Action Hero can be challenging, and sometimes frustratingly specific in what it demands from you, but the satisfaction of finally nailing a complex sequence is undeniable
In a world where VR action games are becoming increasingly common, Action Hero manages to stand out by wrapping its time-bending mechanics in an entertaining Hollywood production premise. As an actor/stunt performer, you're tasked with filming action sequences across various movie genres, bringing together elements from classic films in creative and often surprising ways.
The game's structure is built around five distinct movies, each broken into four acts containing multiple scenes. You'll find yourself jumping between movie mashups like The Matrix meets Inception, or Indiana Jones meets Jurassic Park. This premise works brilliantly, giving context to both your successes and failures - every death is just another take, with the director ready to roll camera again.
The core gameplay revolves around the concept that time only moves when you do. Yeah, it's just like Superhot. When you're stationary, everything around you nearly freezes, giving you precious moments to assess the situation and plan your next move. This creates an engaging dance between careful observation and explosive action. You might spot a bullet heading your way, freeze in place to consider your options, then execute a series of precise movements to dodge it while taking out the shooter.
Each scene is a carefully choreographed sequence of threats that you need to navigate without taking a hit. The arsenal at your disposal varies - sometimes you'll start with a revolver with limited ammo, forcing you to think carefully about each shot and perhaps requiring you to disarm enemies or find alternative weapons. Other times you might get access to melee weapons or need to use environmental hazards to your advantage.
The game shines in creating those "action hero" moments - catching a gun in mid-air, deflecting bullets with melee weapons, cutting down shurikens with a katana or timing your movements perfectly to make enemies take each other out. However, the challenge level can feel quite demanding, often requiring very specific solutions to survive certain scenarios. While there's some room for creativity, many scenes feel like they have an optimal path that you need to discover through trial and error. And I don't know how I feel about that. Like one of the best things about Superhot VR was the experimentation. Grab a random bottle and throw it an enemy then throw another random plate at another while also punching a third one in the face to then finally grab a shotgun and blast the remaing foes. If that didn't work, I could try again maybe shoot first then throw the bottle or plate. And that was fun! Here, in Action Hero, you feel constrained to the optimal path otherwise you'll die.
This is a movie and I want to put on a show! I want to do more stylish and dramatic moves, and although they might not be the safest option, I still want to do that. But the strict difficulty sometimes works against this impulse and I really hope they add more flexibility to the game in the future.
Thankfully, the game offers extensive accessibility options. You can adjust various parameters like bullet velocity and the number of hits you can take before failing, allowing you to fine-tune the experience to your comfort level. This flexibility helps balance out some of the more punishing sequences while still maintaining the core tension and excitement.
Visually, Action Hero presents a clean, colorful aesthetic that serves its purpose well. While it may not push the Quest 3's capabilities to their limits, the environments are varied and detailed enough to sell the movie set premise. Explosions, bullet trails, and environmental effects all contribute to the cinematic feel, though some effects like explosions could use a bit more impact. Love how the enemies ragdoll when you shoot or punch them though!
The audio design deserves special mention, effectively conveying both the slow-motion and real-time aspects of the action. The directional audio cues are particularly helpful in identifying threats, while the director's commentary adds personality to the experience. The sound mixing dynamically adjusts between normal and slow-motion states, maintaining clarity regardless of the temporal situation.
While the main campaign can be completed in about two hours, Action Hero offers additional content through its Director's Cut versions of each movie. These remixed scenarios add more enemies and modify scene configurations, providing a substantially greater challenge for those who've mastered the original versions. The weekly challenges offer yet another way to engage with the content, combining scenes from different movie acts into unique combinations and adding a competitive element through leaderboards.
While it may not revolutionize the formula, Action Hero succeeds in delivering an engaging VR action experience that makes excellent use of its time-manipulation mechanics. The movie production setting provides both an entertaining framework for the action and a natural explanation for the game's structure and systems. Yes, it can be challenging, and sometimes frustratingly specific in what it demands from you, but the satisfaction of finally nailing a complex sequence is undeniable. Or you can just turn on invincibility mode and do whatever you want. I like this game and I do recommend it and I really hope they tweak it in the future to make it more fun. Thanks for reading!
The game was reviewed on a Quest 3 via a promo copy provided by PR. Action Hero is available on Meta Quest.
