Insomniac Games Has a Difficult Choice to Make With Marvel’s Wolverine

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is just days away, and while Insomniac has certainly earned itself some much-needed time off, there’s no rest for the wicked, and Marvel’s Wolverine is presumably well into its development pipeline. And as if the pressure of delivering the first truly AAA Wolverine game wasn’t enough for Insomniac already, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has now set an even higher bar for the game, earning some spectacular review scores. With fan expectations at an all-time high, it’s even more vital that Insomniac nails every conceivable element of Marvel’s Wolverine, which is much easier said than done.

Of course, the most important aspect of Marvel’s Wolverine that Insomniac needs to really nail down is its gameplay, with its combat in particular probably being the developer’s biggest focus right now. But right behind its gameplay, Marvel’s Wolverine‘s story comes in at a close second, and for any good story, there needs to be a good backdrop. Thankfully, Insomniac has plenty of comic inspiration to draw from when it comes to choosing a setting for Marvel’s Wolverine.

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Marvel’s Wolverine Has Plenty of Settings to Pick From

Wolverine – as a comic book character – has appeared against plenty of varying backdrops since his debut all the way back in 1974, which gives Insomniac plenty of places to draw inspiration from for its own version of the Mutant and the setting he finds himself in. With decades’ worth of content to pull from, Insomniac’s setting for Wolverine is probably going to largely depend on which version of the character it’s trying to recreate or hearken back to, with the character often being associated with specific settings during different stages of his life.

For instance, if Marvel’s Wolverine is centered around Logan before he joins the X-Men, then there are a ton of different settings already there to be used. A good potential setting for Wolverine during this phase of his life is rural Canada, with the character being able to explore the snowy wilderness while also venturing into more civilized areas for some missions. Marvel’s Wolverine could even set itself apart entirely by making the game a period piece, dropping Logan into the 1960s, 70s, or 80s, though from the look of the announcement trailer it seems as though it’s probably going to stick with a modern-day setting. Another great option would be setting the game in Japan for at least some of its runtime, hearkening back to movies like The Wolverine, and comics like Wolverine: Back in Japan.

It’s much more likely, however, that Marvel’s Wolverine will be set sometime after meeting the X-Men, and potentially even after having joined them fully. In this case, the most likely setting for the game is the X-Mansion and the surrounding area of Westchester County, New York, which could potentially lead to a Spider-Man cameo if the two Insomniac projects end up being connected in any way. This could also lead to the appearance of locations like Genosha, which is Magneto’s supposed Mutant safe haven just off the coast of Madagascar.

What could potentially be better than all those, however, is a mix of each one. A journey throughout a few decades of Logan’s life would allow Marvel’s Wolverine to experiment with a variety of different locales, including periods in the Mutant’s far past like the American Civil War or World War 2, his recent past like Canada, and his present with the aforementioned locations of New York and Genosha. This would work particularly well if Marvel’s Wolverine ends up being a more linear affair than Insomniac’s last few Marvel entries, with these areas potentially acting as smaller-scale hubs.

Marvel’s Wolverine is currently in development for PlayStation 5.

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