So I recently had the chance to replay the Deadpool game (this time the Xbox One version). I had reviewed it in the past for another site, but my curiosity was peaked to play it again when I noticed it being pulled from the stores. While I can’t reference the actual review from the past (the site has long since gone inactive), I do remember being mixed on the experience. Now with some time, I am back to the same conclusion.

I rather enjoy the Deadpool comics, I am not much of a comic fan anymore, and even at what you would probably call “my peak” I was mostly a casual reader. Deadpool and X-Men were two of the only series that I was super passionate about. Deadpool can be an interesting character depending on the direction he is taken. There is the internet meme version of him which is all fart and tit jokes, and then the slightly more clever slightly deeper version. Either way, there is a healthy dose of immaturity thrown in, but it’s the balance that makes it so good. This game kind of lacks the balance. It leans heavily into the immature jokes, which in and of itself is not a bad thing. However, they aren’t that smart. Some of the jokes made me laugh most of them made me roll my eyes.

The story is serviceable. It’s typical “break the 4th wall” Deadpool is making the video game while playing it. There is not much happening overall. You are after the bad guy, some good and bad guys randomly show up, no real depth of character or story to be had. Really the story only serves as an excuse to motivate you to go from point a to point b. The game clearly relies on the jokes and cutscenes related to them to make up for the lack of compelling plot, but as mentioned the jokes just aren’t that good. If thing a that is average is supposed to be saved by thing b, thing b better be above average.

It is nice to see some characters that do show up though, and there are some cool moments between them (Cable and Death mostly). It’s also worth noting that there are times when the humor is on point. These moments do make the game more enjoyable but also highlights that with a bit more work the game could have been much better.

Gameplay itself is standard hack and slash. It’s fun, but again nothing special and mostly just “average.” There are also a few kinks, like it being a total pain to change weapons on the fly. However, there is a decent variety of weapons and special attacks so you can experiment and play with the best way to play Deadpool.

You will have to replay the game a lot, and so a checkpoint select in chapters would be appreciated. Chapters are long, and so going back to grind becomes just that, a grind.

Yet in spite of all my complaints, I am hard pressed to say “pass.” The game, if you can find it, is not all that expensive. When it’s right, it’s right, and when it’s not, it’s still not bad just average. It is a nice sit back and turn off your brain sort of game. It will hardly be anyone’s top game, I struggle to even use the word “good” for it, but it is solid at what it’s meant to be. I would love to see another Deadpool game, perhaps even by the same team, something that is not a tie-in with the movies, but more fleshed out and more care taken with the humor and story. There are glimpses of what could have been a fantastic comic book game that show up at various moments.

I realize this is a rather short impressions piece, but there is honestly not a lot to say. It is an average game that will give some Deadpool fans a bit of fun between better gaming experiences. If you go in knowing that you might have a few chuckles and a fun time, but it might not be the worst thing to go ahead and let this one pass you by.