Last week, Twisted Pixel Games gave me the opportunity to get an early preview of their new Deadpool VR game. Deadpool, voiced in this iteration by Neil Patrick Harris (hereby referred to as his legal name “NPH”), is the same chaotic character that has stolen so many hearts on the silver screen through Ryan Reynolds’ portrayal. In Deadpool VR, at least from what I played, they manage pretty well to capture the same comedy you’re used to, but formatted more for the platform.
NPH does an excellent job acting it out (and if you haven’t seen, there’s a hilarious video Ryan Reynolds made on YouTube of him stealing the Doogie Howser role in revenge) and overall makes a good first impression in the role. Combined with smooth, and most importantly fun, gameplay, Deadpool VR was a good time and when I arrived at the end of the demo, I was sad I didn’t get to see more.
For what I actually got to interact with in my available space with Deadpool VR, it seems that I was given the very first level of the game. It wasn’t superbly replayable because, even though it was humorous and fun, it was largely the tutorial section of the game. Maybe about an hour’s time I spent with the hands-on gave me the impressions I’ll be writing about here.
I found it to be overall enjoyable and made me look forward to the full release. I think if you’re a Deadpool fan, then you will find great joy in Deadpool VR. Hey, if nothing else, you get to throw swords at people, and that’s pretty cool.
Deadpool is a character that… seems like he’d be easy to write for, but, in my opinion, is actually something really easy to mess up. Especially given the way that, since the release of his first movie, it seems that so many other characters, Marvel or not, have suddenly decided that it’s their turn to be “the merc with the mouth”. He’s in a delicate balance that, given the wrong writing team, could easily lose the pizazz of his sass. Fortunately though, within Deadpool VR, it does feel that the team at Twisted Pixel Games have done a great job at getting the lines right. Of course that includes his usual fourth wall breaks.
Of course, all that writing is nothing without a good voice actor, and NPH definitely delivers on that front. NPH’s performance as Deadpool’s voice is honestly… better than I’d have expected if you told me that’s who I was going to be hearing. No offense intended in any way, I love NPH, but Deadpool was certainly not one I would’ve pegged him for. No, no: I know this is an article about Deadpool, but please, keep your mind out of the gutter.
Of course, Ryan Reynolds was also a new voice for those of us who were familiar with Nolan North’s portrayal in the past, so who’s really got the claim in my head for this character. I don’t know, but I’ll let them fight it out.
Lastly, of course the gameplay itself is important. It’s pretty simple overall, but represented in a very easy to understand way. You’ve got Deadpool’s two pistols and two katanas at all times, but you can also steal weapons from the environment or enemies if you see fit. I found it flowed very well and being able to launch your swords accurately allowed a lot of grace to come in combat as you swapped weapons. Honestly the swords ended up being thrown more often than swung in my combat moments, but… it just feels good that way. The controls aren’t very complex and there’s not a ton, at least in the bit I played, outside of general shooting and moving. That’s all fine though. I’m not looking for complexity and depth to the combat in my funny man game. It’s meant to make you laugh and feel good while doing so.
Overall, I think Deadpool VR is shaping up to be a great game. It looks, feels, and sounds good. What more can you ask for? Check it out when it comes out on the Meta Quest 3/3S headsets, and keep an eye out here for more news as the release gets closer!