Marvel’s Wolverine finally has a release date of September 15, 2026, launching on the PS5 after what felt like an eternity of radio silence. Things certainly seem to be ramping up for Insomniac Games’ second major superhero endeavor, which, based on its most recent trailer, already seems like a much bloodier, more mature experience than Marvel’s Spider-Man.
Personally, I’m excited to see what Insomniac does with this darker and more gruesome story, as one of my biggest criticisms of the Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise is its often toothless writing. Of course, Spider-Man is meant to be more family-friendly, so I suppose it makes sense on some level. At any rate, Marvel’s Wolverine, despite its significant tonal departures, is confirmed to take place in the same universe as the Spider-Man games, shaping an Insomniac Gaming Universe, as it were. Because of the major shift in tone, it’s not likely that Marvel’s Wolverine will directly interact with Marvel’s Spider-Man, but the two franchises could overlap in other ways, including mechanically. For that reason, it’s wise to check out the Marvel’s Spider-Man games—doubly so if you’ve never played them before.
The following data is drawn from HowLongToBeat.com, a crowdsourced data aggregation website. As someone who has played each Marvel’s Spider-Man at least once, I can confirm the validity of the numbers.
Marvel’s Spider-Man
- Main story: 17 hours
- Main and sides: 25.5 hours
- Completionist: 35.5 hours
Insomniac’s first take on the wall-crawler is, interestingly enough, also its longest. At 17 hours, Spider-Man‘s main campaign is perfectly paced and doesn’t overstay its welcome. And while its side content isn’t exactly groundbreaking, the endlessly satisfying traversal and combat make every moment enjoyable, even if only on a conventional level.
Find all 10 pairs
Find all 10 pairs
Play Marvel’s Spider-Man If…
You want a good story. Of all three Insomniac Spider-Man games, the first Marvel’s Spider-Man has far and away the best narrative, with stakes and consequences that not only feel compelling and believable, but also perfect for the character of Spider-Man: Spider-Man is all about choosing between a regular life and the life of a superhero—Peter Parker isn’t a genius billionaire or Norse god, after all. Marvel’s Spider-Man captures this conflict beautifully.
On the gameplay side of things, Marvel’s Spider-Man holds up, although it’s understandably overshadowed by its successors, which further expand its mechanical sandbox. For these reasons, alongside the obvious narrative ones, Marvel’s Spider-Man is the best place to start if you’re new to the franchise.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Main story: 8 hours
- Main and sides: 12.5 hours
- Completionist: 18.5 hours
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales catches a lot of flak, and I can understand why. It’s considerably shorter than its predecessor, and features basically the exact same map, only with some nice winter-weather effects this time around. The story is arguably the weakest of the three as well, partially due to being awkwardly disconnected from the rest of the series, and partially because of its brevity. Even so, it’s a pretty great introduction to this rendition of Miles Morales, with deeper and more responsive traversal and combat thanks to his unique abilities.
Play Spider-Man Miles Morales If…
You want something short and sweet. This entry doesn’t really do anything better than Spider-Man 2 on the mechanical front, but in terms of pound-for-pound content, there’s not too much to complain about. There are still many who argue that $50 is too steep for this “half-sequel,” which is fair, but you can often catch it on sale.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Main story: 17 hours
- Main and extra: 23.5 hours
- Completionist: 28.5 hours
Lack of content is among the most common criticisms leveled against Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, as many players have found that it’s actually less time-consuming than the first game in the series. If you’re the type of player that wants to squeeze as much gameplay as possible out of a given title, then this might not be the most fulfilling, but it’s still well worth playing. In many ways, it’s the pinnacle of the franchise so far.
Play Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 If…
You want the best gameplay of the series. I certainly have my issues with Spider-Man 2 (narrative being chief among them), but in terms of raw, moment-to-moment gameplay, it has its predecessors absolutely wiped. You can play as both Peter and Miles here, each with his own unique skill set and missions/side activities to choose from, and the addition of features like the Web Wings and the parry mechanic add much-needed depth and variety.
Pressed for Time? Just Play Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Despite being shorter than the 2018 Spider-Man and having, in my opinion, a considerably weaker narrative, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is probably the best game to play ahead of Marvel’s Wolverine. Aside from having the best mechanics of the trilogy, it will probably do the best job of getting you up to speed on Insomniac’s Marvel lore, including elements that could appear in Wolverine. As Insomniac’s most recent game, Spider-Man 2 is also the most likely to represent the developer’s current creative approach, which may help prime players for Wolverine’s gameplay.
- Released
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September 15, 2026
- Publisher(s)
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Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Franchise
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Marvel
- Number of Players
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Single-player
