A lot of people still don’t take VR very seriously. Despite the fact that some fantastic games such as Asgard’s Wrath 2, Batman: Arkham Shadow, and Metro Awakening are only available to play in that way, new VR announcements like Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow are still met with a lukewarm and somewhat frustrated response. Maybe a character who doesn’t take themselves seriously at all, like Deadpool, is what’s needed to make VR feel approachable and fresh.
That’s why it’s fitting that Marvel’s Deadpool VR is the next marquee release for Meta Quest 3. Developed by Splosion Man and Gunstringer studio Twisted Pixel, who now makes VR games and is owned by Meta, Deadpool VR is a comedy action-shooter that’s shaping up to be yet another compelling reason to pick up a VR headset. I went hands-on with it at Summer Game Fest Play Days, and Deadpool VR already feels like one of the most refined VR action games I’ve played, and is showing a deep love for the comics and characters it’s adapting.
Narratively, Deadpool VR will see the merc with a mouth romp around the Marvel universe after getting roped into a contract by Mojo to hunt down Marvel villains like Omega Red and Mephisto. In my demo, though, I was taking back a stolen Helicarrier from the Flag Smashers for S.H.I.E.L.D. From Lady Deadpool to Maria Hill, Deadpool VR already felt chock-full of Marvel universe characters and references, and the developers I spoke to seemed to tread ground that Marvel video games haven’t been able to before. “We can go to places people haven’t been like Mojo World,” Lead Designer Phil Therien told ComicBook “Exotic locations and cool Marvel villains, that’s how our story works.”
Twisted Pixel’s take on Deadpool stands out from Ryan Reynolds‘, really leaning into pop culture humor even more than the movies and adding more of an edge to its snark. So far, I’m really liking the performance of Neil Patrick Harris, who the developers I spoke to say instantly felt like the right choice once they discussed the role with him and heard him say some lines. “Twisted Pixel’s Deadpool is its own story, its own universe, and we wanted to make it our own,” Animation Director Matt Schmitz explained. “Neil Patrick Harris was the perfect guy to do it.”
When it comes to gameplay, Deadpool VR doesn’t reinvent the VR combat wheel like Batman: Arkham Shadow did. Deadpool uses guns and swords, and there are plenty of VR games with those weapons for Twisted Pixel to pull from for inspiration. What I can say is that the shooting and sword-swinging of Deadpool VR feels absolutely great and very natural. I didn’t have to worry about complex reload techniques or accidentally dropping a weapon and forever losing it. Certain types of weapons are always locked to certain parts of the body, and in no time I was slashing and shooting like I’d already been playing Deadpool VR for hours.
Deadpool VR’s unique gameplay flair also comes from how over the top it is. There are some fun weapons, like a grappling gun that can also be used to pick up and toss enemies around. But my favorite move was a dive kick that allowed me to bounce from enemy to enemy, skewering their hands with my sword if I held it out properly. I didn’t get motion sick at all while playing it either, which I credit the comfort settings I used with preventing it. The developers seemed proud of both of those things.
“With combat, we wanted to give the player the option to get through the game any way they choose and have a lot of fun. Deadpool is going to utilize everything he can get his hands on to kill enemies, so we wanted to make sure the player could do the same thing,” Schmitz highlighted. “The game moves a bunch and we do a lot of action, so it needs to stay comfortable for players. This is the fifth VR game Twisted Pixel has made, so we’ve really refined comfort settings.”
While someone might be initially disappointed by the fact that this new Deadpool game is VR-only, Twisted Pixel and Neil Patrick Harris’ interpretation of the character will have you chuckling as you slice and dice enemies in no time. Meta has found a sweet spot for its first-party VR games with superheroes like Batman and Deadpool, so comic book fans should really consider picking up a Meta Quest 3 headset if they haven’t already. Stop taking the fact that certain franchises are only getting adapted to VR so seriously, and just play the game and have a good time.
Marvel’s Deadpool VR will be released for Meta Quest 3 sometime later this year.
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