The Most Divisive Insomniac Game in a Decade
Insomniac Games has a near-perfect track record with Marvel. Spider-Man (2018) scored 87 on Metacritic. Miles Morales hit 85. Spider-Man 2 landed at 90. So when reviews for Marvel's Wolverine — the studio's latest PS5 exclusive — went live on September 10, 2026, and the aggregate settled at 77 on Metacritic, it landed like a scratch across adamantium. That's Insomniac's worst-reviewed original game since the 2016 niche experiment Song of the Deep.
What Critics Are Saying
The consensus is complicated. Critics from IGN, GameSpot, GamesRadar+, Eurogamer, and Polygon largely landed in the 5–6 out of 10 range, citing a story that doesn't pay off its promising setup and a thinner structure compared to the open-world Spider-Man titles. The central grievance: the game reaches for a complex character study of Logan but telegraphs its beats from scene one.
The praise, however, is specific and genuine. Nearly every reviewer singled out Liam McIntyre's voice performance as Logan — quiet, wounded, and explosive in the right moments. The combat gets consistent applause: brutal, satisfying, and built around Logan's regeneration and berserker rage in ways that feel true to the character. PlayStation Universe gave it 9/10 and called it "the ultimate Wolverine simulator," arguing the linear, adults-only design is a feature, not a bug. Worthplaying praised its propulsive narrative as "as furious and engaging as its titular hero."
The Game Itself
Marvel's Wolverine is a linear, mature-rated, third-person action game — deliberately not an open world. Players control Logan as he pursues Bolivar Trask, who is abducting mutants for experimentation. Jean Grey features prominently. The tone is dark, violent, and more grounded than the colorful web-swinging of Insomniac's Spider-Man titles.
It's a deliberate pivot. Insomniac clearly wanted to make a character-first game with superb combat rather than a massive playground with side quests. Whether that trade-off lands depends entirely on whether you think Wolverine deserves a tight, mean action game or a sprawling adventure.
The PS5 Exclusive Question
Marvel's Wolverine launches on September 15, 2026, exclusively for PlayStation 5 — no PC or Xbox version has been announced. Given that GTA 6 drops on November 19 and will dominate the fall, a Metacritic score of 77 makes this a harder sell than Sony would have hoped. That said, GamesRadar's context is worth noting: the 77 is Insomniac's lowest since 2016, but only because their previous floor was so high.
A 77 is not a bad game — it's a divisive one. If you're a Wolverine fan who wants visceral claw combat and a moody Logan story without padding, reviews suggest you'll find what you came for. If you're expecting a Spider-Man 2 reskin with claws, you'll be disappointed. The game is two days away. Make your own call.