also available through PlayStation Direct for those going all-in.

If you've burned out on massive open worlds and want a focused, well-produced action game with a strong lead character, Wolverine delivers. If you're expecting Insomniac to top their Spider-Man work, this isn't that — at least not yet.