Marvel's Deadpool VR

Written by Eric Hauter on 11/17/2025 for QW3  

Playing as a superhero in VR is an absolute blast. But as shown in Iron Man VR and Batman Arkham Shadow, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Great care must be taken to adhere to the core traits of the character; Superman, for example, should not play the same as Captain America. So when creating a game about a universe-breaking character like Deadpool, how do you even start to get a handle on what playing as the character should feel like? I would argue that it starts with the voice performance.

There aren’t too many actors on the planet that can pull off Deadpool. The chaotic, motormouth, say anything, barn-burning nature of the character is a tough tone to strike. Self-degradation, an endless slew of pop culture references, over-the-top sexual innuendos, cavalier bloodlust, fourth-wall-breaking taunts, complete disregard for any societal norms; Deadpool is a lot.

Luckily, as I suspected after playing through the demo versions of Deadpool VR, Neil Patrick Harris has an absolute lock on the character. The endless barrage of one-liners and ongoing commentary that are woven into the experience are frequently laugh-out-loud funny. The jokes hit more often than not, and if you don’t understand the endless barrage of references (I caught The Running Man, The Exorcist, and Harry Potter within one memorable 15-second period), the developers at Twisted Pixel are there to provide one visual gag after another. There are a few visual moments in Deadpool VR that are so damn spectacular that I actually cheered out loud in my office. 

Between the writers, the level designers, and the voice performers, Twisted Pixel finds a never ending flow of ways to amuse the player. I was concerned during the demo -- and again in the opening hours of Deadpool VR -- that the game was going to be one big “hallway crawl,” with the player endlessly meandering down one look-alike corridor after another, killing off waves of samey bad guys. I can report with great relief that this is not the case. Yes, hallways and samey bullet sponge baddies are a large part of the game, but Twisted Pixel and the writers on Deadpool VR ensure that if you don’t like something, you should stick around for a few minutes and they will happily (and most likely spectacularly) change it up for you.

After setting the stage with the demo’s SHIELD Helicarrier mission, which gets all of the tutorial stuff out of the way, Deadpool VR is whisked away to the Mojo Dojo, where an intergalactic television producer manages to convince Deadpool that it is in his best interest to not only compete in arena-style death battles, but also to take a sightseeing tour around the Marvel Universe to convince/trap other unexpected characters into participating along with him. This set up allows for a ton of variety in the game’s missions. Deadpool is whisked from location to location, where he must fight the obligatory waves of baddies, overcome a bunch of unexpected obstacles, and finally engage in some pretty spectacular boss battles to meet his contractual obligations and gather some new recruits.

Deadpool does occasionally earn the right to wield several iconic weapons from around the Marvel Universe. These moments are accompanied by some of the best needle drops I can recall in a video game. I swear, half the game's budget must have gone to clearing music rights.

The battle system in Deadpool is as good as can be expected in VR. All regular VR players know that swords can be a problem, which is kinda funny, because everyone keeps making sword games. The issue is simple; real world swords have weight and heft to them, and VR controllers don’t. This leads to a lot of sword-waggling, where players furtively jiggle their VR swords in front of them and score a zillion hits in zero seconds. Its shameful and immersion breaking, but it works. As Deadpool has twin katanas as some of his iconic weapons, you can imagine that this “sword issue” is part of the deal, and you would be right.

Luckily, the rest of the battle system makes up for somewhat jank-tastic swordplay. Deadpool has two sidearms (which can be upgraded and changed out regularly throughout the game) and a handy grappling gun. This allows the player to pull off some pretty cool -- if not exactly precise -- combos. You can use your grappling gun to yank a baddie to you, and then juggle them in the air with your sidearms before delivering the killing blow by slicing them in half before they even hit the ground. And yes, before you ask, the game totally references both Devil May Cry and Mortal Kombat when you do this. 

You can also throw your katanas at baddies and skewer them from insane distances. Enemies frequently drop various fun temporary weapons as well, which you can snag midair for some interesting and funny combos. All of this combines with Deadpool’s mobility (he has a double jump, of course) to allow the player to get mighty creative with their kills. As the game rewards you for coming up with new and interesting ways to slaughter enemies, it behooves you to not rely on the sloppy swordplay. I ended up jumping around like a jackrabbit, yanking dudes all over the place, snagging weapons and unloading into people’s faces before bounding away like I was playing some hyperactive version of DOOM. 

In between levels, Deadpool participates in the Mojo Dojo livestream, which includes a bunch of funny and hyperviolent minigames. My favorite (conceptually, at least -- mechanically it was kind of a hilarious mess) was the game where Deadpool has to play a violent version of keep-away with a bunch of killer drones. The object in question here is Headpool, the Marvel Zombies variant, which you have to hold onto long enough to feed him a bunch of chimichangas. These games are silly and brief, and the rewards for participating in them are unlocks of Deadpool variants that you can then take through already-completed levels. Yes, you can play as Lady Deadpool, and yes, all of the variants have their own dialogue. There is a surprising amount of content in this game. 

To me, the hallway crawls and battles were just the glue needed to stitch together the game’s many watercooler moments, which can be spectacular and unexpected. There is a decent ramp to the game, which often chooses to zig when you expect it to zag. For example, in the second “world” of Deadpool VR, the pacing actually gets some traction by slowing down in a funny midsection where combat stops altogether for Deadpool to go on a series of goofball fetch quests. And by the time you hit the third area, set in a hellish version of Las Vegas, the game really hits its stride and reveals just how cool and interesting it can be. 

All that said, things aren’t quite perfect here. The above-noted samey combat sequences are plentiful and protracted, and some of the worlds go on just a hair too long. It is really left up to the player to keep things fun, as you could feasibly run through the game just boringly shooting at everything until it disappears. Deadpool talks and talks and talks, which is usually amusing, but it does tend to make cutscenes go on for quite a while. I found myself in a strange place where I wanted to skip ahead but I also didn’t want to miss anything. I should also note that there are some pretty serious slowdown issues when too many enemies are in the environment. The framerate itself doesn’t drop, but the animation of the enemies slows to Super Friends levels as the baddies herky-jerk around. 

But still, the good outweighs the bad here by quite a lot, and the performances and surprises ultimately carry the day. With credit and love to Harris for his great lead performance (seriously, set aside any doubts), Deadpool VR is littered with other fun, noteworthy appearances. John Leguizamo as Mojo? The Lawnmower Man himself, Jeff Fahey, as Flag Smasher? X2’s Kelly Hu returning as Lady Deathstrike? Tom Cavanagh - who played like 47 variants of the same character on the Flash -- as a funny and ridiculously charming Mephisto? And, I’m sorry, but Dolph Freaking Lundgren as Ultimo? Get out of here. Sold.

There are more than this -- Deadpool VR has several noteworthy cameos and surprises -- but I don’t want to ruin the fun for anyone. The point is that the creators spent a ton of time and care making sure the performances in this game weren’t phoned in. This is a game that not only knows and loves Deadpool, but also the whole of the Marvel Universe, and it is willing to mine some pretty unexpected veins of lore to give the comicheads some fun surprises. This is a more-is-better, throw-the-kitchen-sink-in-there-too sort of game, and you ultimately have to admire the massive flex Deadpool VR pulls off by not backing down on...well...anything.

Deadpool VR absolutely nails the tone of the character, and it provides a surprisingly lengthy and complex story for players to run through in his boots. It is bloody, profane, and hilarious, all the things you want out of a Deadpool game. While the tech sometimes struggles to keep up, and the game can occasionally feel a bit too much of a good thing, Deadpool VR is ultimately a very good time, well-made and irreverent. If you love the character (and who doesn’t at this point?), you are going to have one hell of a good time.