Insomniac Games' Marvel's Wolverine has landed with a subdued reception, becoming the lowest-scoring game developed by PlayStation Studios for the PS5 era. The title currently holds a Metascore of 77, a figure that, while not outright negative, positions it below other first-party releases since the console's 2020 launch.
This score reflects a critical consensus that, while acknowledging the game as solid, often finds it to be somewhat uninspired and anachronistic. Many reviews point to its linear, third-person action gameplay as feeling like a relic from the early 2000s. In a market where new games frequently command a $70 price tag, such middling responses can make a purchase feel less justifiable, leading some observers to suggest waiting for a significant price drop.
While a Metascore of 77 is respectable and certainly not indicative of failure, it stands in contrast to the exceptionally high caliber of titles typically produced by Sony's internal studios. The critical response is broad, with numerous smaller international outlets awarding Marvel's Wolverine scores of 9s and 10s. However, larger, more established publications such as Eurogamer, VGC, IGN, GameSpot, and GamesRadar have largely offered scores around 6, with Giant Bomb giving the lowest rating of 5. Metacritic's weighting system, which prioritizes reviews from more reputable sites, explains why the numerous high scores from less-known outlets have a diminished impact on the overall average.
With over 100 reviews compiled on Metacritic, there is clearly a wide spectrum of player and critic opinion. Nevertheless, Insomniac's latest work is now the least well-received PlayStation Studios title on PS5. This places it below 2020's launch title Sackboy: A Big Adventure, which previously held the lowest score among the studio's PS5 output. For context, God of War: Ragnarok stands as the highest-rated PS5 game from PlayStation Studios, boasting a Metascore of 94.
Despite this particular title's reception, the overall performance of Sony's in-house development teams remains exceptionally strong. That a game described as solid but non-essential, featuring Wolverine, is the studio's lowest-scoring PS5 release can itself be seen as a testament to the consistent quality of their output.
