Director of Marvel’s Wolverine Responds After Extended Gameplay Footage Sparks Backlash
The director of Marvel’s Wolverine, Mike Daly, opened up about the recent backlash toward the game after its extended gameplay showcase drew criticism online.
Fans got a better look at Insomniac’s upcoming PS5 exclusive earlier this week, which showed off some story beats, character interactions, traversal, combat, and even a boss fight against a Sentinel.
Since the internet is the way it is, this gameplay footage was instantly subject to intense scrutiny, sparking no end of criticism from players online. There’s a bevy of viral posts poking fun at this most recent footage, some of which I’ve included down below.
Logan, remember to use your adamantium vision to sniff out his trail of wolverine™️ particles https://t.co/vTQssKxGA3— Space ☆ Bruce (@spacebruce) August 13, 2026
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Logan, remember to use your adamantium vision to sniff out his trail of wolverine™️ particles https://t.co/vTQssKxGA3
Why does Sabertooth sound exactly like this https://t.co/g8l4uFYUfT pic.twitter.com/a5o46PpcZa— Deacon (@crowdeacon) August 16, 2026
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Why does Sabertooth sound exactly like this https://t.co/g8l4uFYUfT pic.twitter.com/a5o46PpcZa
Logan following a red scent trail to catch The Hand was one major talking point among critics (instantly sparking comparisons to the divisive yellow paint that often guides players in modern games), as was a heated argument between Wolverine and Sabertooth (people weren’t happy with the voice acting here) and the aforementioned Sentinel boss fight.
One particularly damning tweet compared footage from this brawl to a boss fight in the 2007 PS2 game Ben 10: Protector of Earth (why is Ben 10 catching strays?), while another bemoaned that it was too similar to the 2009 X-Men Origins game from nearly 20 years ago.
Marvel Wolverine game's Giant Sentinel fight draws Ben 10 comparisonsMany spot clear similarities to Ben 10: Protector of Earth, prompting complaints about overused boss designs in action gamespic.twitter.com/bR21DsxAd7— Beebom Gaming (@beebomgaming) August 14, 2026
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Marvel Wolverine game's Giant Sentinel fight draws Ben 10 comparisonsMany spot clear similarities to Ben 10: Protector of Earth, prompting complaints about overused boss designs in action gamespic.twitter.com/bR21DsxAd7
X-Men Origins: Wolverine's Sentinel boss fight was way crazier and more interesting, while Insomniac Games designed a common, dull boss fight in Marvel's Wolverine.X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 17-year-old game. 💀 pic.twitter.com/fTafQPMTi2— Raion Sensi (@RaionSensi) August 15, 2026
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X-Men Origins: Wolverine's Sentinel boss fight was way crazier and more interesting, while Insomniac Games designed a common, dull boss fight in Marvel's Wolverine.X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 17-year-old game. 💀 pic.twitter.com/fTafQPMTi2
These criticisms did not go unnoticed. Speaking with TheGamer, director Mike Daly seemed to be at peace with the backlash, even welcoming it as a sign that the studio is doing something right.
In a somewhat concerning admission, Daly said that Insomniac is “pretty used to” these kinds of responses, calling it a “good problem to have” and remarking that such reactions “come with the territory” when making games based on people's favorite superheroes. And while he knows that Insomniac can make a “great game that a lot of people love,” it won’t stop critics from “finding stuff to complain about.”
“I rest easy about this, knowing that our goal for the game wasn't necessarily to accomplish these things that people complain about. Our goal really was to focus completely on making the best game for the character,” Daly said.
IGN also got the chance to sit down with Insomniac for a massive interview all about the game, with insights into combat, hardware performance, and much more. And while the general internet populace seems to feel negatively about what they’ve seen thus far, our hands-on with the game left us with a mostly positive impression.
IGN’s Mitchell Saltzman remarked that Wolverine’s combat “absolutely nails the spirit of Wolverine and is very fundamentally sound,” saying he was “impressed” with what he played, but noted that it’s still unclear if the gameplay will “hold up over the course of the entire campaign.”
Marvel’s Wolverine releases on September 15, 2026 exclusively on PlayStation 5.
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.