After making Comic-Con history for debuting Spider-Man 2, the first video game to ever occupy Hall H, Insomniac Games and Sony Interactive clawed their way back to San Diego on Thursday to reveal gameplay secrets for the upcoming Marvel’s Wolverine.

Taking place on Earth-1048, in shared continuity with Insomniac’s Spider-Man universe, players will be introduced to a “younger” (albeit 200 years old at the start of the game) alternate version of the iconic Wolverine. After a major amnesic event, Logan (Liam McIntyre) joins his former mutant black ops group, Team X, which includes Nathaniel Essex, Mystique, and Sabretooth, to stop billionaire industrialist (and major mutant hater) Bolivar Trask.

However, their mission proves more than challenging as Trask employs Reavers, a fleet of overpowered militia that abduct and abuse mutants. In the midst of trying to take down Sentinels and other foes, Logan also has to contend with the unexplained mysteries, baggage and traumas of his past, while also trying to create new vulnerable bonds with his found family and Jean Grey (Krizia Bajos).

Considering the studio is mostly known for its lighter action-friendly games like Spyro, Ratchet & Clank, Miles Morales and Spider-Man titles, creative director Marcus Smith explained why making the first solo Wolverine, jam-packed with heavy punches, claw swipes, blood and cussing, was important for Insomniac. “We set out to create the ultimate Wolverine game, which meant making sure that we brought to life all the attributes that make this character so beloved,” Smith said. “Our Wolverine is cynical, candid, and he keeps people at a distance. Not just because he knows he’s dangerous, but also because he doesn’t want to get hurt again. He’s got a big heart and that gets him into trouble.”

For providing the voice and motion capture performance for Logan, McIntyre alluded to his excitement for the deep exploration into Wolverine’s psyche. “I’ve always wanted one story to be told that I don’t feel has ever been investigated enough,” McIntyre said. “There’s so many twists and turns and stuff that dropped my jaw on the ground. Just you wait. There’s a moment in this that’s just [so insane] that I can’t wait for you to play it.”

Executive Producer Eric Monacelli from Marvel Games added: “We really dug into everything. We had a lot of conversations [with Insomniac] about his relentlessness, his emotional complexity and how Wolverine is this reluctant hero and he has a code of honor. He doesn’t act out in a rageful way, unless it’s intentional.”

Fans of Spider-Man 2 should also expect a vastly different gameplay style and mechanics. Gone is the open world and free-flying structure of the past, now replaced with the rougher, grounded mechanics that fit the scrappy claw-wielding mutant to a tee.

“We prioritized claw combat because that was an essential part of the character to bring to light and put into [players’] hands. That meant leveraging his healing factor, bringing forth his deep rage that bubbles up uncontrollably in combat and giving you enhanced senses so that you can track and scout enemies and sense incoming danger,” Smith explained. “Another important element is his lost memories, where you’ll be peeling back layers of his past, but not in the traditional way of an origin story. It’s an all-new adventure. All of our creative decisions were directed towards delivering a singular feeling to the player, which is feeling like you are Wolverine.”

Still keeping some of the game’s roster of iconic characters under wraps, the team did go a little more in-depth on Jean Grey’s role in this version of the story, considering that the X-Men don’t exist in this universe.

“Jean is an unexpected ally that Logan never thought he would have. This is a Jean we’ve never really seen before. She’s been out on her own since the day her power’s activated and constantly on the move, discovering that there are other people with powers out in the world like her,” narrative director Walt Williams said. “But [she finds that some of those people are] not necessarily as fortunate because they can’t pass as human. So she wants to give them what they don’t have, a home somewhere they can live their normal life. But there really is nowhere safe in the world for mutants at this point in time when someone like Trask is out there. And that is how she crosses paths with a ruggedly handsome stranger over here who’s willing to do just about anything.”

Game Director Mike Daly teased, “Listen, Logan has spent as long as he can remember fighting for mutants who either can’t or won’t fight for themselves. And suddenly he meets this woman who’s willing to stand up and do just that. Not because she thinks it’s fun or thrilling like some of his coworkers, but because she actually cares. These are two broken souls; they find hope in each other through this, and it gives a little bit of spark. They don’t know if it’s going to be romantic or platonic. I mean, we know, but they don’t know. But they can tell that [their relationship] is going to be transformative and it sends them on this path that neither of them are really prepared to go on.”

Bajos, who provides the voice and motion capture performance for Jean Grey, explained that the story that Marvel’s Wolverine poses between the two is “beautifully nuanced.” In talking about the exploration of Jean Grey as a character, Bajos said: “I love that this story has an incredible human element. Jean has her powers; she’s had to be alone from an early age, but she can pass for human. That can feel really lonely to be able to do that. And some people might view it as, well, at least you can pass [so you don’t know how we’ve suffered as mutants], but then there’s so much whirling inside her [mind]. And she has the burden of caring a great deal, which she thinks she’s alone in that too. She also feels responsible for this newfound family in that she feels she’s the only one who can really take care of them.”

Though not carrying the powers of the Phoenix Force in real life, Bajos went on to say that she related to playing Jean Grey. “Listen, I’m an eldest daughter and a first-generation immigrant, so I know what it feels like to care a great deal and to feel like the whole family hinges on me. And when she meets Logan, it’s like that feeling of locking eyes with someone and who knows where that relationship is going to take you, but something is there. Whether it’s a cosmic connection or not, she’s the most powerful person in the room, and she can see through his walls, his scars and wounds. She’s got courage.”

Other reveals included that The Hand and Lady Deathstrike will also shape the storyline in some way, referring to Lady Deathstrike as a “formidable foe against Logan” and describing The Hand as an “assassin group of warriors with a mysterious past that will be connected to Logan somehow,” as you fight with them throughout Logan’s journey leading him to Japan.

Emmy-winning composer David Fleming (Widow’s Bay, Superman, HBO’s The Last of Us) was also revealed as the game’s composer, marking his video game composing debut with the main title theme, Logan, now available on all music platforms.

Marvel’s Wolverine will release September 15 on PlayStation 5.

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