Listen up, dicknozzles: I’m going to keep this thing as quick as a Quibi. See, I’ve been tasked with reviewing Marvel’s Deadpool VR, and unless Zuckerberg forces this into your mee-maw’s Facebook algorithm next to her daily dose of AI dogs saving children from drowning, this is what we in the business call “traffic poison.” I’ve got to get back to writing Grand Theft Auto 6 hot takes so daddy can get his holiday bonus, so let’s keep this thing chop-chop, like Sweeney Todd at a circumcision.
*Ahem*
From the visionary minds who brought you ‘Splosion Man and… Ms. Splosion Man, comes a new masterpiece from a beloved studio now forced to make Marvel video games to survive. A game that will shock you! A game that will rock you! A game that will remind you to dust your Quest 3! It’s —- dun duuuuun! —- Marvel’s Deadpool VR! (Rated M for Meta.)
Now that’s cinema, Mr. Scorsese!
Image: Oculus Studios
Right, this is a review. Let’s review this shit. Marvel’s Deadpool VR is a first-person fuck-‘em-up that squeezes your butt into Wade Wilson’s tight little latex suit. You’ll live the life of a superhero as you gun down hordes of monsters with dual pistols and decapitate enemies with your trusty katanas by swinging your Quest controllers like a pair of flaccid cocks. I mean, it really makes you feel like Deadpool —- well, minus the jock itch!
Enough with the stand-up, Dane Cook! These people aren’t here to read your second-rate jokes; they’re here to complain about the article in the comment section without reading it! After a standoff with the treacherous Flag-Smasher (what, Meta doesn’t have the money to get Thanos?), the Merc With the Mouth finds himself transported to Mojoworld. He’s unwillingly tasked with helping Mojo gather contestants for his intergalactic Hunger Games, sending Deadpool on a fan service-friendly quest to nab ne’er-do-wells like Lady Deathstroke, Mephisto, and Captain Dickweed. (Okay, I might have made that last one up.) It’s a dumb-fun enough premise to take Deadpool on a universe-spanning comic book field trip filled with more surprise cameos than the Epstein Files!
Of course, the glue that holds it all together is none other than Ryan Reyn — wait, what? Zuck couldn’t afford him either? Jeeze, I guess that class-action lawsuit really did a number on the guy. Maybe it’s time to sell that Bored Ape, compadre. Well, never fear, because Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle star Neil Patrick Harris was cheap enough to take Ryan’s sloppy seconds. And he goes to town on that thing. Ole’ Doogie Howser is the perfect MCU understudy, matching Reynolds’ confident wise-assary with the exact same tone and comedic instincts. (Eat your heart out, Troy Baker.) He delivers every sexual innuendo and Marvel callback with the sarcastic gusto that the suit calls for. You’ll almost believe that he knows what the hell Vanquish is when he name-checks it after performing a slide!
Insert Metacritic-friendly pullquote here.
By now, I bet you’ve got one burning question on your MODOK-sized mind: just how funny is it? Well, let me hit you with a counter-question, Bud Abbott: How are you enjoying this review so far? Are you tired of the relentless onslaught of pop-culture references? Do all these edgelord jokes have you ready to close your browser tab? Do you wish I would just shut up and actually tell you something of substance about the gameplay? Well, now you know exactly what it’s like to play Marvel’s Deadpool VR. Congratulations, here’s a coupon for a chimichanga.
Look pal, you know what you’re getting into with a piece of Deadpool media, just like you know what you’re getting into when you order ceviche at a Miami airport before getting on a red eye. One diarrhea, to go please! Developer Twisted Pixel fills every second of dead air with some kind of one-liner, whether it’s an esoteric namedrop or a meta gag lampooning VR game design. There’s a “damn Daniel” joke immediately followed by a “Pepperidge Farm remembers” callback within the first 20 minutes. It has the hit rate of Claptrap at a comedy show for Bluesky elders.
But that’s just Deadpool, right? At least in his movie form, which the game heavily pulls inspiration from, he’s meant to be an obnoxious agent of chaos whose true superpower is that he can annoy his enemies to death. What better medium is there to capture that than VR, where you are held captive with him in a helmet as he rattles jokes directly into your earholes? When allies like Spiral express their constant desire for him to make like a Kingdom Hearts villain and zip it, you’re right there with them.
Image: Oculus Studios
It’s just that all that yapping sometimes comes at the expense of dyn-o-mite VR gameplay. (That’s a Good Times throwback for all you Roblox babies.) When you’re not standing still watching momentum-killing, joke gauntlet cutscenes for 10 minutes at a time, you can really appreciate that Twisted Pixel had a blast making a big-budget VR game. The studio creates a diversity — calm your hate boners, GamerGaters — of virtual playgrounds that make the most of the tech’s sense of scale and its physicality.
One level has me killing my way through Mephisto’s casino, with its tacky interior design towering over me like an unfinished White House ballroom. Another drops me into a psychedelic space shooter where I use my hands to pew-pew alien scum in a visual homage to Rez Infinite and the works of Jeff Minter. Car chase sequences play out like thrilling rollercoaster rides* worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster. (*overpriced suggestive popcorn bucket sold separately.) It’s a VR greatest hits collection, using its universe-hopping story as an excuse to spend as much of Mark’s money as possible crafting over-the-top setpieces that take advantage of the tech. Hey, it’s a better use of funds than fueling election misinformation and creating AI pedophile chatbots, right? (Uh oh, Tim Sweeney is so going to blow a gasket over this review, isn’t he?)
Okay, wake up Sleeping Beauty, we’re done talking about all that boring “craft” shit. Let’s get to the thing we’re all here to see: blood and guts. After all, we’re not earning a Game Awards nomination unless the main thing you do in the game is murder bad guys! Marvel’s Deadpool VR revels in its unadulterated violence, just like its antihero. Between the wall-running, grappling, and switch-flipping puzzles that allow me to fulfill my quota of using the word “tactile” at least once in a VR game review, I get to tear enemies limb from limb by use of katanas, handguns, grenades, and more. All of those tools can be mixed and matched as I juggle weapons in and out of my two hands during battles like Nicolas Cage burning through wives.
Jeeze, I’m really running out of steam with these jokes already. I guess that’s finally some good news for the Epic Games Store.
Image: Oculus Studios
Intuitive controls help me slip into a natural flow state as I pull off bloody improv routines. I reach to my hips to pull out my pistols and go all John Woo on my enemies’ asses, minus the doves. If someone dares to step to me, I toss one of my guns to the side and reach behind my back to pull out one of my katanas for a little Yojimbo action. He drops a shotgun, I snatch it out of thin air right after grabbing a grenade off my wrist and tossing it at an approaching enemy. I toss my sword and reach behind my back to grab my grappling gun, hooking onto a tether point with one hand and twist my body to blast a guy into pieces with my shotty as I fly away like Mary Poppins on meth. And once I’ve done enough cool shit to activate my Big Time Money mode, I get a few glorious seconds to flatten enemies with Thor’s hammer or rip through them with Gambit’s playing cards while songs from the likes of Faith No More and The Flaming Lips blare. Tell me you’re 40 without telling me you’re 40, devs.
Everything you’d expect to see in a Deadpool game is accounted for. Running low on things to riff on, let’s see, uh, Sex and the City? Gossip Girl? You even get collectible comic book covers and unlockable skins that you will never see because this is a first-person video game, dumbass. Zendaya is Meechee. It’s a proud romp, but it misses an opportunity to tell a truly great Deadpool story in the way that [REDACTED DC SUPERHERO GAME] did for its caped crusader. Back at it again at Krispy Kreme! There’s very little depth in the joke-ridden story to expand my appreciation of Wade Wilson as a character. Hi, I’m Luigi Mangione, welcome to Jackass! It’s just pop-culture reference (Ted 2) after pop-culture reference (Dancer in the Dark) after pop-culture reference (Couple to Throuple).
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Marvel’s Deadpool VR will be released Nov. 18 on Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S. The game was reviewed on Meta Quest 3S using a prerelease download code provided by Meta. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.