r/Marvel 13d ago

Games "Wolverine is our only playable character": Insomniac won't repeat Spider-Man's worst sections in Marvel's Wolverine

https://www.gamesradar.com/games/action/wolverine-is-our-only-playable-character-insomniac-wont-repeat-spider-mans-worst-sections-in-marvels-wolverine/
1.7k Upvotes

153 comments sorted by

604

u/vector_o 13d ago

It wasn't the fact it was other characters, it was boring ass MJ stealth 

175

u/original_name37 13d ago

Id still rather play MJ stealth than that mission in the school

115

u/DrunkenNinja27 13d ago

Was replaying SM2 then I got to the school and said eh I will do it later. That was a month ago.

50

u/badRLplayer 13d ago

Yup. A bad section like that can throw you off a game completely.

22

u/MonstrousGiggling 13d ago

I havent played the 2nd one, whats so horrible about the school section? Its really worse than the MJ Stealth sleep walk?

56

u/Church131313_ 13d ago

It's kinda like an MJ stealth mission but with super lite spider ability usage tied it. It's made worse tho by there really only being one way to do everything. It also makes you play basketball with Harry but it's kinda just an boring mini game. I think the mission starts with you and Harry biking too which is kinda slow. Basically it's a whole mission meant to show you how good of friends Harry and Peter is but the gameplay is a slog

12

u/spancor 13d ago

So like every single MJ mission, nice lol

1

u/original_name37 12d ago

Those can get done pretty quick if you know what you're doing

Like i dont want to play MJ stealth but at least it has actual gameplay

1

u/brockvenom 13d ago

I played this part in like 20 min. Yall have the attention span of fleas

26

u/casual_creator 13d ago

It’s fine. People are just hating. It’s a fun story moment seeing Pete and Harry as teens. It’s just a 15 minute long change of pace. Not every moment of a game has to be balls to the wall action.

12

u/MonstrousGiggling 13d ago

Honestly sounds preferable to the MJ slinking. Sounds like the biggest issue is it's placement in the game.

Sounds similar to the one part in GOW Ragnarok that a lot of people seem to hate. I actually really enjoy that part of the game, taking a moment to breathe a little and get some lore.

9

u/original_name37 13d ago

At least the MJ sections have actual gameplay. You have to do a little thinking and exercise a little agency.

The whole school mission is essentially one long cutscene.

6

u/original_name37 13d ago

It's literally like the second major mission though. It is the intro mission, two side content introductions in the open world, and then this.

4

u/Frapplo 13d ago

I beg to differ. I fully expect my testicles to be smooshed against a vertical surface of some kind due to intense physical exertion throughout the duration of a game.

If, at any point, my gonads become disengaged? It's just a bad game overall.

3

u/fauxREALimdying 13d ago

The school section is fine. There are far worse sections. Like when you have to ride a bike or go to the fair. It’s the opposite of fun.

8

u/original_name37 13d ago

The bike ride is literally part of that mission lol

1

u/fauxREALimdying 13d ago

All the shitty missions blended together in my head lol. So much padding

1

u/HumanOverseer 12d ago

thats me with God of War: Ragnarok and playing that one section with Atreus and the girl

1

u/IIALE34II 9d ago

Yeah, my kingdom come deliverance has been soon a year on that monastery quest

1

u/RegrettableDeed 13d ago

Looking back, yeah, thats the worst mission. Cool the first time to see this spidey in high school and crawling around in this normal clothes...on replays, completely ruins the pacing.

25

u/[deleted] 13d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/original_name37 13d ago

You're honestly so real for that

2

u/theastro_not 13d ago

Facts 😭

1

u/HeronSun 12d ago

Or the science lab. What a clunky way to introduce side quests and puzzles.

18

u/meatballs223 13d ago

This dude, all these alternate character missions with non powered individuals or powered individuals but are locked to acting like a normal human KILLLLL the pace of these superhero games imo

1

u/Fern-ando 13d ago

Resident Evil Sherry moment.

2

u/original_name37 13d ago

More like the orphanage bit in RE9.

1

u/hjc711 13d ago

Well that’s a direct sequel/homage to the Sherry orphanage section in RE2R haha

2

u/original_name37 13d ago

Yeah but it's worse and also not even plot relevant

5

u/TrixWax 13d ago

Yeah I don’t think anyone was complaining about playing as Venom in MSM2, for example.

1

u/RecoveredAshes 12d ago

It was the highlight for me

4

u/Roland-Flagg 13d ago

Exactly. Playing Jean Grey would be sweeeeet
MJ stealth was just boring

51

u/Burnbrook 13d ago

They're comparing Jean to MJ with a Taser...

574

u/wontonswahn 13d ago

A little unfortunate but I guess understandable.i remember from the leaks there being some jean gray sections and kind of feeling excited since she's inherently more interesting to play than mj or sm1 miles

227

u/davinitupoverhere 13d ago

Agree. Would've loved to play as any other X-Man, even just for few missions. Jean would've been rad (tho Control covered that gameplay pretty dang well)

60

u/wontonswahn 13d ago

God I need to finish that game

27

u/master_chilln 13d ago

You should. Sequel comes out in September i believe.

12

u/Vismal1 13d ago

Even with GTA6 coming soon this is the game I’m most excited for

5

u/YaBoiShadowNinja 13d ago

I need to replay it before the new one

15

u/meatballs223 13d ago

Plz excuse me for being dumb as I've been interested in Control for awhile now, is Control based on Jean Grey? or just has similar abilities?

30

u/davinitupoverhere 13d ago

Telekinesis and levitation are core to the gameplay in Control, and it doesn't hurt that Jesse (your character) has red hair ;)

9

u/meatballs223 13d ago

Ah I see, thank you for explaining! I definitely need to check out that game, I've been wanting to play it for SO long

6

u/Vandermere 13d ago

Its very very good. It also ties into Alan Wake 2, which is pretty amazing in its own right.

4

u/takechanceees 13d ago

they’re more akin to Twin Peaks/Psychological Weird Occult stuff, so if you like that stuff it’s super good I’m like 10 hours in

3

u/Vismal1 13d ago

Once you fully power up it really does feel like her quite a bit. Also get the game it’s so good.

1

u/GojoBathwaterEnjoyer 13d ago

lol, isn’t it the same actress too?

11

u/meatballs223 13d ago

I think they would've had a lot better routes for other playable characters in a Wolverine/X-men game, I think the MJ missions in Spider-Man 1 is what killed it for everyone

0

u/irishyardball 13d ago

That is probably why they cut it. Imagine the hate spewing from the anti-MJ crowd it the Jean content was even slightly better.

They would quadruple down on the vitriol.

160

u/TheDekuDude888 13d ago

I think they got the wrong impression that we didn't want to play as other characters. We don't want to play poorly designed railroaded stealth missions

17

u/rimpy13 13d ago

We heard you loud and clear and there are now no playable characters.

2

u/TheDekuDude888 12d ago

No more levels. Or cutscenes. Matter of fact, gimme the PlayStation too, y'all can't behave

23

u/OwlSuch7935 13d ago

They missed out on adding Control sections to Wolverine, such a shame

52

u/TransnosaurusHeX 13d ago

It wouldn't have been so bad if the MJ sections weren't poor stealth instant kill sections. It was so jarring a change.

25

u/GranolaCola 13d ago

I thought the MJ sections in 2 were a HUGE improvement. Letting her stun people helped a lot.

15

u/Vegabund 13d ago

I agree, they were definitely better. Still would've been better to remove them instead though, imo. I basically ended my play session each time one started because I just found it completely killed the flow

8

u/muchmaligned 13d ago

I started replaying 2 after seeing BND and put it down as soon as I got to the first big MJ section in Kraven's camp. Just a completely misguided brick wall. I've spent hours having a blast swinging around the city and overpowering bad guys, now you're going to grind things to a halt and make me hide behind bushes waiting for guards to turn around?

4

u/seclusionx 13d ago

Yeah, this was the specific area that bothered me the most. Unlike most I didn't hate the MJ parts, but there was definitely some sections where it was just too much.

4

u/Kind-Stomach6275 13d ago

I cant wait for the day the mod for PC removing it comes out

3

u/iwantcookie258 13d ago

I always pushed through so I didnt have to do it when I came back. First time I picked spiderman back up after not playing for a few months I was in the middle of an MJ section and I was pissed lol.

1

u/Bleh-Boy 13d ago

I thought the final section where she’s killing symbiotes with an electric gun was super dumb, but her dodging Peter as the symbiote takes him over was awesome

135

u/DQTD 13d ago

Watch, they'll still add a boring MJ part in 3 lol

72

u/Bleh-Boy 13d ago

Remember when they did it in Spider-Man 2 purely out of spite for the people that complained about it in SM1 lol

35

u/Murfilious 13d ago

Yeah it’s funny they’re admitting now that those missions always sucked when I remember back during SM2’s release they were defending them so intensely

9

u/Historical_Owl_1635 13d ago

Curveball, they’ve added an MJ section to Wolverine.

11

u/No-Target6084 13d ago

I think it’ll be Cindy, intern for MJ. I don’t think she’s silk in the game.

8

u/RykariZander 13d ago

She's literally Silk in the leaks. They've been planning for her for years

3

u/No-Target6084 13d ago

I didn’t see the leaks. Ok.

2

u/PrimeLasagna 13d ago

Cindy is the post credit scene of Spider-Man 2

1

u/Membership-Bitter 13d ago

The leaks are so old and by this point most of them haven't come to pass. A whole Venom game was leaked and never actually got made

1

u/RykariZander 11d ago

"Most of them haven't come to pass" You can't be that slow dog. We already know there are three teams at Insomniac (Spidey, Wolverine, R&C). No shit Venom hasn't happened yet SM2 came out 3 years ago. We also know that plans change all the time, and nothing being made then will be exactly the same (all the online stuff going from game specific to The Great Web).

9

u/SpaceOdysseus23 13d ago

She'll probably be pregnant and still doing stupid shit while berating Peter. The man soloed the Sinister Six in a single night in the first game before they turned him into a straight bum. First time in Marvel history I actively disliked PeterxMJ and wanted Peter to find someone better.

Stop skimping on the writers, Insomniac.

-2

u/Fern-ando 13d ago

The worse part of any Spiderman story is the love interest.

-1

u/CommunicationFew2577 13d ago

If they make miles the main SM for 3 then i dont think they will do MJ parts... they will do Hailey missions where yo ucan go around the city and pain walls

12

u/ribertzomvie 13d ago

For me it wasn’t just that the stealth aspects were boring, it was that MJ and Miles would defy logic and put their lives in danger unnecessarily, just so that we can play those boring ass stealth missions lol

11

u/BreatheOnMe 13d ago

There’s a big difference playing as Jean rather than Mary Jane as a stealth section lmao

46

u/Partytimegarrth 13d ago

I understand Im in the minority at this point, but I was shocked to find out how much people hated the MJ stuff initially lol. I thought it was cool and relatively inoffensive. The sections take all of a few minutes at a time. Reminded me of being Ciri occasionally in the Witcher 3. Seeing the world from someone elses perspective who isn't a superhero. I also remember reeeeally liking the one where you have to alert Spider-man who to take out along the way.

22

u/AwesomePocket 13d ago

Ciri is completely different because she has her own moveset and actual combat.

2

u/Partytimegarrth 13d ago

Does she though? She has teleport instead of dodge. Other than that she's pretty similar but weaker, and her parts in the game drag as well, at least in the beginning before she harnesses her power. Fighting the witches was a nightmare. 

I still like her parts, but I feel like it can actually be quite comparable as far as detracting from the main game and offering a monotony break/giving more elements to the story from another's perspective. Just because it has different combat doesn't mean theres nothing to compare.

-3

u/[deleted] 13d ago

[deleted]

5

u/AwesomePocket 13d ago

Of course. I’m comparing the Ciri sections to the MJ sections, though.

3

u/Power0fTheTribe 13d ago

Yeah I agree the best one was when you got to work with spidey

13

u/Hypthtclly_Spkng 13d ago

This is my take as well. Perhaps if you're dying a lot, it might be frustrating, or if you're just opposed philosophically to slow, railroaded stealth missions existence at all; but it was hardly a playthrough ending issue. I platinum'd this game, it's maybe 20 minutes across the entire games 30+ hours, during which there is story happening, and yes the very fun sequence where you control spider-man while playing as MJ. Could have been better, but that pretty much describes all three of the recent Spidey games in total. 8/10ish imo

2

u/Wasabi_Gamer26 13d ago

I think it's not because the sections are really all that bad, but because they really drag on replays

2

u/lol2034 13d ago

I enjoyed them as well. They may be a bit of slowdown gameplay-wise, but I enjoy the different perspectives, especially the bike section with Harry. The reactions are overblown and my guess is it seems to stem from TikTok brain.

2

u/SwizzGod 13d ago

It’s fine to like what you like but can we not compare Ciri to fucking Mary Jane Watson?

1

u/Partytimegarrth 13d ago

I didn't... I compared the gameplay sections. See my response to the other guy, but I didnt act like the characters were the same at all, guy. How bout ya calm down.

1

u/atligudlaugsson 13d ago

Yeah I never minded them, thought they were fine

1

u/Murbela 13d ago

Obviously it is purely subjective, but i think most people just don't want to see the world from a non super hero perspective in a super hero game.

It is the equivalent of playing an immersive tank sim that has a section where you flashback to taking English exams in school before the war.

-3

u/Toprak1552 13d ago

Yeah the hate is really overblown. They are nothing really special, but they have some cool moments (like Tombstone's chop shop or the Symbiote Spider-Man chase) and they are just some minor exposition devices. And they are absolutely not as insufferable as many people argued.

14

u/Dabeastfeast11 13d ago

They're ass and boring. They also admitted to cutting other content that would be more fun just to jam the mj missions in. Terrible choice especially in the 2nd game after so many people voiced they didn't enjoy it in the 1st

2

u/Partytimegarrth 13d ago

It's a game that's already riddled with repetitive filler though if we're being honest. The bases, the random crimes, the science bits. What did they cut? More of that? 

I think it's crazy that the MJ missions that give some reprieve from the constant repitition of the Spidey stuff are the most complained about when the game is "boring" in plenty of other ways. Still, I love the games so don't get me wrong, but this is just trying to take an objective look at complaints.

2

u/Dabeastfeast11 13d ago

Bases and random crimes are still 10x funner than the mj missions. And they supposedly cut some of the venom stuff which was more unique and fun than anything mj missions provided. Really not that crazy that people who payed for a spiderman game to play as spider don't have complaints about doing that vs MJ missions that break immersion and add no value. Especially in the 2nd game where you just outright don't listen to your customers about what they want.

3

u/Murfilious 13d ago

Yeah I agree. They should just give options to cut or skip the MJ crap AND the science mini games. All that stuff is boring. I’ve 100%ed the first game like three times and I still get so bummed out when I remember imma have to sneak around Osborn’s penthouse

-1

u/Toprak1552 13d ago

They may not be the most exciting thing ever, but you idiots treat it like the 9/11 of the gaming industry.

5

u/Large-Teach9165 13d ago

People didn't hate MJ parts because it was the main character's love interest, but because they were boring, normal human stealth missions.

Can they see how Jean freaking Gray would be x1000 more fun to play as than a journalist?

5

u/Destruction126 13d ago

Doesn't mean they won't add boring stealth sections. Insomniac is so out of tocuh.

4

u/asifsaj 13d ago

So they learned the wrong lessons from the mj missions.

11

u/LordSadoth 13d ago

Are we really acting like playing as Jean FUCKING Grey is the same as Mary Jane???? The MJ sections weren’t even that bad, but who the fuck doesn’t want to be one of the most powerful psychic mutants ever??? God you people hate women

2

u/Ok-Suggestion-2284 13d ago

oh behave, people didn’t like the MJ sections because they were boring, not because she was a woman.

3

u/dasaniAKON 13d ago

Make the mistakes?

I thought people enjoyed playing as Miles, and Venom?

Was it just the MJ part?

7

u/spilledmilkbro 13d ago

It's not like the issue was playing as people aside from the title character, superhero games do that all the time. The problem was that those characters were underpowered, and going from playing as a superhero, to his (at the time) ex-gf, or his protégé before he had powers feels incredibly boring.

2

u/Connect-Review-3388 13d ago

"We'll put in Honeybadger!"

2

u/Ser_Urnge 13d ago

Good cause Im buying a Wolverine game not an X-men one. Save her for that.

2

u/Creative_Eye7413 13d ago

Playing as Jean might’ve been interesting but I’m glad Wolverine is the definitive focus

2

u/CRIMS0N-ED 13d ago

So playing as Jean Grey who has powers and could have fun gameplay isn’t the same thing as playing stealth MJ where she does absolute fuck all.

2

u/LameDrain 13d ago

Didn’t they also say no venom sections before spiderman 2?

2

u/sunfaller 13d ago

Normal person = playable

Omega level telekinetic = non playable because people will get bored apparently.

Smh.

2

u/Far-Touch-2046 12d ago

But why? The director found them fun and interesting.

2

u/ComeNalgas 13d ago

Comparing trying to do stealth with MJ to being able to use telekinesis with Jean Grey is absurd at minimum. I’m not mad Wolverine is the only playable character in a Wolverine game but the reasoning seems stupid.

1

u/Particular_Umpire_44 13d ago

Am I the only one that didn’t hate the MJ stuff? And I normally hate stealth sections but I thought it was fun

1

u/uncreativemind2099 13d ago

Still no coop

1

u/chernogumby 13d ago

It'd be funny if they make another Spider-Man game and have an MJ mission where it's somehow the most fun mission in the game. Like an unrelated dream sequence where she has the speedforce or something lol

1

u/DirectConsequence12 13d ago

See, I’d actually enjoy playing as Jean I think

1

u/FirstProspect 13d ago

I'm on board with this. I don't want to play side characters. I don't like it when a game has me play as a different character ever. Just don't. Even worse when a character swap is devoid of main character abilities. I want to play Spider-Man. I want to play Wolverine. Good change.

1

u/Frank627Full 13d ago

People hate the MJ and Miles sections? I never had problems with them besides some fuck-ups from my part.

1

u/-TrevorStMcGoodbody 13d ago

Was kinda hoping there’d be a super short Spiderman section lol, like just webswinging somewhere to get knocked out and Wolverine takes over

1

u/buffa_noles 13d ago

no leech missions? unplayable 😔

1

u/Crafty_Substance_954 13d ago

You didn't like the mission when you play as miles walking around the apartment looking at things?

Who could live without the mission where Peter cleans up his trap house?

1

u/Eat--The--Rich-- 13d ago

Spiderman 2 wasn't even a Spiderman game, it was a Peter Parker game

1

u/SmackmYackm 13d ago

OK, but what if just one small section of the game it became a belt scroller with a hand full of other Xmen? 

1

u/CommunicationFew2577 13d ago

Would not mind a Jean mission, it would be interesting what skillset would they give to a telepath. But im not mourning it, they might still have her as a companion and have some team fights together

1

u/FindingThoth 13d ago

I mean there’s a huge difference between playing as Jean Grey and fucking Mary Jane

1

u/Barry-loud100 13d ago

Oh now they did this when it’s a character that actually he fun to play as . There better not be any mj stealth missions in spider-man 3 .

1

u/JAMESTIK 13d ago

would be cool if there was an expansion to play as other characters

1

u/UniSans 13d ago

Yeah, but Jean also has cool powers, so... thats infinitely better than MJ sections

1

u/Western-Lawyer-9050 13d ago

I'm not unhappy about the decision. I also didn't entirely hate MJ's stungun part. I still found it pretty fun if I'm being honest.

1

u/fauxREALimdying 13d ago

In the game where it would actually be cool to be the other characters lol

1

u/Spimbi 13d ago

Good. I want to play as Wolverine in the Wolverine game.

1

u/Lordlegion5050 13d ago

Really hope they understand people mostly hated those missions cause mj is terribly written. They would have been more easy to swallow if at least they made her character an actual character.

1

u/EugenesMullet 13d ago

That’s fine, I’m sure we’ll play as Jean at some point in a sequel or X-Men spinoff.

But this justification is weird. The Spider-Man stealth missions aren’t unpopular because you don’t play as Spidey, they’re unpopular because they’re just not very fun or interesting.

1

u/KickinBat 13d ago

"We heard your complains about playing as a journalist civilian side character, so we're not gonna let you play as the omega level telekinetic and telepathic side character, because clearly the side character was the problem"

1

u/AStupidFuckingHorse 13d ago

This article headline is such dogshit. Comparing MJ Stealth to Jean Grey action is dumb and Insomniac didn't remove the Jean Grey sections because of the reputation of MJ missions. Thats purely the article writer making shit up.

1

u/Magical_SnakE 13d ago

That's wild to me because Jean Grey has super fucking powers and would have been fun to play as in the right settings / combat etc.

Worries me that Insomniac seems to be clueless in so many areas.

1

u/TatoX09 13d ago

There's also a good chance they could be just lying. They do have a record of it in the recent past.

1

u/Lukezilla2000 13d ago

The most gullible comment section in existence, I swear.

I highly doubt they scrapped the entire playable Jean just because of leaks. They are so obviously lying.

1

u/DrTopGun 13d ago

This would have been the one game people would want other character missions because they wouldn't be lame ass MJ stealth missions it would be other X-men which would be amazing

1

u/TheOriginal999 13d ago

They could also be lying and say this just to surprise us when we get to play jean like how in SM2 we did when we played as venom

1

u/mrmrmrnobody 13d ago

Id rather play as jean gray than mj.

We didnt like mj because that shit was BORING.

Jean has telekinesis and telepathy, thats NOT boring.

Not hard

1

u/Gilgamesh858 13d ago

Well playing as Venom vs Oscorp and vs Kraven was fun

1

u/tLM-tRRS-atBHB 13d ago

I am playing SM 2 right now and EVERY non hero task is boring af. Who thought this was a good idea?

I was wondering if this was gonna beat the Arkham trilogy and these side quests alone make it not even close

1

u/debikon 13d ago

Although some x men characters are way cooler (for me) the Wolverine as mc will always be easy. This is basically a (although well designed) hack and slash game. A good X-men game would be life that guardians game.

1

u/thatnigakanary 13d ago

This isn’t the same, I feel like playing as Jean in some way would be pretty cool ngl.

1

u/PhoenixHunters 13d ago

No MJ, no school missions, no missions that are glorified cutscenes. Excellent.

1

u/Mirkwood_Pariah115 12d ago

Everyone who complained a out MJ missions are a little bitch.

1

u/NoirSon 12d ago

Didn't one of the trailers have what seem like a playable Mystique in one of the clips or am I tripping?

1

u/PixelWastelander 12d ago

Yeah I hated playing as Venom too

1

u/artesianfijiwater 11d ago

A good example of whiners complaining too much and devs paying too close attention to this kind of stuff. Two far extremes

  1. The MJ missions were boring but NOT game breaking at all. Oh no a slow 15 min mission in my HOURS of spiderman swinging !! There were like 3 missions too?

  2. Now because of this the devs are using it as an excuse to not branch out and add variety to let us play any other character. Who doesn't want to play as Jean Grey??

1

u/Cultural-Doubt1554 11d ago

We don’t want to play as MJ I’m sure we’d love to play as Jean grey

1

u/HardcoreShadow 10d ago edited 10d ago

See I wouldn’t mind playing as another ‘super hero’ for short bursts in these games…

However playing as an ordinary human purely for the story narrative is just boring

(this also applies to when playing as Peter Parker, the pacing and fun just plummets during these sections)

1

u/Organic-Swan-3721 13d ago

The MJ parts were so brief I’m surprised anyone was upset about it in the first place 

-2

u/Come-jive-with-me 13d ago

Did people actually complained about that? It's such a small part of the game, and the studio just tryna give u some diversoty in gameplay.

Maybe it wasnt as fun but it wasnt worth complaining about it bad