Wolverine's biggest post-launch update tones down its most controversial feature

Compared to the typical big-budget, PlayStation-exclusive video game, the reception to Marvel's Wolverine has been much more muted. One of the biggest complaints is how much Marvel's Wolverine hand-holds players when directing them where to go next. To address that, Insomniac Games has toned down the opacity of scent trails in the game's first significant post-launch update.

What changed with the latest update for Marvel's Wolverine?

Late at night on Sept. 18, Insomniac Games released hotfix v1.001.005 for Marvel's Wolverine. A support page on Insomniac's website mentions that this update not only fixes some crash-causing issues, but also "adjusts the presentation of the Scent Trails and Audio Sense indicators, including reduced opacity to make these visuals less intense."

Players didn't take long to notice the update had rolled out. A post by X user and PlayStation influencer Radec highlighted how it changed. The scent trail used to be a bold, bright blue line, really clashing with the realistic environments of the game's already linear levels. Now, it looks cloudier and like less of a defined line, while still showing players where they need to go.

The patch notes for this hotfix also tease that the studio "continues to evaluate ways to further improve Sense in the game, including exploring toggleable options for a future update." This reaffirms that a way to remove scent trails from Marvel's Wolverine entirely is in the works. Previously, Insomniac director of communications and marketing James Stevenson alluded to this on X, writing, "We have been 100% listening over the last few days and the team has been cooking hard today in response to some of the feedback."

While Marvel's Wolverine didn't land as glowingly with critics and players as many other single-player PlayStation games, it's good to see Insomniac already addressing and working to fix some of the game's issues.