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Review: The Boys: Trigger Warning
I joined the fanbase of The Boys TV show a bit late, but once I began watching, I was hooked and eager to binge the next episodes until I was fully caught up. With the final season on the horizon, we now have the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the world of The Boys through virtual reality with Trigger Warning. So, I was excited to see how ARVORE has utilised the license.
Game Details
Release Date: March 26th 2026
Developer: ARVORE IMMERSIVE GAMES
Publisher: Sony Pictures Virtual Reality (SPVR)
Price: £23.99
Reviewed On: Meta Quest 3
* Access Provided For Review *
A Deadly Family Secret
In the game, you take on the role of Lucas, a single father and an employee at Vought International. During a visit to Voughtland, you miss the opportunity to meet the superhero family, The Armstrongs. Not wanting to let your daughters down, you decide to sneak backstage to meet them. However, you soon uncover a secret they desperately want to keep hidden from the world. Just when you think it’s all over for you, a sudden event leads to the destruction of the building you’re in. As you attempt to escape, your youngest daughter is caught and tragically killed by The Armstrongs, leaving you mortally wounded. Fortunately, you are discovered by The Boys, who use Compound V to aid your recovery, transforming you into a superhero with telekinetic abilities. Framed and pursued for the incident at Voughtland, you find yourself with no option but to assist The Boys and seek revenge against The Armstrongs.
Stealth Shines, Combat Falters
As previously stated, the Compound V has bestowed upon you “supe” abilities, with the primary one being telekinesis. This power enables you to lift objects from afar and hurl them at foes, causing damage or even killing them outright, depending on what you choose to throw. Additionally, this ability can be employed for stealthy eliminations, allowing you to sneak up behind enemies and use it to crush their heads like a bloody grape. In addition to this main superpower, you also possess the ability to warp teleport, which physically relocates you from one location to another. However, this means you cannot use it to phase through walls or evade security lasers. Lastly, you have the capability to detect signatures through walls. These three powers create an ideal synergy for the stealth-action gameplay that the game aspires to achieve.
There are no restrictions on how often you can utilise these permanent powers; however, these powers do have their constraints. For instance, your telekinesis requires objects to throw, and lethal weapons are not readily available, plus you can only move while handling lighter items. This makes sense logically, but it diminishes the perceived usefulness of the power. Additionally, as previously mentioned, the teleportation ability is primarily designed to help you reach locations that are otherwise inaccessible, rather than allowing you to phase through objects. The control scheme, which involves pressing a face button to lock onto a target area and then holding the trigger to pull yourself towards it, feels quite cumbersome. Lastly, your sensing ability has a very limited range, which means you can’t effectively map out a room as the tutorial suggests you should.
In addition to your readily accessible abilities, you can also acquire more through limited-time Temp V injections during the game. With these, you’ll gain a pair of blades for your hands to slice through foes, an active camouflage for stealth, and laser eyes to incinerate enemies. These powers are significantly more impressive than your basic abilities, but to utilise them, you’ll need that additional Temp V in your injector, which can be replenished with Temp V refills you discover while exploring.
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Having all these abilities at your fingertips makes for great action, but this issue reveals that the game falters in combat, making stealth your most enjoyable gameplay strategy. However, it hardly matters if you are detected, as the enemy AI is neither particularly clever nor formidable. If you are seen, simply retreat a bit further into cover, and they won’t bother to investigate where they first noticed you. Even if they fully spot you, they don’t pursue you for long and can easily lose track of you. Additionally, they remain unfazed by the sight of a dead guard without a head, a severed limb lying around, or just another lifeless body; these scenes do not alert them. This means that while stealth is the most entertaining aspect, certain elements detract from the enjoyment and immersion that virtual reality is meant to provide.
One of the most surprising aspects, which is both frustrating and somewhat foolish given the current state of virtual reality, is a game that allows you to take on the role of a character yet suggests playing while seated – this seems quite counterproductive considering standing is the norm in VR and what the game aims to provide. Additionally, there’s the concern for players who rely on teleportation movement, this is solely managed through the warping feature; the cumbersome nature of this method could become quite annoying for those who depend on it to avoid motion sickness.
A Cartoony Clash of Tone
Where I wouldn’t say Trigger Warning looks bad visually, it is still quite an ugly looking game. The animations of the character in the game is very good, but at times I found it struggled with framerate issues. The choice of art style really matches with what we have seen from ARVORE and Sony Interactive VR game before, with a cartoony look, which differs a lot from what the show offers. Given the source material, the swearing and violence has been kept, it just seems odd they have gone cartoony with the graphics. Where this made sense for a game like Deadpool due to its source material, it feels The Boy’s would have been better with a bit more realistic look.
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The audio work is great, complemented by some solid music, while the environmental sounds and blood splatter enhance your immersion. Coupled with performances from some of the original cast and impressive impressions from others, it truly feels like you are interacting with the actual cast of the series.
Furthermore, the script aligns perfectly with the TV show, featuring a wild plot of revenge, violence, adult themes, and strong language, making you feel as though you are part of an episode of The Boys – albeit in a cartoon format.
Comfort
Verdict
The Boys: Trigger Warning has turned out to be quite an odd experience, and as a fan of the series, I was perhaps expecting a little more. While the game brilliantly captures the essence of The Boys with its chaotic narrative, violence, mature themes, and an abundance of expletives (prepare for a flood of C-bombs from Butcher), some of the other choices left me feeling somewhat disappointed. Personally, I think that if the team had concentrated on stealth mechanics and the art of silently taking down foes, even integrating the head popping and telekinesis, it could have been a great success. Moreover, improving the AI to necessitate hiding or disposing of bodies and limbs would have significantly enhanced the experience. Additionally, the decision to embrace a cartoonish style instead of a more serious visual approach felt like a stark juxtaposition to the show’s and comic’s gritty anti-hero vibe. Still, despite these flaws, I wouldn’t categorise Trigger Warning as a bad game; rather, it has some peculiar choices. It will undoubtedly resonate with fans of the comic or the series – I was simply excited to dive into The Boys universe in virtual reality, as they successfully captured the feeling of being part of your own episode.
Copyright / Virtual Grip (formally The VR Realm) / 2016 -
