Wolverine, Spider-Man 2: Insomniac’s Go-To Move for Every Controversy
At Insomniac, Wolverine’s sense of smell isn’t the only thing that’s off the charts—the studio has a nose for damage control after a storm hits. Four controversies, four patches, and almost zero lessons learned—give or take.
Since Monday’s launch of Marvel’s Wolverine on PS5, the infamous “scent trails”—dubbed “fart gas” by players—have dominated the conversation. The most anticipated game of the season got a patch this Friday reducing their opacity, with a promise that toggle options are coming soon. If this feels familiar, it’s because it’s almost a rerun of what happened with Spider-Man 2—in more ways than one.
Image credit: Insomniac Games
Four patches, four controversies: the timeline of a pattern
October 2023: Just days after Spider-Man 2 launched, Cuban players noticed their national flag had been swapped for Puerto Rico’s. Insomniac rolled out patch v.1.001.003 to fix the mix-up. At the time, it seemed like a one-off cultural bug. But it actually kicked off a cycle the studio would repeat—faster and faster as the PS5’s busiest season, fall 2026, approached.
Three years later, the routine is locked in. Here’s the full sequence:
- October 2023 — Spider-Man 2, patch v.1.001.003: Cuban flag swapped for Puerto Rico’s, just days after launch.
- August 2026 — Spider-Man 2, patch v.1.005.001: Fresh Start suit tweaked after community feedback, nearly three years post-launch.
- September 15, 2026 — Marvel’s Wolverine, last-minute patch: Logan’s full beard added after trailer backlash, on launch day.
- September 19, 2026 — Marvel’s Wolverine, patch v.01.001.005: Scent trail opacity reduced, four days after release.
The response window keeps shrinking. Just four days between the “fart gas” uproar and the first patch: Insomniac has never moved this fast. Community pressure is now baked into the post-launch calendar.
The Wolverine case: a lightning-fast patch with more to come
This Friday’s patch (v.01.001.005) targeted two things: the notorious scent trails and the Audio Sense indicators, both made less intrusive by reducing their opacity. Insomniac’s patch notes came with a clear statement: “Our team continues to evaluate ways to improve the Senses in-game, including exploring toggleable options for a future update.”
The promise of a full toggle is notable, but it comes at a tricky moment. With a Metacritic score of 77, Marvel’s Wolverine is now the lowest-rated PlayStation single-player title since Days Gone in 2019. Insomniac’s James Stevenson argued the feature was a faithful take on Logan’s mutant tracking, but that didn’t quiet the critics. Some players suggested as early as September 16 that the ability should be mapped to an R3 press instead of being always on—a fix that could’ve been there from day one.
A launch-first, patch-later strategy
Four post-controversy patches in three years paint a clear picture: Insomniac seems to prioritize hitting release dates, even if it means fixing things later, rather than delaying for polish. This raises questions about their internal review process. Are things like flags, costumes, facial designs, and ever-present visual cues actually tested with player panels before launch? And if so, are those results sacrificed for the schedule?
Other AAA studios have taken a different path. The Last of Us Part I shipped with over 60 accessibility options, including a high-contrast mode that highlights enemies and interactables—exactly the kind of granularity Wolverine lacks. More recently, EA Sports NHL 27 let players disable player indicators and X-Factor visuals right from day one in September 2026. With Insomniac’s next Marvel game already in the works, whether this cycle becomes the norm or gets fixed up front is now a strategic question.
The bigger debate: how much should games guide players?
The scent trail controversy didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s part of a wider debate that’s been simmering since at least October 2023, when “yellow paint”—those brightly colored surfaces showing players where to climb—went viral on social media, with devs like Ville Kallio (Cruelty Squad) weighing in. A few months later, in February 2024, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth reignited the issue with its yellow climbable markers, which some in the community found distracting.
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— (@rickyberwick) date
Marvel’s Wolverine pushes things even further: beyond visual signposting, a streamer showed on September 17 that a motorcycle sequence finishes itself without any player input. The complaint isn’t just about how indicators look anymore—it’s about how much agency the player actually has. In 2026, players aren’t asking for all assists to be scrapped—they want the choice to turn them on or off. That nuance is crucial, and it’s exactly what Insomniac is now promising to deliver.
The next Marvel’s Wolverine update, which should bring full toggle options for the Senses, will be a real test. If the studio delivers quickly, it could turn this patch cycle into a selling point for responsiveness. If not, the pattern might become a less flattering trademark—that of a studio that ships first and listens later.
