Viral Indie Game Roasts Marvel's Wolverine After Scent Trail Controversy

Needle In A Haystack Simulator Roasts Marvel's Wolverine With "AAA Mode" Published Sep 13, 2026, 10:47 AM EDT George is the Lead News Editor for TheGamer, and has been working in the industry since 2021 after graduating from the University of South Wales with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. He has also previously written for RPG Site, WhatCulture, and PlayStation Lifestyle. George is an expert on platformers, action games, and fighters, but tends to play as many releases as possible. This hands-on experience lets him dive into gaming communities and follow the latest trends. Some of the games George has extensively covered first-hand include Dead Rising, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and Ninja Gaiden 4. Upcoming indie game Needle in a Haystack Simulator has poked fun at Marvel’s Wolverine with an “AAA mode” that replicates its controversial scent trail. When the slightly underwhelming reviews for Marvel’s Wolverine dropped earlier this week, it was clear that the unending wave of discourse the game has been facing recently wasn’t going to end any time soon. Even with that in mind, though, I didn’t think that the scent trail, also known as the “fart gas line”, was going to be the main sticking point. As I’m sure you’re all aware of by now, Marvel’s Wolverine has a scent trail that guides players towards certain objectives and collectibles. It’s basically a Logan-ified take on yellow paint, but one that everyone has deemed too far for a much more linear game. Even with Insomniac recently explaining the scent trail, that hasn’t stopped indie games from stepping up to the plate. Needle In A Haystack Simulator Dev Roasts Marvel’s Wolverine It’s Not The Only Indie Game Taking Potshots, Either Over on Twitter, the lead developer of upcoming indie game Needle in a Haystack Simulator (which is about exactly what you think it is) shared a tweet in response to the Wolverine scent trail discourse. The tweet says that, “in honour of Marvel’s Wolverine”, the simulator has added a AAA mode in case you “can’t find the giant haystack”. Needle in a Haystack Simulator’s so-called “AAA Mode” is shown off in the tweet’s video and includes yellow markings on the floor leading to the haystack, an objective in the top left of the screen, an objective marker, a special vision mode to highlight the haystack, and even a warning that says “WRONG WAY” when you’re not moving towards the objective. The mode is now even on the game's Steam page. The not-at-all-subtle jab at Marvel’s Wolverine and the triple-A game design that players are seemingly sick of has gone viral over the past day, with over five million views as of the time of writing. Some gamers are clearly loving the roast, but others think that it’s a little “classless” to make fun of other developers, or wonder where all the “hatred” was ten years ago. What’s being made fun of isn’t just exclusive to Marvel’s Wolverine, although it does seem to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. It’s not just Needle in a Haystack Simulator that’s gunning for Marvel’s Wolverine, though, as Ruiner 2 also shared a similarly viral video promising players that “there will be no blue trails telling you where to go”. It’s a pretty blatant attempt at cashing in on a current trending topic, but it’s clearly working for a lot of people. Marvel's Wolverine Systems Released September 15, 2026 ESRB Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases Developer(s) Insomniac Games Publisher(s) Sony Interactive Entertainment Genre(s) Action, Adventure