The Boys: Trigger Warning is, on a tonal level, a pitch-perfect game reimagining of The Boys. The Prime Video adaptation of the comic of the same name presents a crass, gory take on the superhero genre that can be quietly complex even as it has people exploding or getting melted by heat vision. The storytelling in the VR game fits the show well, with a fitting balance of ridiculous bombast and tragic darkness that delivers a compact but effective story set in this world.
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It’s a shame that the gameplay can’t always quite keep up with the experience. While the superpowers provided to the player can be fun in short bursts, the actual experience (especially in combat) suffers from a sense of repetition. While the stealth sequences fare better, the result is a game that is pretty compelling when it’s telling a story but slows down too much when it’s trying to let you live out your power fantasy. While it’s a must-play for diehard fans of the TV show, those struggles make it harder to wholly recommend to those unfamiliar with the series.
Review Score: 3.5/5
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Solid writing and immersive worldbuilding pay off in a tight, tense story. | Gameplay — especially combat — can quickly become repetitive. |
| Stealth sequences deliver on some clever fusions of gameplay and storytelling. | Poor enemy AI leaves game with a relative lack of challenge. |
| The story genuinelly feels like stepping into the world of The Boys. | Inconsistent graphics can undercut dramatic moments. |
Getting Your Head In The Game
The best thing about The Boys: Trigger Warning is the way it uses the VR approach to drag players into the very vivid and brutal world of The Boys. The player takes on the role of Lucas Costa, an employee at Vought who brings his daughters to a superhero theme park, only for an encounter with the Armstrongs, leading to the apparent death of one of his children. On the verge of death, Lucas is restored thanks to the Boys and Compound V, the latter of which empowers Lucas with a host of temporary superpowers. With these abilities, Lucas is tasked with sneaking back into Vought to complete missions for the Boys — and getting his revenge against the Armstrongs.
The story is fitting for the source material, finding a clever way to make the player a stand-in for Hughie without distracting from the canon story. The presence of Lucas’ other daughter, Jessica, also provides the game with an easy way to add complexity to the game’s otherwise straightforward story about vengeance. A mix of established actors from the show and solid impressions helps draw the player further in. Levels typically take the length of an episode of the TV show, playing into the sensation of being an unseen but quietly important side story within the world of The Boys. The writing and the performances are good, although the somewhat cartoonish aesthetic of the graphics can undercut some of those more dramatic beats. Overall, though, the actual storytelling behind The Boys: Trigger Warning is fairly impressive. Especially for fans, the immersive approach is a delight.
Come And Have A Go If You Think You’re Hard Enough
VR gameplay can be tricky, but bombastic action (as seen in titles like Deadpool VR) can work in the format when there’s enough variety and challenge to the experience. Otherwise, the combat can risk becoming somewhat repetitive. That’s unfortunately what happens in The Boys: Trigger Warning, especially in sequences where players are tasked with fighting their way through hordes of nameless police officers and security guards. The game gives players a couple of different powers to utilize, and finding creative ways to apply them can be engaging. However, actual combat usually just entails sneaking up on someone to pop their head with telekinesis, using arm blades to chop them up, or purposefully overpowered heat vision to reduce them to ash. It doesn’t take long for the powers to become somewhat straightforward, with even the boss battles relying more on formula than on inventive approaches. While fights can be fought on your own terms, they’re all fairly standard confrontations.
The stealth sections of the game fare better. These sequences actually heighten the tension, forcing the player to rely on brief bursts of invisibility, teleportation, and x-ray vision to properly maneuver around enemy patrols or find crucial intel for the Boys. These stealth sections are also when the game finds ways to incorporate puzzles, mazes, and worldbuilding into the active experience. Whereas the overpowered nature of the combat can leave those sequences feeling repetitive and even dull by the end of the run, the stealth sections find the right balance of deadly tension and power fantasy to be effective while still advancing the plot. It almost makes you wish the game had been more stealth-oriented and that combat had been more reserved for bigger sequences where the lack of repetition could have given those bursts of gore more staying power.
No Heroes, Just Supers
The Boys: Trigger Warning is a solid TV show tie-in that nevertheless can’t quite stick the landing as a stand-alone game. The worldbuilding and tone are spot-on, with just the right mix of intrigue, dark comedy, and emotional weight to fit the show. At its best, Trigger Warning feels like a great addition to the world of The Boys, a mini-series where the player gets to team up with Butcher and MM to try and bring down the corrupt system that elevates the twisted villains of the universe into “heroes.” While it’s short, the narrative feels tightly constructed enough to pay off the underlying concepts.
While the gameplay does suffer on some levels, it’s not like it’s unplayable or frustrating. If anything, the game becomes too easy when it allows players to truly unleash their powers, an effective means of showcasing the overwhelming power that comes with being a Supe. If you’re interested in dark superhero stories and want to follow up on the VR adventures of Batman and Deadpool, then The Boys: Trigger Warning is a good pick. Fans of The Boys will especially find a lot to love about the experience. While it may not be a graceful landing, Trigger Warning has enough strengths to make for a solid VR experience.
Comicbook.com was given a Meta Quest 3 copy of The Boys: Trigger Warning for the purposes of this review.
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Courtesy of Bones Film
