underrated

Deadpool VR is going all-in on the explosive, R-rated humor of the films and comic books and giving the player control to creatively take down everyone in front of them.

From shoving people’s faces into fan rotors to juggling your pistols and landing trickshots, the ability to interact with the world is the main selling point here, aside from Wade himself.

And, though this playground approach to gunplay is a refreshing one, the overall vibe of Deadpool VR harkens back to one of the most underrated shooters of all time.

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Deadpool VR has that same sense of whimsical violence that I haven’t experienced since Bulletstorm, a 2011 cult classic fondly remembered by those with whom it really struck a chord.

Deadpool VR brings back the spirit of an underrated gem

When you think of the term “sandbox” in a video game, you may often think of an explorable open world with tons of things to discover. However, Deadpool VR condenses the concept of a sandbox into the moment-to-moment gameplay.

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It gives players enough tools to fix a car and sets you free as an indiscriminate death dealer, but with just enough whimsy and flair to make it still feel light-hearted. And, with the Gamescom trailer showing off all the heroes and villains you’ll be fighting, it seems there’s some substance here, even if the story isn’t taking itself too seriously.

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This captures the spirit of the films in a way only video games could, giving the player a genuine combat sandbox that lets them be creative and express themselves in VR. It’s a perfect fit.

Someone slice your arm off? Don’t fret, just smack them with it! It’s a weapon now. You can hotswap from kunai to swords to guns to a gravity tether gun that lets you toss people right off a cliff. It’s a very video game-y video game in the best way.

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So often it feels like games nowadays take themselves very seriously. They’re often afraid to let loose a little, try new things, and have a blast. At least when it comes to the AAA space.

However, there’s one game that comes to mind that tried that before: Bulletstorm. Originally released in 2011, it felt like someone played Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and went, “What if we made a game that gave you bonus points for shooting a guy in the nuts instead of doing a kickflip?”

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And, despite Bulletstorm getting middling reception when it launched, being a fairly short 5-6 hour game, and selling pretty poorly at first, it’s been re-released several times and even has its own VR version. There’s a certain itch this game scratches that no one can seem to replicate. It’s lightning in a bottle in many ways, repetitive and disappointing if you aren’t creative, but infinitely replayable if you are.

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Bulletstorm

For the first time in years, Deadpool VR scratches that itch. Despite other VR games like Boneworks exploring the idea of a combat sandbox, no other game has the level of whimsy and sheer chaos present in Deadpool VR.

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It’s shaping up to be a massive step forward in the incredibly niche genre I’d call a “stunt shooter”, something that feels like a mix of a character action a la Devil May Cry and an arcade skateboarding game.

VR is still a hard sell. But, if Deadpool VR manages to take the chaotic bliss of the demo and turn it into a lengthy and fleshed-out experience, it could end up being the sort of game worth buying a headset for.

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