Quick and to the point: I was asked to review Marvel’s Deadpool VR, and I’ll spare you the longwinded preamble. In short, this is a loud, brash VR experience that leans into the character’s irreverent comedy and action — sometimes brilliantly, sometimes a little too indulgently. I’ll keep this brisk so I can move on to the next hot take.
*Clears throat*
From the studio that delivered Splosion Man and its sequel comes a new, big-budget adaptation now working within the Marvel machine. It’s energetic, occasionally outrageous, and proudly designed to remind you to dust off your Quest 3. The name? Marvel’s Deadpool VR — a self-aware, racier entry in the superhero catalog, rated for mature audiences.
It’s cinematic in its own way — not Scorsese-level, but loud, kinetic, and unapologetically commercial.
Image: Oculus Studios
This is a review, so let’s be candid. Marvel’s Deadpool VR is a first-person action game that straps you into Wade Wilson’s mindset: quick with a quip, heavy on mayhem. You’ll swap between dual pistols and katanas, chain abilities together, and generally relish the tactile satisfaction of VR combat. It hits the character beats — irreverence, self-reference, and a steady stream of pop-culture gags — though not every joke lands.
After a clash with the Flag-Smasher (because not every villain needs to be Thanos), Deadpool is pulled into Mojoworld and coerced into assembling fighters for Mojo’s televised contests. The premise is deliberately cartoonish, sending him on a multiverse jaunt filled with cameos and fan-service moments. It’s the kind of setup that prioritizes variety and spectacle over deep narrative revelation.
Voicework plays a major role here. Rather than a perfect imitation of Ryan Reynolds, the performance leans into a similarly sardonic cadence that captures the essential swagger and timing of the character. The result is often delightful — the actor nails the sarcasm and comic delivery needed to sell Deadpool’s nonstop commentary.
Part prank show, part action setpiece — Deadpool’s VR debut is loud, clever, and occasionally overindulgent.
How funny is it? That depends on your tolerance for rapid-fire references and meta jokes. If you enjoy being barraged with cultural callbacks and self-aware gags, the game delivers. If you prefer humor that develops over time, the barrage can feel exhausting. Ironically, the experience replicates the very sensation of playing as Deadpool: you’re caught inside the character’s chaotic mind, laughing one moment and rolling your eyes the next.
Twisted Pixel stuffs nearly every lull with a quip, an easter egg, or a cheeky aside. Early on you’ll encounter joke-dense interludes that interrupt momentum, but those moments are balanced by setpieces that make great use of VR’s spatial strengths. The game uses scale, motion, and physical interaction to sell environments that are often inventive and frequently fun.
Image: Oculus Studios
When the game avoids prolonged gag-heavy cutscenes, its VR design shines. Twisted Pixel crafts a range of environments that showcase both scale and physicality: Mephisto’s over-the-top casino, a trippy rail-shooter sequence that tips its hat to Rez, and cinematic car-chase moments that feel like miniature action setpieces. The variety keeps play sessions fresh and gives the studio a chance to show off the tech.
But the abundance of jokes sometimes undercuts pacing. Long stretches of banter slow down the flow, and the plot rarely aspires to be more than a playful excuse to hop between spectacle and cameo. If you wanted deep character development for Wade Wilson, this isn’t that sort of project — it’s a rollicking, reference-packed romp.
At its core, the combat is where the game earns its keep. Controls feel intuitive: you naturally reach for side holsters and swap weapons, toss grenades, and mix melee with ranged attacks in ways that feel satisfying in VR. Seamless transitions — tossing a pistol, drawing a katana, firing a grappling hook and blasting an enemy while airborne — produce moments of kinetic joy. Special modes let you unleash extravagant abilities that briefly transform combat into an all-out fantasy sequence accompanied by licensed music cues.
Image: Oculus Studios
The combat loop rewards experimentation. You can fluidly juggle firearms, blades, and gadgets to produce emergent moments: grab a dropped shotgun mid-air, toss a grenade, latch onto a grappling point, and finish with a slow-motion flourish. Those satisfying combinations are the game’s strongest currency — visceral, tactile, and often inventive.
As a Deadpool product, it includes the expected trappings: collectible covers, unlockable skins, and a steady stream of references. Some of those extras feel cosmetic in the first-person view, but they add replay value for completionists. Where the game falters is in missing an opportunity to explore deeper emotional or thematic territory for Wade; the story prefers jokes and setpieces over meaningful character beats.
Marvel’s Deadpool VR will be released on November 18, 2025 for Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S. The version reviewed was played on a Meta Quest 3S using a prerelease download code provided by Meta. Additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy can be found on their website.
Source: Polygon
