Credit: Insomniac Games
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Marvel’s Wolverine gameplay looks more brutal than anyone expected
June 5, 2026·3 min read
Marvel’s Wolverine finally looks like the game fans hoped Insomniac was making. The new gameplay demo does not treat Logan like a cleaner, safer superhero. It lets him fight like a man with adamantium claws, a short temper, and no interest in leaving enemies standing.
That is why the footage made such a strong first impression. This is much bloodier than Insomniac’s Spider-Man games, and some of the attacks are violent enough to invite Mortal Kombat comparisons. More importantly, the tone fits Wolverine. Logan should feel dangerous, and the demo makes him look terrifying up close.
Logan’s claws finally feel dangerous
The gameplay shows Wolverine tearing through Reavers with heavy, close-range attacks. Enemies are not simply knocked away or neatly defeated. They are slammed into the environment, cut apart, and overwhelmed by a fighting style that feels angry rather than graceful.
Spider-Man is built around movement, restraint, and style. Wolverine is built around impact. His combat needs to look painful, messy, and personal, or the fantasy does not work.
Logan is not bouncing around the room to embarrass enemies. He is closing distance and ending fights before they can recover.
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The Reavers make the violence feel earned
The Reavers are cybernetic killers, not random civilians or harmless street thugs, so Insomniac has room to make the combat harsher without it feeling out of place.
That also gives the demo a stronger X-Men flavor. Jean Grey appears during the sequence, and her involvement makes the fight feel connected to a larger mutant story instead of just a showcase for brutal finishers.
The footage suggests Insomniac is not only chasing shock value. It is building a darker Wolverine story around enemies who can survive long enough to justify the damage Logan dishes out.
The gore toggle is a smart choice
Insomniac is also giving players some control over how far the violence goes. Game director Mike Daly has confirmed that Marvel’s Wolverine will include an option to reduce graphic content such as blood and dismemberment.
Some players want the full Wolverine experience, while others may want the story and action without every fight being as graphic as possible.
The important part is that the option does not soften the game’s identity. The default footage still makes it clear that this is a sharper, meaner Marvel game than Insomniac has made before.
The full game needs more than shock value
The demo has done its job by showing that Wolverine will feel different from Spider-Man. Now the bigger question is whether the full game can balance that brutality with the character’s emotional weight.
Logan is not memorable only because he has claws. He works because he carries pain, loyalty, guilt, rage, and a constant fight against the worst parts of himself. The violence gets attention, but the story needs to make it matter.
Marvel’s Wolverine launches for PlayStation 5 on September 15, 2026. If Insomniac can pair this combat with a strong X-Men story, this could be the Wolverine game fans have waited years to play.
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat is a 2011 fighting game developed by NetherRealm Studios. It is the ninth main installment in the Mortal Kombat franchise and a soft reboot of the series. Although beginning during the events of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, the plot retroactively revisits the earliest
Mortal Kombat is a 2011 fighting game developed by NetherRealm Studios. It is the ninth main installment in the Mortal Kombat franchise and a soft reboot of the series. Although beginning during the events of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, the plot retroactively revisits the earliest period in the Mortal Kombat series: the events of the first three games. The storyline follows Raiden, the divine protector of Earth, as he attempts to change the outcome of the Armageddon events by contacting his past self.
PlayStation 3PC (Microsoft Windows)PlayStation Vita
Released
April 19, 2011
Developer
NetherRealm Studios
Publisher
WB Games
Systems
PlayStation 3
PC (Microsoft Windows)
PlayStation Vita
Xbox 360
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