Marvel's Deadpool VR Review: Merc With A Meta Quest

After being completely spoiled by Camouflaj’s Iron Man VR and Batman: Arkham Shadow, one could be forgiven for going into Marvel’s Deadpool VR with a dangerous cocktail of excitement and trepidation.

VR has already proven itself to be a spectacular vehicle for superhero power fantasy, and so far, Meta’s big-budget approach to the genre has landed well. With arguably Marvel’s most marketable antihero now getting the full VR treatment from Twisted Pixel Games, the bar of expectation couldn’t be higher. But while Deadpool VR absolutely nails the look, feel, and humor of the titular character’s comic-book world, it’s also a game that plays like its own punchlines: fantastic one moment, sometimes frustrating the next.

I May Be Super, But I’m No Hero

For anyone unfamiliar with Marvel’s ‘Merc with a Mouth,’ Deadpool is the perfect antihero: a wisecracking, fourth-wall-breaking mercenary with a healing factor to rival Wolverine’s and a mouth that could make a sailor blush. Deadpool VR stays true to that lineage.

Narratively, we’re not breaking any molds here; you (Deadpool) are kidnapped by an intergalactic TV producer with a flair for violence named Mojo. From here you are thrown into a carnage-clad reality show that splits your time between hunting down Marvel villains to join the show and competing in a series of Death Battle Arena mini-games. It’s all gleefully absurd and knowingly self-referential, but you can have too much of a good thing, especially if you stay in for longer sessions. I recommend breaking your playthrough into one or two-hour chunks to keep both the combat and the pithy dialogue fresh.

The story itself is little more than scaffolding for some profanity-laden chaos, letting the game bounce from one wildly stylized comic-book set piece to the next amidst an avalanche of eyebrow-raising, off-color dialogue. Thankfully, the script is funny and the performances are great, which stops Deadpool’s constant chatter from feeling intrusive, assuming you’re a fan. This is no small blessing due to the sheer volume of it that players will be listening to.  

Fourth Wall? What Fourth Wall?

At its heart, Deadpool VR is an arcade-style action game: a high-energy cocktail of hack-and-slash melee, over-the-top gunplay, and comic-book spectacle. Across its ten-to-twelve-hour campaign, you’ll carve your way through legions of thugs, demons, and cybernetically enhanced space zombies (because why not?) all the while juggling twin katanas, dual pistols, grenades, and a gravity gun that lets you toss enemies around like rag dolls.

You can also unlock new variants of these weapons, as well as new ‘special attacks’ once your ‘viewer meter’ charges, which will give you temporary access to some of Marvel’s most iconic weapons. From Thor’s hammer to Star-Lord’s blasters, these special weapons add even more flair to the carnage. Not to mention the fact that when you activate these specials, some ‘name brand psych-up songs’ start blaring over the top of the action.

For me, one of the game’s highlights came the first time I accessed Gambit’s deck of kinetically charged cards while “You’re the Best” by Joe Esposito kicked in at full volume. It’s one of the most gleefully nerdy moments in recent memory, leaving me grinning like an absolute idiot while I throw glowing purple death into waves of comic book ninjas, urged on by the soundtrack from The Karate Kid.

I Aim to Misbehave

My first impression of Deadpool VR was great. There’s something deeply satisfying about pinning an enemy to the wall with your sword, bouncing a pistol off an enemy’s face to reload it mid-air, and then slide-kicking into a group of bad guys. All while Deadpool artfully cracks wise in your ear. On paper, it’s everything you’d want from a Deadpool game: frenetic, over-the-top violence that borders on the absurd.

Unfortunately, the magic doesn’t hold. Beneath the spectacle lies a combat system that, for all its positives, feels disappointingly weightless. Weapons clip through each other, hands pass through the environments, and two-handed weapons feel like they’re made of paper. You can parry attacks, but the system feels inconsistent and finicky. Your swords pass through enemies without convincing resistance. This leaves melee encounters lacking the satisfying physicality found in titles like Asgard’s Wrath 2.

With gunplay, enemies are all varying shades of sponge. While you can finish off a bad guy with a clean shot to the head, headshots don’t seem to count for much at all until you deplete their health. This takes away any real need to try to finesse a fight. Just spray and pray, as it all ends up the same.

It’s this lack of nuance in the heat of battle that robs the world of a sense of physicality, relegating what should be a visceral dance of violence into something that after the first few hours begins to feel unfortunately shallow. The problem isn’t that the mechanics are broken; they just lack some impact. Combat looks spectacular, yet doesn’t consistently feel it, and that disconnect grows more noticeable as the game goes on.

Time to Make the Chimichangas!

Twisted Pixel breaks up the action with platforming, mini-games, and tonal shifts that keep things unpredictable. Each level is themed around a different villain, bringing a fresh visual palette, though the basic loop remains consistent: kill waves of enemies, listen to (occasionally) lengthy exposition and move on. Occasionally there will be new interactive mechanics, but nothing cerebral enough that you could call a puzzle, and these parts just feel like VR busywork.

There were also a few repetitive sequences mixed in that feel like playtime padding at its most obvious. The game knows it, too. Deadpool even breaks the fourth wall to call out the “lazy game design” mid-mission. It’s funny, sure, but it doesn’t stop these sequences from being a chore.

Between the main ‘acquisition missions,’ Deadpool also competes in Mojo’s “Battle Arena.” These sections are short, self-contained, mini-game style challenges that exist across a spectrum of entertainment. Some are genuinely fun (and even hint at multiplayer potential), while others feel more uninspired.

A Bad Guy Paid To F**K Up Worse Guys

The boss fights, unfortunately, are the weakest link in the action. They’re standard multi-phase bullet sponges, complete with Quick Time Event sections that drain any sense of danger or satisfaction. They’re functional but deeply forgettable (except for one), and for a game this focused on memorable action, that’s a shame.

Thankfully, Deadpool VR has a few cinematic set pieces that almost redeem this. The opening sequence, for example, is less about gameplay and more about tone-setting; it’s essentially a low-difficulty rail shooter while also being a pure burst of Deadpool energy that’s equal parts spectacle and slapstick.

Later, there’s a particular sequence featuring one of the game’s many Marvel Comics cameos that, although similar in terms of gameplay, still ranks among the coolest things I’ve done in VR this year. It’s these flashes of brilliance that remind you how much potential is buried under the game’s uneven execution.

Maximum Effort

Visually, I think it’s fair to say that I’m in love with Deadpool VR.

Twisted Pixel’s decision to go full comic-book cell-shaded pays off beautifully, delivering the best implementation of that style I’ve seen. Bold outlines, vibrant color palettes, and perfectly balanced shading make every scene feel like you’ve stepped directly into a Marvel panel.

Each environment bursts with character from its grimy back alleys to neon-soaked intergalactic arenas. While there isn’t much environmental interactivity, the sheer quality of the art direction makes up for it. The visual design alone is worth celebrating; it’s a genuine showcase of how comic-book aesthetics can thrive in virtual reality and is the perfect accompaniment to the quintessentially Deadpool tone that the game delivers so well.

Initially, Deadpool VR maintains solid frame rates, but as the set pieces grow larger and the enemy count spikes, performance begins to suffer. Late-game sequences, particularly those filled with explosions and higher enemy counts, see some serious issues. Things become pixelated and framerates drop to a point that really makes it hard to enjoy the action.

Cue the Music

If the visuals define Deadpool VR’s look, then the sound defines its character. The voice performances are universally superb, led by Neil Patrick Harris’s pitch-perfect turn as Deadpool. His comedic timing and delivery are on point, breathing a depth of personality into a game that could easily drown in its own irreverence.

Whether you love or hate the character’s relentless banter, there’s no denying that Harris absolutely gets Deadpool – to the point where it is easily on par with Ryan Reynolds in the films. That commitment is echoed from the voice cast across every supporting role, giving the entire game a premium, Hollywood-grade sheen.

For a game that will often trap you in static dialogue scenes, the entertainment value of the voice acting is what keeps you from giving the “Skip” button a workout. Had more of the main exposition been administered while you were free to play around, it wouldn’t have affected the pacing so much and allowed players to better appreciate the excellent voice performances.

The soundtrack, meanwhile, is gloriously over-the-top, particularly in the special weapon sequences where pop anthems take over. Overall, the sound design heavily hints at big-time Marvel money in the production, with the overall score feeling like something straight out of one of the movies.

Marvel’s Deadpool VR – Final Verdict

Deadpool VR is a paradox. It captures the antihero’s essence perfectly but wraps it around mechanics that just never feel like they completely deliver – great presentation carrying combat that never quite lives up to its potential. It’s also marred by performance issues that ultimately undermine the game’s otherwise exceptional presentation. If Twisted Pixel can iron out these technical issues, I’d be inclined to give it a higher score.

If you love Deadpool in general or just want to step into the pages of a Marvel comic, then Deadpool VR is worth experiencing. When it works, it’s joyful, absurd, and seriously fun. When it doesn’t, it’s weightless, repetitive, and oddly empty, so temper your expectations: this isn’t the next Iron Man VR or Arkham Shadow. It’s something stranger, sillier, and rougher around the edges – much like the Merc with a Mouth himself.

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