Marvel’s Wolverine Could Receive Major Changes Following Criticism From Reviewers

Insomniac confirms it has been listening to feedback and appears prepared to make changes following Wolverine’s launch.

Marvel's Wolverine is officially out, and the game has gathered quite the buzz after garnering great early reviews. Right now the game is sitting on a Metacritic score of 78, and most of the conversation is about how it handles gameplay and direction rather than how it looks or runs from a technical perspective.

Some reviews have questioned what is deemed a too hands-on attitude. The assessment criticizes the game for sometimes being excessively directive and for some moments that feel like they were built for people who have little experience playing video games. Some reviewers have also pointed out that Wolverine's fighting combos are somewhat shallow.

But the technology bits of the game seem to be getting a lot more appreciation. Its pictures, graphics, and general tech presentation have received acclaim as being strong, with some aspects rated among the finest in the business. That difference has left an interesting problem for Insomniac Games.

The studio cannot alter reviews that have already been published. However, in recent years, certain games may receive substantial patches after release that respond to reviews and alter certain aspects of the game. James Stevenson, Insomniac Games’ director of community and marketing, addressed the response to Marvel’s Wolverine.

Insomniac says that from day one it has put a premium on listening to its customers.

The crew had been listening carefully the past several days, he said, and already was making adjustments based on the suggestions. One of the most alarming issues is Wolverine’s enhanced sense of smell. In the game, scents are represented visually as a huge cloud-like effect that will lead Wolverine to certain locations or information.

The mechanic serves to explain his superior senses, but some critics and fans have considered the depiction too apparent and obtrusive. The smell trail is simply one part of the game's navigation system. Marvel’s Wolverine has also been criticized for doing too much to guide the viewer and too little to allow them to discover things on their own, with more prompts and a navigation assist as fuel.

Insomniac’s responses show that the studio is taking the complaints seriously. It’s not clear what systems might be changed, but the game’s post-launch support could offer ways to dial back or remove some of the assistance and accessibility elements. Oddly enough, one of the first noticeable changes made to Marvel’s Wolverine wasn’t even related to gameplay.

While numerous review copies boasted a much cleaner-shaven version of the character, an update issued just before launch brought back Wolverine's full beard. A further surprise critique was the beard Wolverine sported, which some fans said was too clean and did not fit the character’s rougher features. The new version gives him a more unkempt look, which many admirers were expecting to see.

Once the reviewers got their copy, Wolverine's beard was changed.

The beard tweak is mostly cosmetic, but it does demonstrate how quickly Insomniac responds to feedback. It also has you wondering what additional modifications we might see in the first few months of the game. After a few months of post-launch fixes, Wolverine could look dramatically different.

Insomniac may have more ideas for Marvel’s Wolverine than fast fixes. Post-launch support for Sony’s first-party games has been steadily arriving in the form of additional costumes, gameplay tweaks, accessibility choices, and, in some cases, more content. This could imply the version in a few months’ time will look and feel different from the version vetted prior to launch.

Navigation and guiding selections seem to be some of the areas that might be improved, especially with the existing input. There’s also speculation that more costumes, or even bigger chunks of plot content, will be released down the line, though Insomniac has yet to confirm any of this.

For now, the biggest issue is how much the studio will change overall. The game's done very well overall with a Metacritic score of 78, but complaints about its combat depth and hand-holding might weigh on how Insomniac handles future upgrades. Reviewers, at the same time, can only look at the version provided prior to release.

Studios may hardly rightfully expect critics to judge a game on modifications that could show up weeks or months down the line. So in essence, the initial reviews we see for Marvel’s Wolverine will be an early look at the game at launch, but the long-term reception could be heavily impacted by Insomniac’s reaction.