Marvel’s next-gen game
Six years after Marvel’s Spider-Man changed expectations for superhero games, Insomniac is about to attempt something far more dangerous. On 15th September, Wolverine finally gets his turn.
The excitement surrounding Marvel’s Wolverine feels different. This is not Spider-Man with claws. Everything shown so far suggests Insomniac understands that Logan requires violence and considerably less restraint.
Its latest gameplay footage emphasises aggressive close quarters combat, dismemberment and a healing system designed to keep Wolverine moving forward rather than retreating but there appears to be a man underneath the brutality.
Logan exists in a world where the X-Men do not yet exist. Mutants remain largely hidden, while Bolivar Trask is hunting them. Jean Grey, Mystique and Sabretooth already occupy this universe, with Team X providing the fractured foundation around Logan.
Here is the interesting part, what if Wolverine is not simply Insomniac’s next Marvel game? What if it is the beginning of the X-Men? Nothing official confirms an Insomniac X-Men title, and speculation should remain exactly that. Yet deliberately placing Logan before Xavier’s famous team gives this world somewhere enormous to go.
Jean Grey is already here. Mutant persecution forms part of the narrative. Even the absence of the X-Men now feels conspicuous rather than accidental.
Insomniac carries an unusual amount of pressure. Spider-Man proved it could make players feel like a superhero. Wolverine has to prove it can make us understand him.
The gore will attract attention. The claws will sell trailers, If Insomniac gets that right, September 15th may not simply launch Wolverine. It could quietly begin gaming’s next great Marvel era.
