Action Hero Review: Lights, Camera, Action!

Action Hero delivers a satisfying VR FPS that pays tribute to the silver screen, and it’s out today on Quest. Read on for our full review.

Superhot VR remains an exemplary game, and there’s a good reason why people continue discussing it now. Those then-unique mechanics where time only moves when you do delivered a short but oh-so-sweet FPS, leaving an undeniable legacy that continues influencing games. Action Hero doesn’t hide its influences and while this isn’t a revolutionary leap forward, Fast Travel Games’ latest title scratches that familiar itch.

Half of Action Hero’s magic lies in its setting and as an unnamed actor, you play the protagonist while filming five movies that serve as your levels. Some wonderful over-the-top parodies follow on everything from heist films to The Matrix. Between unexpected raptors and ninjas inexplicably armed with guns, it’s a humorously campy premise that refuses to take itself too seriously.

Each movie gets delightfully more unhinged as you advance. Films are shot across four acts that serve as checkpoints, and each act contains five individual scenes. Much like Superhot VR, the slow-motion gameplay affords you time to carefully consider your environments. Across throwing stars, bones, swords and shotguns, there’s a great variety of weapons. Using items like a shield causes them to break, so you need to be careful.

What’s particularly great is how this approach lets you get creative. I could steal a gun from a nearby foe by grabbing it and melee attack them with it to save the bullets, or I could lob it at an explosive barrel for multiple kills to create some cool action shots. Perhaps these enemies will kill each other if you leave them be, who can say? A fitting finale caps off each movie that feels satisfying to beat.

Should you get hit during filming, you’ll be forced to retry and clear that act once again. It’s rarely frustrating, though dodging lasers in the second movie gets annoying as I often found said lasers frequently hitting me despite being certain I’d avoided them. Still, no reshoot costs are too great for perfect cinema, and repeated fails helpfully grant you a golden pistol with unlimited ammo.

What’s also appreciated is how customizable the difficulty is. Finishing movies on the harder difficulties leaves me feeling accomplished, but being able to dial down the heat in ‘Relaxed Mode’ is equally welcome. My Gamescom demo left me thinking it’s just one hit to kill you, but you can give yourself either extra or infinite lives. Options for more ammunition, laser sight and projectile velocity from enemies are also welcome.

Upon finishing a level, you’re then presented awards based on three different categories: time taken, coffee cups destroyed (there’s one hidden in each act) and your general performance. The last part factors in kill count, destructible objects destroyed and headshots, alongside earning more points for regularly fast forwarding. This provides good replayability as the awards come in four ranks: bronze, silver, gold, and platinum.

Completing movies unlocks the next one, and beating the whole campaign unlocks a Director’s Cut version with more challenging and increasingly unhinged directorial demands. I can only respect their vision, though. Every film needs 800% more raptors, of course they do. Name me a movie that wasn’t drastically improved by adding more. Who has the budget for that? This director’s studio, apparently. There’s a great sense of escalation that provides an entertainingly challenging spin on the existing movies.

My biggest concern is the visuals in Action Hero. Fast Travel is targeting Quest 2, Quest Pro, and Quest 3/3S but on Meta’s latest headset, some environments and special effects could be stronger. The explosions in particular feel somewhat plain, like you’re looking at a giant red cloud with blemishes of orange or yellow. This isn’t always noticeable during the action when your focus is split, but for a game focused on heavy action set pieces, it’s a little disappointing.

Action Hero also doesn’t need long to complete, either. Playing on the default difficulty settings with some tweaks during tougher segments, beating both the entire campaign and Director’s Cut versions of each movie took me roughly five hours to beat, with multiple reshoots required. You could certainly clear this more quickly with easier settings. It’s left me wanting more, and Fast Travel states more movies are planned in future content updates.

Beyond the movies and subsequent Director’s Cut editions, Action Hero also includes a “Weekly Shot Challenge” with a more competitive approach. This mixes four random acts into one movie to create a truly incomprehensible film, placing your scores onto an online leaderboard. It’s nothing exceptional since you’re still playing the same scenes, though it’s an interesting twist on the usual proceedings.

Action Hero Review – That’s A Wrap

Action Hero successfully walks that fine line between being approachable for VR newcomers while offering a thrilling campaign for more established players. It’s over a little too quickly and the visual presentation isn’t the sharpest, yet that doesn’t do much to dull what’s otherwise a refreshingly enjoyable action game with a hilarious premise. The spirit of Superhot VR lives on in Action Hero, and I’ll be first in line when those additional movies premiere.

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