A fantastic addition to Insomniac’s Marvel lineup and a stellar addition to Wolverine’s mythology

You would think a game in which you play as Wolverine would mostly be about whipping out those adamantium-coated claws and wreaking violent havoc. Yes, there’s plenty of that in “Marvel’s Wolverine,” the latest release from developer Insomniac Games. But much like the character himself, the game runs deep. Underneath the bloodshed and brutality — and there’s plenty of both in this appropriately Mature-rated game — it’s a story about a broken man who cares too much in a world that cares too little; about the power of memory and how the past affects the present; about loneliness and fear and hatred and rage and love. And it’s all told in a viscerally kinetic, visually stunning and viciously thrilling 17 hours, never once slowing down even when the Living Weapon retracts his blood-smeared claws.

Off the jump, “Wolverine,” out Tuesday, feels incredibly similar to Insomniac’s other Marvel games, “Marvel’s Spider-Man” and its sequel and spinoff. (Published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, it’s a PlayStation 5 exclusive.) At times, I felt like I was controlling Peter Parker rather than James “Logan” Howlett — minus the web-slinging and with far more blood being spilled. This isn’t a complaint; those are great games, and there’s no need to mess with a winning formula of an engrossing story blended with dopamine-releasing gameplay. 

Read the full review at The Seattle Times.

Four blood-drenched stars out of five.