When it comes to Marvel there's one character who always springs to mind first when the word 'meta' is thrown into the mix. He goes by many names: the Merc with the Mouth, the Regenerating Degenerate, Wade Wilson. Most know him as Deadpool, the fast-talking, gun-slinging, incredibly-annoying-but-lovable antihero who now has his own VR game on, fittingly enough, Meta Quest 3.
Playing at Gamescom 2025, standing in a spacious booth with a window so passersby can look at my no doubt perfect moves (I am terrified of what they saw), I'm dropped into the world of Deadpool VR. Without a moment to spare, Neil Patrick Harris as the voice of Wade starts monologuing at a pace even Ryan Reynolds would struggle to match. No complaints so far.
Quips and zips
Developer: Twisted Pixel Games
Publisher: Oculus Studio
Platforms: Meta Quest 3 / 3S
Release date: November 18
When it comes to movement, we're a far cry from the old days of pointing and clicking. Deadpool VR has you control the character with the left joystick, with the right stick allowing you to rotate in small increments left and right. The intended movement though is for you to twist and turn your body. Now, as a player with a penchant for efficiency when platforming and fighting, I struggled initially to get on board with what the Meta Quest 3 title was asking of me.
While using my grappling hook to ascend a small cliff, I found myself standing diagonally from it, meaning I had to aim more precisely, which was a challenge as the game's controls weren't as precise as I'd hoped, although this was likely a calibration issue more than a design one. However, I eventually got with the program when faced with a platforming section that required multiple rotations.
Armed with a double jump and a slide mechanic, I spend much of my hands-on trying to reconcile the in-game height with remaining stationary in reality, as if two halves of my brain were butting against each other. This came to a head when I nearly lost my balance, prompting me to streamline my traversal methods. Luckily this moment came just before my first meaningful combat sequence.
Daddy needs to express some rage
The more creative your kills, including special animation you unlock by finishing stunned foes, the higher the score.
Deadpool VR offers an array of firearms but predominantly you'll use Wade's pair of Desert Eagles to shoot down enemies. The foes in question being red-clad ninja-esque minions who dodge and leap about the arena, throwing shuriken before approaching with blades drawn. Lucky for me, Wade has blades too, and I'm able to draw out swords from behind both of my shoulders, cleaving my attackers in two without a care in the world.
During the session, developer Twisted Pixel's lead game manager Phil Therien starts watching my playthrough, telling me that the true nature of combat is creativity. Taking this on board I throw a handgun into the face of one assailant before drawing a sword to slash at another bad guy loitering to my left, all the while emptying my remaining Desert Eagle into any and all unfriendly faces I see. The more creative your kills, including special animation you unlock by finishing stunned foes, the higher the score you get at the end of combat sections.
Grabbing other firearms around the map like shotguns and blasting through enemies before slinging the weapon at them and then catching it to find it magically reloaded is about as satisfying as a first-person shooter can get. Casually flicking a grenade to my right and blowing a miniboss into the afterlife while flinging a sword to my left and into the head of some unlucky goon feels equally perfect.
The only real negative is Deadpool himself who just won't shut up. I know this is on brand, and Neil Patrick Harris delivers with every line, but there's moments where I could've torn clean into Wade Wilson like Wolverine and not felt a shred of remorse. The upside of this though was I channeled my rage into the game, unleashing bullets and blades in a manner Wade Wilson himself would've been proud of.
Deadpool VR is easily the most entertaining VR game I've played to date thanks to its creative combat and self-aware humor, highlighted whenever Wade addresses the player directly. However, I'm not sure I could handle an entire game of the Merc with a Mouth unless I can nail it shut.
Check out our best Marvel games ranking for more comic adventures!
