Wolverine’s claws, healing abilities, heightened senses, and aggressive fighting style immediately give the gameplay an identity that feels appropriately different from a more acrobatic superhero game. Dashie brings longtime Wolverine fan Shadow along specifically to judge how well the character has been translated, and that pairing gives the playthrough a useful perspective beyond ordinary first impressions. Shadow’s enthusiasm is enormous, but it is also informed by familiarity with Wolverine comics, older games, villains, costumes, and supporting characters.
The combat makes the strongest early impression. Wolverine can rush enemies, use environmental attacks, build rage, perform critical moves, follow sensory clues, and recover health under the right circumstances. The blood and dismemberment have been disabled for the recording, which means an important part of the intended violence is missing, but the fighting still looks substantially more vicious than the Spider-Man comparison the pair repeatedly make. Shadow describes the underlying attacks as having a similar feel while emphasizing that Wolverine’s approach is considerably more brutal.
Character details generate almost as much discussion as the action. Sabretooth, Mystique, Omega Red, Trask, and Mr. Sinister-related material prompt immediate recognition, while Team X and the mutant experiments provide the framework for the story being introduced. Shadow notes that the narrative appears to make changes rather than simply adapt one particular comic storyline, and he is comfortable with that approach as long as it continues drawing meaningfully from Wolverine’s established history. His reactions to costumes, lockers, references, and other environmental details show why having a committed fan present works so well.
There are also glimpses of systems beyond straightforward brawling. Wolverine follows scents and audio clues, investigates environments, encounters mutant detectors, navigates stealth-like sequences, and gains access to combat progression involving rage tiers and critical attacks. Small visual touches receive considerable attention, including healing effects and environmental detail. The presentation is loose and frequently interrupted by jokes, missed prompts, experimentation with controls, and excited reactions, but that informality suits a first-play session rather than a methodical technical review.
The biggest concern raised is linearity. Dashie relays criticism he has seen that the experience holds the player’s hand and feels too much like it is “on rails,” and later gameplay gives both players some understanding of that complaint. They wonder when greater freedom, side activities, or broader exploration might appear. Shadow is much less troubled by the issue because he values a focused story, but the limited portion shown cannot establish how restrictive the full game ultimately becomes.
Their chemistry keeps the lengthy session entertaining even when progress slows. Shadow supplies character knowledge while Dashie handles much of the moment-to-moment discovery, and their exchanges about old X-Men games, possible encounters, costumes, physical media, and comic lore make the playthrough feel like two fans exploring something they have anticipated for years. The downside is that excitement regularly overwhelms analysis: potentially useful observations about combat, level structure, mechanics, and story changes are often abandoned for jokes or rapid reactions before being examined in depth.
Shadow ultimately declares himself completely satisfied and gives the game a 10/10 based on what he has played so far. That verdict is best understood as an enthusiastic early reaction from a devoted Wolverine fan rather than a comprehensive assessment of the entire game, particularly because the session covers only an opening portion and even Shadow acknowledges that he still has much more to play. As a showcase of whether the character’s personality, violence, lore, and visual presentation can excite someone deeply invested in Wolverine, however, the playthrough makes a convincing case.
Pros
- Shadow’s extensive familiarity with Wolverine gives the character, villain, costume, and lore reactions useful context.
- Combat, healing, sensory abilities, rage mechanics, and environmental attacks provide a varied introduction to Wolverine’s gameplay.
- Story changes are discussed alongside recognizable characters and comic-book elements rather than automatically treated as flaws.
- Dashie and Shadow’s enthusiastic chemistry makes the lengthy first-play experience consistently energetic.
- The discussion of linearity introduces a meaningful criticism instead of presenting the game as completely beyond question.
Cons
- Shadow’s 10/10 judgment comes far too early to function as a comprehensive review of the full game.
- Disabling blood and dismemberment prevents the session from demonstrating an important part of Wolverine’s intended combat presentation.
- Frequent jokes, shouting, and control experimentation sometimes prevent interesting gameplay observations from developing into deeper analysis.
- Questions about linearity, exploration, side content, and long-term combat variety remain unresolved by the limited portion played.
Pairing an exuberant host with a lifelong Wolverine enthusiast produces an entertaining first look whose greatest value is seeing how the game’s characterization and details land with an invested fan. The early combat, lore, and presentation inspire genuine excitement, although the brief slice shown cannot support the same certainty as Shadow’s perfect score.
