During the PlayStation Showcase, Sony revealed Marvel's Wolverine, yet another superhero game from developer Insomniac Games. The Marvel's Wolverine trailer was a big surprise, primarily because many expected the developer to reveal Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (which also happened), but also because Insomniac is an increasingly busy studio. The team is largely known for Spider-Man, Ratchet & Clank, and a variety of original IP, but now, it's taking on yet another massive character within the Marvel universe and it's one that has already had a precedent set.
In 2009, Activision published X-Men Origins: Wolverine to tie-in with the critically panned film. That said, the game didn't suffer the same fate, primarily because it was the first M-rated Wolverine game. It followed many of the core beats of the PG-13 film, but significantly upped the violence in a way that only the M-rating could allow. The game opens with a CG cutscene that literally sees Wolverine shredding enemies with his claws like a cheese grater. He gets a hole blown through his chest with a shotgun, stabs someone in the head, and much more - but it makes a statement. This is not a game made for all audiences, this is Wolverine without a leash holding him back.
There hasn't been a solo Wolverine game since then, until now. This set the tone for the future of the character in games, but Activision didn't capitalize on it. Now Insomniac has that opportunity, especially since fans are speculating that Hulk could appear in Marvel's Wolverine and the two Marvel icons frequently have bloody brawls. Given the character has razor-sharp claws, it only makes sense for him to be hacking off limbs and getting his own body mutilated from all of the damage he can withstand. The M-rating isn't just for the sort of juvenile appeal of seeing enemies get hacked apart, it also allows more freedom with the storytelling.
Marvel's Wolverine Should Be Rated M
Insomniac hasn't shared many details regarding Marvel's Wolverine, but did tease an emotional story. Wolverine is a layered character, and his powers often cause him a great amount of internal pain. Not only has he outlived friends and loved ones, but part of his origins revolves around him being a literal weapon. The violence may be fun for the audience, but it's not always pleasant for Wolverine. Wolverine will appear in Marvel's Midnight Suns, but that is likely to focus less on Wolverine as a core character. Insomniac has an opportunity here to go beyond mindless hacking and slashing as a pure gameplay feature, when it could instead embed it more deeply into the narrative of Marvel's Wolverine.
Hugh Jackman ended his run as the character with 2017's Logan, the first hard R-rated Wolverine film. Although the movie features lots of gore, it was able to do more than just letting Wolverine go out with a violent bang. It seemed more to be about deconstructing the character and making him raw, real, and vulnerable. It was a character-first film, rather than trying to appeal to a wider audience. Director James Mangold noted he fought for an R-rating on Logan because he knew the film wouldn't have to be built to sell Happy Meal toys, advertise on children's TV channels, or be anything more than a hardcore drama.
Wolverine's super powers are about more than just showing the blood on his claws, it's about letting those claws sink back into his body with the blood still on them, where he can't just wash it off and has to live with it. The violence can't just be implied, there's no room to dance around it - blood needs to be shed for it to hold weight in the story. Marvel's Wolverine has the opportunity to utilize an M rating to not just make the game viscerally fun, but also do the character narrative justice in a way relatively few other stories have managed to. Given how smart Insomniac has been with Spider-Man thus far, it feels like Marvel's Wolverine is in good hands.
Marvel's Wolverine will release exclusively on PlayStation 5 at some point in the future.