"Marvel’s Deadpool VR" is an almost unbearable fireworks display for Meta Quest3

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Where “Deadpool” is on the label, one thing is clear: it gets dirty. Comic fans have loved the big-mouthed Marvel anti-hero with a penchant for excessive violence and below-the-belt jokes since his first appearance in 1991. He finally became known to a wider audience through the film series, now in its third installment, starring Ryan Reynolds, and now Wolverine's best and worst friend is making his way into virtual reality. During a hands-on demo at this year's Gamescom, we already noticed that “Marvel’s Deadpool VR” is absurd, brutal, and above all, fast. In the test, it became clear that the developers at Twisted Pixel also know exactly who they are dealing with outside the action.

Fans must be strong

“Marvel’s Deadpool VR” is not a game for VR newcomers or players with weak stomachs. The combat with katanas and guns is extremely fast-paced and relies exclusively on fluid locomotion via joystick. Even experienced players might feel the pace during the arena battles. Wild dodges, quick sprints and turns, double jumps with directional changes, and sliding on the ground are part of the mandatory program. This is incredibly strenuous physically and visually in the long run. Of course, the fights in “Batman: Arkham Shadow” were not easy either, but Camouflaj focused on close combat, which is more oriented towards rhythm and fitness games like “Beat Saber” or “Les Mills Bodycombat” and largely avoids artificial locomotion.

Although there are small side quests to catch your breath, even outside the action, Deadpool moves very quickly at the slightest touch of the joystick. The anti-hero runs along walls, jumps from platform to platform, dodges traps, and repeatedly faces countless enemies attacking from all directions. Only with fast and varied combo attacks can the high score rating be filled, which unlocks special abilities and money for new equipment. In addition to Deadpool's standard arsenal, consisting of two katanas and two pistols each, grenades in various forms and thrown and shot weapons of all kinds dropped by enemies are also available.

If you want to draw your katanas, you reach over your shoulders; the pistols are on your belt, and the grappling hook pistol is on your lower back—an inconvenient placement, as it turned out. We repeatedly ended up on our faces or unintentionally aimed with the pistol instead of the grappling hook because the two trigger points are too close together. In the comfort options, players who struggle with motion sickness can at least activate scalable vignettes and snap-turning. However, the teleport option, which is important for many VR players, is missing. A plus point: extremely demanding scenes can be skipped without losing progress.

Kickstart My Heart

If you can fundamentally cope with the fast gameplay, you can look forward to a bombastic fireworks display of action—and that's no exaggeration. Twisted Pixel has created one of the most iconic moments in recent VR history with the playable intro alone. To the sounds of Mötley Crüe's “Kickstart My Heart,” there's constant crashing and clattering during a rapid chase. As a trigger-happy co-pilot, Deadpool cracks one joke after another amidst the hail of bullets, until in the end, only the mercenary's loose mouth remains. The developers also show great creativity in integrating Deadpool's self-healing abilities throughout the rest of the game, repeatedly staging the katana-wielding anti-hero piece by piece. Sometimes the head controls the body from a distance, and sometimes your own severed arm serves as a club in close combat. The violence remains comically exaggerated, yet it still receives a USK-18 rating.

In his mission to boost MojoTV's ratings through bloody battles, Deadpool repeatedly faces well-known villains from the Marvel universe during the campaign to recruit them as gladiators for an intergalactic show. After all, no one wants to submit to the mighty Mojo voluntarily. “Lady Deathstrike” and company await Deadpool in boss battles, some of which are impressively and creatively realized at the end of their respective levels, and each has its own unique characteristics. For spoiler reasons, we won't go into further detail here, but suffice it to say: we had a blast.

Those who achieve the highest score in the respective levels in the most innovative way, in the best “Devil May Cry” style, can equip themselves with new weapons, suits, and special abilities in Mojo TV's base. This keeps the battles motivating for many hours despite repetitive patterns. The creative level and enemy design by Twisted Pixel also defies boredom. The completely linear level designs (apart from secret sections) offer new incentives between battles, and no world is like the other. If you're not convinced after the first ninja world, you should definitely stick with it. “Marvel’s Deadpool VR” improves with every level and every boss fight. In between, short arena battles on Mojo World provide variety, where players can team up with Deadpool variants like “Lady Deadpool” or “Headpool” against AI opponents in sometimes absurd and sometimes familiar games from multiplayer shooters like “Capture the Flag” or a kind of “handball with guns.” However, the same warning applies here: it's exhausting.

Without pause or punctuation

When it comes to show appeal, Deadpool doesn't hold back in VR either. Fans of the comic and film source material will enjoy the staging, dialogues, and story. There are countless references to the Marvel universe and comic and video game clichés, collectible covers of original Deadpool issues, and guest appearances by well-known characters. However, if you can't stand the typical humor of the series, which is somewhere between hilarious and late-adolescent, you should think twice about buying it. “Marvel’s Deadpool VR” is one of the most verbose VR games I've experienced so far.

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Protagonist Wade Wilson, a.k.a. “Deadpool,” voiced here by an outstanding Neil Patrick Harris (“How I Met Your Mother”), chatters incessantly and comments on almost every movement. Between battles, he engages in verbal sparring over the radio, rambles about his past, or, in true Deadpool fashion, breaks the fourth wall. Not every joke lands, but overall, the writers have captured the tone of the source material almost perfectly and maintain a high gag density.

Players can expect ten to twelve hours until the credits roll across the VR screen. However, it rarely gets truly difficult—quite the opposite. Deadpool's self-healing abilities are part of the gameplay experience. The mercenary can take a lot of damage, and severed limbs grow back. Should players still meet their demise, the checkpoints are more than fairly placed. Technically, Deadpool is not quite on par with “Batman: Arkham Shadow” or “Asgard’s Wrath 2.” Neither the sound nor the graphics reach the level of the Dark Knight. However, the chosen comic style fits like a glove and excellently conceals the limitations of the standalone VR headset. The developers have created cohesive worlds that rarely suffer from pop-ins, flickering textures, or stuttering AI opponents. The fast-paced action runs almost always smoothly, and loading times are kept within limits.

Conclusion: Out of the shadow of Arkham's Dark Knight

“Marvel’s Deadpool VR” is a game that leaves me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it is brilliantly staged, varied, incredibly funny, and at a similarly high production level as Meta's last Quest exclusive title, “Batman: Arkham Shadow.” On the other hand, it is significantly less accessible and sometimes omits important auxiliary mechanisms that should actually be standard in modern VR games. While Camouflaj has perfectly understood how to implement action in VR for the broadest possible audience, Twisted Pixel Games has created fireworks that are difficult to endure. However, those who can handle the physical and visual demands can look forward to a rapid roller coaster ride and arguably the most entertaining VR blockbuster for the Meta Quest 3.

“Marvel's Deadpool VR” will be available for Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S from November 18, 2025, and is rated 18+. The price is around 50 euros.

(joe)