NPC companions have become a trend in big-budget games such as The Last of Us, God of War, and Horizon Forbidden West. NPCs hanging out alongside the player is a boon for storytelling since it means that the protagonist is always accompanied by someone who they can share banter with. Otherwise, games like Marvel’s Spider-Man or Gotham Knights demonstrate how a lack of NPCs often results in the protagonist needing to talk with other characters through a radio, phone, or other disassociated means. Now, Marvel’s Wolverine could potentially have the same issue.
Marvel’s Wolverine only has a single cinematic teaser to its name, and in it there is a tonal ambience of the mutant having to deal with a bunch of hooligans in a bar. This gives no indication of what Marvel’s Wolverine’s narrative will entail, but it does suggest that he could be alone the entire game. If so, Insomniac will need to hook Wolverine up with a comms device so he can talk to other characters. But if he is actually accompanied by NPCs like Kratos and Atreus in God of War Ragnarok, that could make Marvel’s Wolverine stand apart greatly from the Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Has So Far Told a Disjointed Spider-Man Story
Marvel’s Spider-Man mainly stuck to a singular protagonist with Peter Parker while giving Mary Jane Watson and Miles Morales their own playable roles. Then, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales centered exclusively on its titular character.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 finally features both Spider-Men together, and therefore it will hopefully feel less disconnected with both Peter and Miles’ narratives intertwining this time. There is still no confirmation on whether Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will have co-op gameplay, but it is assumed that the game will be single-player still with scripted missions that have fans playing as each character.
This would sort of disrupt the open-world feel of the Marvel’s Spider-Man games before it, but this is how Insomniac’s Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart juggled its own playable protagonists. It is possible that Peter could be an NPC companion to Miles while Miles is playable, and vice versa, but Marvel’s Wolverine could take advantage of NPC companions that may not also be fully playable themselves.
Marvel’s Wolverine Can Have NPCs Like in God of War Ragnarok
God of War had Atreus as Kratos’ near-constant companion, and God of War Ragnarok elaborated upon that feature massively with a handful of other NPCs to accompany the player. Atreus was finally playable as his own character, but NPC companions themselves are all given their own special moves and are integral to gameplay in a lot of ways, such as firing Atreus or Freya’s arrows when solving puzzles.
Because Marvel’s Wolverine’s eponymous protagonist is relatively simple in terms of his gameplay, it would be remarkable to have NPCs with him that can accomplish much more in combat or exploration. If Wolverine is accompanied by Shadowcat, for example, he could have her walk him through walls or floors; if Wolverine is accompanied by Angel, he could have him fly with him to another area.
Wolverine would be great to see alongside X-23, even though they would be nearly identical in their abilities. There are a ton of options that Insomniac could consider for NPC companions of Wolverine’s from the X-Men or the overarching Marvel universe, and what they could afford in gameplay and storytelling would be exceptional. Otherwise, Wolverine could be a solitary character in Marvel’s Wolverine, but only time will tell which route Insomniac will take him.
Marvel's Wolverine is in development for PS5.
