WOLVERINE!!!!!
What a game...Definitely what I needed. After playing a few games that felt like a bit of a slog, Wolverine was a proper breath of fresh air. It doesn't try to reinvent gaming, but it absolutely knows what kind of game it wants to be — and for me, that worked really well.
The Story
First of all, I really enjoyed the story.Taking Wolverine's origins and putting a slightly different spin on them was a nice change. We all know the character, we all know the history, and we've seen plenty of different versions of Logan over the years, so it was refreshing to see the game do something a little different rather than simply retelling the same story we've already had beaten into us.
The story keeps things moving without becoming overly complicated, and there's enough character development and little moments throughout to keep you invested.
It's Wolverine, though...
We're obviously here to cause some serious damage.
The Violence
And Jesus Christ...THE GORE.
This game does not hold back.
Wolverine doesn't just hit enemies — he absolutely destroys them. Limbs flying, bodies getting ripped apart, claws going through people... it's gloriously violent.
And I actually liked the damage system as well. Wolverine takes a ridiculous amount of punishment throughout the game, and watching him get absolutely battered before healing himself is a great touch.
Of course, there is one slight problem...
The amount of damage Wolverine takes doesn't exactly say much about my gaming ability.
Let's just say there were moments where I was less "I'm an unstoppable mutant" and more "HOW THE FUCK AM I STILL ALIVE?"
The Bosses
This was probably one of my favourite parts of the game.There are some properly epic boss encounters, and the bosses feel like more than just oversized health bars.
Some of the fights really make you feel like you're Wolverine rather than simply controlling a character with claws.
The best encounters force you to actually pay attention to what's happening around you. You've got to learn attack patterns, avoid some pretty brutal attacks, find openings and then go absolutely mental when you get the chance.
And when the game throws some of its bigger enemies at you, there's that brilliant feeling of:
"Right... this thing is going to absolutely destroy me."
Then you get through the fight and it feels genuinely satisfying.
I also liked the variety. The boss encounters don't all feel like the exact same fight with a different character model slapped on top. Some are more about aggression and close combat, while others require a bit more patience and awareness.
And when Wolverine finally gets his hands on some of these bosses...
Let's just say the claws are getting some serious overtime.
For me, a good boss fight should feel like an event rather than an interruption to the story, and there are definitely a few encounters here that deliver that feeling.
The Platinum
Now let's talk about the important stuff...The Platinum.
It's an easy one, which is always a bonus in my book.
There's nothing worse than loving a game and then discovering the Platinum requires you to spend another 40 hours doing some ridiculous challenge, collecting 700 pointless objects or replaying the entire game on the hardest difficulty.
Thankfully, Wolverine doesn't really fall into that trap.
The collectibles are also relatively easy to find, which I absolutely appreciated.
I'll never complain about an easy-to-find collectible.
Give me a game where I can actually enjoy exploring without having to constantly have a YouTube guide open on my second screen!
Overall
Now, don't get me wrong...It's not a perfect game.
There are definitely things I would have changed, and there are moments where you can see where the game could have been polished a little more.
But honestly?
I had a bloody good time with it.
It's violent, it's fun, the story is enjoyable, the boss fights have some proper memorable moments, the collectibles aren't a nightmare and the Platinum doesn't require me to sacrifice my sanity.
Most importantly, though, it was just fun.
Sometimes that's all I actually want from a game.
Give me a decent story, let me play as Wolverine, hand me some ridiculously sharp claws and put some unfortunate bastards in front of me.
Job done.
Verdict - 9/10