Marvel’s Wolverine is the next action-adventure title from Insomniac Games, and features Logan rejoining Team X in a bid to protect mutants. There’s plenty of combat-focused action, but there are also things you might not know before you play.
We’ve got plenty of tips to help you in your quests as Wolverine, including combat pointers, how best to explore each area, the systems and mechanics to pay attention to, and more.
Parrying is key
If you’re anything like me, mentioning parrying in a game fills you with a small but very real sense of dread. The timing, the precision, and the pressure are all things that throw me off, but in Marvel’s Wolverine it’s a pretty vital mechanic to master if you’re going to get the satisfying flow of combat going. In some encounters, it’s near-impossible to overcome your opponent without some successful parrying. With enough parries, you can even stagger enemies, which will allow you to counter them with follow-up attacks and pummel them with Wolverine’s abilities.
However, it’s also vital to note that power attacks cannot be parried. You’ll know if a power attack is incoming because you’ll see a red flash, so make sure to dodge out of the way, and time it well, since you can’t seamlessly execute continuous dodges.
Use Wolverine’s Adaptations
Adaptations are the in-game name for Wolverine’s skills, and you can acquire them using the AP you get from Nightmare Doors, or collecting Whiskey Bottles from anywhere in the game. I noticed on more than one occasion that combat was notably improved after remembering to equip a recently-unlocked Adaptation. You’ll want to focus on Adaptations such as Expanded Crit to significantly boost your chances of landing Critical Strikes.
Smash everything!
It took me a little while to notice these, and I wish I’d spotted them sooner. There are blue crates scattered throughout the world, and smashing them rewarded me with XP. This is also true of the statues with red eyes that are littered throughout the missions. There are around 10-20 of these in each mission, so it’s a reliable method of gaining XP. You can build XP to earn Technique Points, which is pretty handy, since Techniques have a huge effect on the way your fights play out.
Use your Technique Points
Speaking of which, another tip you shouldn’t ignore is to remember to use your Technique Points. These can be used to acquire Wolverine’s attacks, and you can equip whichever ones you like based on your preferred style of combat. You can earn XP toward Technique Points by defeating enemies, smashing the crates and statues mentioned above, listening to Audio Logs, and examining mementos. If you preordered the game you’ll get one Technique Point for the Standard Edition, or 3 Technique Points for the Digital Deluxe Edition right from the beginning of the game. From the outset, Tornado Spin was a valuable Technique that allows you to easily wipe out a few enemies in a horde situation, while Healing Strike means Logan can reliably top up health throughout a fight. There’s no shortage of Technique Points, so you don’t need to worry about saving them up for something “better.”
Prioritize Leaders and Snipers
When you start to get into the main bones of the story, you’ll notice enemies with a red skull above their heads. These enemies are Leaders, and have the ability to call for backup in a fight. They’re more difficult to take down, but the longer they stay alive, the more reinforcements they can call in, running the risk of Wolverine getting overrun with opponents.
Similarly, when you’re in outdoor settings especially, the Reaver Snipers are a hassle. They’ve got red laser sights making them easy to spot, but they’re just a pain to deal with when you’re swarmed with on-foot enemies. With a good line of sight, they can deal an immense amount of damage from range. If you’re mastered dodging, it sounds easy enough on paper, but when you’re paying attention to close-range melee enemies, a sniper is the last thing you want to be trying to avoid.
Unlock the Nightmare Trials
While these might appear at a point in the story that has you riveted and unwilling to deviate to complete the trial itself, it’s worth going into the Nightmare Doors as soon as you find them so that you can unlock the Trial itself. Then you can go back to the Nightmare Cabin when it suits you and complete the trial. Without doing this, you’ll have to restart the mission and find the door again. However, Nightmare Gauntlets are a bit trickier, and I found it easier to wait until I had leveled up Logan quite substantially before taking them on.
Use the Rage system to your advantage
The Rage system is a key combat mechanic, and works on a system of three levels. To build Rage, you’ll need to damage and kill enemies, parry attacks, and perform Barrages. You can lose Rage when you’re not actively doing any of these things, although in the second and third tiers it will naturally decay anyway. You’ll also lose Rage when you’re in Last Stand mode, which is only available in Rage Tier 2 or 3, and gives you the option to revive by tapping square.
Working your way up the Rage tiers gives Logan more benefits and boosts in comba.t In Tier 2, you can deal more damage when using combo finishers, and in Tier 3 you’ll have the most outgoing damage. You can also use Critical Strikes in Tier 3–instant-kill attacks that can take down staggered or intimidated enemies, or enemies with low health.
Take your time
I went into Marvel’s Wolverine with the same approach as most other action games–I button-mashed my way through combat, and then wondered why I wasn’t getting very far. When I decided to take a moment, examine the enemy patterns, and remember all of Logan’s skills and abilities, I had a far better experience. Wolverine can dodge and parry even when you’re executing complex combination attacks, so use that to your advantage. Keep an eye out for the flashes that indicate incoming attacks you can parry or ones you need to dodge, and make sure to counter where possible.
You can toggle Logan’s cowl
If you’re a fan of Wolverine’s suits but would prefer to see Logan’s pretty face, you can actually toggle the cowl on or off. In the Suits menu, press triangle, and it will be removed. This also works with hats.
Now that you’ve got our best tips for Marvel’s Wolverine, check out our review, where GameSpot’s Tamoor Hussain said that the game “only aims as high as its stout hero,” but added that “Insomniac doesn’t make bad games and Wolverine certainly isn’t one.”
