Summary
Insomniac Games seems to be setting itself up as the home of Marvel video games, and hopefully it can stick the landing. While it has shown fans that it knows how to handleMarvel’s Spider-Man, its next project will be its real test.Marvel’s Wolverinewill not only put a more mature superhero at the forefront, but it will also have to tell an extremely different type of story that may bedarker than Insomniac’s previous outings. Not much is known about the project yet, but the studio will need to ensure it gets everything right.
The story ofMarvel’s Wolverineis incredibly important, but so is the sound design and ambiance of its world.Marvel’s Spider-Manwas able to capture the feeling of being Peter Parker swinging through the streets of New York City incredibly well, and hopefully Insomniac Games can do the same for Wolverine. As long as it gets the most important sound bites and effects right, it should have no problem bringing the powerful mutant back to the video game scene.
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Wolverine Needs to Sound Perfect
Marvel’s Spider-ManandMarvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Moralesdid a great job at replicating Spidey’s most iconic noises. The web shooters sounded real, the web swinging felt lifelike, and the quips helped add to the world immensely. It was one of the best adaptations of the character in a while and is one of the main reasons that the franchise is as popular as it is. It is one of the few games that has truly captured the essence of the character, and it seems likeMarvel’s Spider-Man 2will continue that trend. Marvel fans have now put a lot of faith in Insomniac Games do to it all over again with Wolverine, but that requires a different set of skills.
Wolverine is almost nothing like Spider-Man, and that is the most apparent when looking at the way both characters fight. Spidey uses webs and acrobatics to take down his foes whileWolverine is much more brutaland up close with his enemies. He spends most of his time slashing through hordes of foes with his claws and taking countless punches as he does. This brutality helps set him apart from most Marvel characters and is one reason fans have fallen in love with him. Insomniac should be able to replicate that brutality, but it may be hard to actually make players feel like the character.
It may sound corny, butthe sound of Wolverine’s clawsis especially important to capturing the essence of the character. The iconic ‘schling’ noise has appeared in almost every version of the character on-screen, and there is no reasonMarvel’s Wolverineshould leave it out. The sound that occurs when his claws pop out of his knuckles as he prepares to take down his enemies is almost like the unsheathing of blades, and it lets everyone around him know that he means business.
Capturing the noise of Wolverine’s blades perfectly would go a long way in making players feel like the character. It is a noise that most Marvel fans imagine when they think of the character, and it would be a shame if Insomniac Games failed to replicate it. While it may not ruin the appeal of the game, it could limit the immersion ofmany Wolverine fans. If the trailer is anything to go by, then it seems Insomniac may have nailed it, but players will just have to wait for gameplay to get released before they know for sure.
Marvel’s Wolverineis currently in development for PS5
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