Highlights
- Marvel's Wolverine seems to be drawing inspiration from critically acclaimed PlayStation exclusives like The Last of Us and God of War, which bodes well for its success.
- The leaked footage reveals visual similarities to The Last of Us, such as Logan's attire being comparable to Joel's, stealth mechanics like a listen mode equivalent, and brutal melee combat reminiscent of The Last of Us 2.
- The game also takes cues from God of War, with Logan's Berserker Rage ability resembling Kratos' Spartan Rage, which adds to the excitement for fans. Additionally, there are hints of Uncharted's bombastic setpieces and platforming elements in Marvel's Wolverine.
Despite very clearly still being an early build, which makes sense given how data from the Insomniac Games leak suggests that Marvel’s Wolverine will not release until 2026, a lot can be taken from the footage that spread across the internet like wildfire. In addition to the Marvel’s Wolverine cast list and story being leaked, which detailed various villains and even a surprise playable character, players got a chance to see a bit of stealth gameplay and even more brutal combat. By watching this footage, some very obvious parallels can be drawn to the massively successful PlayStation exclusives The Last of Us and God of War.
Considering how critically acclaimed both The Last of Us and God of War franchises have been, Marvel’s Wolverine taking notes from them can only be a positive. It is still doing its own thing given the unique abilities of its playable character and the integration of features like a motorcycle for Logan, but one quick look at the game is sure to make fans think of some of the very best PlayStation exclusives. While the game has some clear visual similarities to Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic series, it also has some comparable gameplay traits, wheras one combat mechanic looks like it was pulled directly from God of War.
Why Marvel’s Wolverine’s Biggest Leak Just Makes Sense
The massive leaks for Marvel’s Wolverine ruin a huge surprise for the Mutant-focused title, and though unexpected, it makes perfect sense.
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How Marvel’s Wolverine Borrows From The Last of Us and God of War
The most surface-level similarity to The Last of Us is the attire worn by Logan while inside the bar featured during the leaked gameplay, as he can be seen wearing a plaid shirt just like Joel, with the green color swapped for red. Other clips show the similarly dressed Logan using his tracking abilities while peeking around cover, which just so happens to look a lot like The Last of Us series’ listen mode. Additionally, though climbing trees to attack from above is not something that the game shares in common with The Last of Us, creeping through tall grass for stealth kills is. Beyond that, the brutal melee combat and finishing moves that have all-but-confirmed Marvel’s Wolverine’s M-rating could make fans think back to The Last of Us 2’s gritty close-quarters combat.
As for the comparison to God of War, it is Logan’s Berserker Rage ability that is worth highlighting, as it looks just like Kratos’ own Spartan Rage. The animation that causes Logan to increase his damage output and one-hit kill his opponents looks just like the one where Kratos triggers Spartan Rage, with the ability also having the same gameplay benefit. Whether Berserker Rage has other traits unique to the Insomniac game is unclear, but in terms of how it looks in the leaked videos, it is hard to see any major differences between the two abilities. Given how satisfying Spartan Rage is, though, Insomniac borrowing the feature for its upcoming superhero game can only be seen as a good thing.
Parallels to a non-PlayStation exclusive can also be drawn thanks to Logan’s wall-running ability, which is used several times throughout the leaked footage. Given the straightforward, linear maps on display as well as the presence of this skill, gamers may be reminded of 2023’s Star Wars Jedi: Survivor when they watch the leaked gameplay for Marvel's Wolverine .
Marvel’s Wolverine Seems to Be Embracing a Bit of Uncharted as Well
If that was not enough, it seems like Insomniac Games has also looked to the beloved Uncharted franchise as a source of inspiration for the game’s bombastic setpieces. One such cinematic moment from the leaks shows several ninjas climbing on top of Logan and stabbing him with swords before the ol’ canucklehead flies out a window. Even more Uncharted-like is a still-unfinished segment where Logan is hanging on to a speedboat as it dashes across the water, a scenario that feels just like something Nathan Drake would encounter on his treasure-hunting adventures. With climbing mechanics present in the game as well as Logan’s general clumsiness, some similar platforming and falling setpieces may happen in Marvel's Wolverine as well.
