Wolverine Already Beats Spider-Man 2 Where It Matters Most at Launch

Marvel’s Wolverine is launching with New Game+ and level-select features available from day one—a stark contrast to Spider-Man 2’s infamous post-launch delays for similar content. Insomniac has confirmed both modes will be present at release, signaling a departure from the studio’s handling of these features in its Spider-Man titles.

What Insomniac Is Doing Differently This Time

The original Marvel’s Spider-Man added New Game+ roughly a month after launch, while Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 forced players to wait four months for the same feature. Spider-Man 2’s delay proved particularly frustrating because Insomniac had already established NG+ as standard for the series with the first game, making its absence at launch feel especially odd. When NG+ finally arrived in Spider-Man 2, it offered fairly minimal content: cosmetic unlocks and minor mechanical tweaks like Suit Tech Fusion, falling short of what dedicated players had anticipated during their lengthy wait.

Marvel’s Wolverine breaks this cycle by including both New Game+ and a separate level-select feature at day one. According to Insomniac’s confirmation, players won’t face another multi-month drought before accessing these modes.

The timing of Spider-Man 2’s NG+ delay hit particularly hard because the game itself launched without DLC support—unlike the first Spider-Man, which received three substantial story expansions within three months of release. This meant that in the time Spider-Man 2 players waited for NG+, the original game’s audience had already completed the base experience, replayed it with the new mode, and explored three full DLC campaigns.

Why This Matters for Wolverine’s Design

Marvel’s Wolverine’s linear, level-based structure makes replay-value features even more critical than they were for the open-world Spider-Man games. Where an open-world title can sustain engagement through exploration and side activities, a linear game relies on deliberate replay incentives. Wolverine addresses this directly by offering level-select as a standalone feature independent of NG+, allowing players to revisit specific missions without committing to a full replay.

This dual-system approach suggests Insomniac learned from Spider-Man 2’s shortcomings. Players can either tackle the entire campaign fresh in New Game+ or cherry-pick individual levels to refine their performance or chase remaining collectibles and challenges.

Looking Ahead

While it’s too early to judge whether Marvel’s Wolverine will match the quality of Insomniac’s Spider-Man games, this commitment to launch-day features represents a meaningful step forward. Players should watch to see how robust the New Game+ experience proves once the game ships, and whether additional content or quality-of-life features follow in the months ahead.