A More Linear Marvel’s Wolverine Could Be the Right Fit for This PS5 Exclusive

According to leaker @legionlooterana, Insomniac Games’ PS5-exclusive Marvel’s Wolverine may not follow the open-world template of the Spider-Man games, instead leaning toward a “wide-linear” structure closer to God of War or Tomb Raider. Insomniac has not officially commented on the game’s specifics so far, but judging by the response online, that direction has already won over a large number of players.

If superhero games are treated as a container for different kinds of play, then Spider-Man and Marvel’s Wolverine were never built for the same structure. A huge part of Spider-Man’s appeal comes from moving through the city itself; traversal is the content. Wolverine’s appeal is different: close-range pressure, brutal melee, and pushing forward after taking damage. One naturally fits an open-world playground, while the other is better served by tightly arranged combat spaces, stealth sections, and story beats. That is why many players have backed this idea, with some saying Spider-Man’s movement practically requires an open world, while Wolverine clearly is not the kind of hero who should be aimlessly roaming city streets, making a God of War-style approach a better match.

From a development standpoint, the shift also looks like a smart reallocation of resources. Dropping a massive city map that needs constant content population and real-time rendering would let the team put more into character models, lighting, environmental atmosphere, combat feedback, and fine detail. For a game like Marvel’s Wolverine, which appears to hinge on visceral hand-to-hand action and narrative intensity, level density matters more than map size. Open worlds often dilute the main story with repetitive side content, while a wide-linear format can keep exploration within controlled limits and make every route, every fight, and every scripted sequence feel more deliberate. More controlled level design would also make it easier to stage striking scripted moments and strengthen the story’s emotional impact.

That helps explain why some players are tying their hopes to something closer to The Last of Us: not a bigger map, but a denser, more immersive narrative experience. Some longtime players also felt that the open-world content after finishing the main story in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 became somewhat dull. Seen in that light, if Insomniac is deliberately moving away from that model for Marvel’s Wolverine, it feels less like a limitation and more like a disciplined design choice: less sprawl, more high-quality set pieces.

Wide-linear does not have to mean conservative, either. At its best, it works like a controlled sandbox. Players can still explore, take detours, and uncover hidden encounters or narrative fragments, while the developers retain a firm grip on pacing and progression. The result is usually not less freedom, but less wasted time. For a character like Wolverine, that kind of structure may fit far better than empty patrol spaces or checklist-driven collecting.

My take is that if this report is accurate, Marvel’s Wolverine is making a promising turn. It may not rely on traversal and world scale the way Spider-Man does, but it could achieve a different kind of superhero-game polish through stronger level control, tighter pacing, and more focused combat expression. For players already fatigued by the flood of open-world games, that may be the smartest move it could make.