For a second consecutive year, Oculus Studios has delivered a superhero game as its flagship VR experience for the fall. Last year it was Batman: Arkham Shadow and this year it’s Marvel’s Deadpool VR. The popular Marvel character feels right at home in VR, even if experience is bogged down by the woes of the hardware. Maximum effort Marvel’s Deadpool VR finds the titular antihero on a mission for S. H. I. E. L. D. when he’s forcefully brought in by the villain Mojo to capture other villains for his upcoming reality TV show. It’s the sort of wacky plot synopsis that only Deadpool could get away with. As Deadpool jumps into different areas of the universe, he does battle with villains like Lady Deathstrike and Mephisto. There’s a sense of life to the world of Deadpool VR. Developer Twisted Pixel brings in a lot of lesser-known characters to fill out the roster, which I always appreciate in a game like this. That combined with the various locations really makes it feel like you’re exploring an untouched corner of the Marvel universe. Of course, this is a Deadpool game, and it does not skimp out on the humor and fourth wall breaking. Deadpool is constantly acknowledging the fact that he’s in a video game, that it’s VR, and that he’s being controlled by a human player. He references characters not just from the Marvel pantheon, but pop culture as a whole. I was usually on board with Deadpool’s humor, but it’s a reality of comedy that when you’re constantly firing off jokes, you’re going to have some misses. It also didn’t help that Neil Patrick Harris, who plays Wade Wilson, feels like he’s doing a Ryan Reynolds impersonation most of the time. Your mileage will vary greatly based on how much you love to hear Deadpool crack jokes about anything and everything happening around him. I wore my red pants today VR is a platform where gameplay has to come first, and Deadpool VR provides an excellent playground for chaos. Wade Wilson is equipped with pistols, swords, bombs, and a grappler that he can use in tandem to kill enemies in a plethora of ways. My personal favorite was throwing his swords like daggers, which would then pin enemies to a nearby wall if they were close enough. You can also grab automatic weapons and rifles from defeated enemies or various weapon caches around the world. I’m lucky enough that I don’t struggle with VR sickness, but if you do, Deadpool VR has three settings for you to customize your experience. These settings will tweak locomotion and on-screen movement so that you’re not getting queasy as Wade Wilson falls from great heights or propels himself up using the grapple gun. After playing enough Deadpool VR, you’ll notice that the majority of encounters boil down to you being stuck in a room as waves of enemies enter until you can defeat them all and move on. Combat is fun, but this setup can feel repetitive after a while. There were a few instances where I caught myself hoping that I had just finished the last wave of enemies before I could progress, which isn’t how I should feel in an action game. Still, if you just want to slice some heads, this game should be on your radar. The devs don’t hold back on the blood and gore; you can decapitate and dismember enemies as you fight through hordes of them. Enemies can also destroy your limbs, and you’ll have to wait as Wade’s regenerative powers form baby limbs that grow into adult size. Superhero landing Marvel’s Deadpool VR doesn’t hit the immersive highs as Batman: Arkham Shadows did last year, but it’s still a fun superhero romp from Oculus Studios. The developers at Twisted Pixel make great use of the Deadpool IP, and there’s no shortage of havoc to wreak if you’re just looking for an action-heavy VR experience. This review is based on a code provided by the publisher, played on Meta Quest 3. Marvel’s Deadpool VR is available now for $49. 99 on Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S.
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Marvel’s Deadpool VR review: The merc with an HMD
