A reader describes his first few days with the PSVR2 and his prime video games, whereas reviewing Horizon Name Of The Mountain and Gran Turismo 7 VR.
I have been wanting ahead to PlayStation VR2 because it was introduced and the wait has been lengthy.
I actually loved my PlayStation VR1, however cannot say I’ve used it a lot. The setup was too fiddly to make use of usually and a few connectivity complications attributable to different gear adjustments brought about it to gather mud in a drawer more often than not. I actually loved Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, Driveclub, Resident Evil 7, Blood & Truth, Wipeout Omega Collection, Moss and Vader Immortal.
But it was often a frustrating experience. Many of the games I left before seeing the end because the game required me to reach or pick up something just outside the tracking window and couldn’t. So I sold it to make way for PlayStation VR2, despite buying a lot of games for it that I never got around to playing. Hopefully more upgrades will be announced over time. I will cry human tears when WipEout is announced.
Yes it is pricey but as I reckon it will probably last for the next seven years and if I spend a few hours of entertainment on it each week then those hours will cost less than £2 each in total.
The announced line-up seemed great to me. I was most excited about Gran Turismo 7 because I bought the game with a reward, but then shelved it in hopes of a VR version. So when it was announced that the full game would be playable on PlayStation VR2, I was ecstatic! But I don’t understand the cynicism. If someone had told my younger self that a good VR headset was coming out and that you could play Gran Turismo, Resident Evil and No Man’s Sky on it at launch, I would have thought you were some sort of wizard from the distant future. used to be.
The lineup is great, I played a bit of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners on PlayStation VR1 and it was great, but I stopped hoping there would be a PlayStation VR2 port and there is! And it’s free! Looking forward to Moss as that was one of the games I quit due to bad tracking issues.
Wednesday comes and I’m nervous because Sony hasn’t sent any updates and my money seems to have been refunded to my account. I’m afraid the payment was not successful and the order has been cancelled. But thanks to a Facebook hack I can find the tracking ID and the thing is delivered in an hour!
I come home from work and unpack it and it’s a nice feeling package. Once my girlfriend has gone to bed, I fire it up. Horizon Call Of The Mountain takes a while to download so I won’t be playing that tonight. But Thursday I have a day off, so I have plenty of time.
Setting up the headset feels very science fiction. Eye tracking is really instant and impressive. Scanning your room to set up your play area works great.
What to play first? Resident Evil Village is installed and ready to use. Would be rude not to. I wasn’t really interested in the flat version of the game. But was overjoyed to learn it would be in VR. I thought it would make an average Resi more fun.
First impression. The tutorial stage isn’t the huge jump in graphics I was hoping for. It looks great, but I wonder how much better than Resi 7 it is. Conversely, the controllers feel fantastic. But a little further inside and I explore the house and it looks fantastic. The screen door effect is still there, but much less so. I also feel a lot less restricted than in PlayStation VR1. I can move freely, turn around without losing track. I spend a lot of time looking at the furniture and furnishings! A walk through a dark snowy forest is suitably menacing.
But it’s getting late. I haven’t set up my wheel yet, but I decide to do a quick spin on Gran Turismo to see what it looks like. It is awesome. The feeling of sitting in the car is wonderful. But it’s not as clear as I hoped. It’s much better than PlayStation VR1, but not the crystal-clear upgrade I built myself up for. Traffic signs are still unclear and there are many ghosts. Especially in reruns. Which I assume is due to the 60fps reprojection.
There is a small sweet spot in the center of the frame, but the image degrades further from the center, not because of the foveated rendering, but because of the lenses themselves. To get the best image quality, you still have to turn your head. Don’t just look at anything. But viewing cars in the VR showroom is great. They look very real. Still a bit soft, but I spend a lot of time walking around in a virtual car.
The next day I agree to help a colleague for an hour despite taking the day off. Frustratingly, an hour turns into a 6:30pm finish and I don’t get home until 7pm. There goes my day of VR fun. After reflecting on last night’s experience, I realize that both games I’ve played are still essentially PlayStation 4 games and won’t show off the new headset at its best. So I’m excited to give Horizon Call Of The Mountain a shot.
When my girlfriend goes to bed, I start it up again. Horizon looks great and this is where the PlayStation VR2 really starts to shine. When I look at the arrows, I see fine details in the quivers. Plants and moss on the rocks react when you touch them. The vistas are still soft but they are impressive. But there is a point that sells the experience to me. I physically kneel down to retrieve an apple from under a table. That is it. But that would have broken PlayStation VR1. Here I do it flawlessly without thinking about it and without complicated room furnishings. Beautiful.
Wielding a bow and arrow feels fantastic. I also make it to the first encounter with a walker and am impressed by the fight. The lock-on and jump strafe mechanic instantly gives me Metroid Prime vibes. Add that to the feeling of firing your own bow and arrow and it felt great. Pulling out the eyeball like a trophy felt triumphant. I quickly got to grips with Tetris Effect and Thumper, both of which felt more immersive than before. Bedtime.
Friday went untouched, but Saturday my girlfriend was out for birthday brunch, giving me an entire afternoon and evening to play. I went straight back to Gran Turismo with my wheel setup and started working my way through the cafe’s menu books. This was a great experience. On many occasions I was dumbfounded by the light transitions, the verticality of the tracks that felt like a roller coaster, the feeling of being completely immersed in the racing and the ogling of the cars in the café.
I had regular outbursts of “This is great!” Quickly stopped the VR reruns as they suck and need more options. Passenger seat would be nice, as well as helicopter camera, or just the regular replays in VR.
Sunday was again limited to two hours before bed and I went straight back to Gran Turismo. It really is the killer app.
Overall, I’m very happy with my purchase and I suspect I’m getting my money’s worth from Gran Turismo 7 alone. Everything else is a great bonus. PlayStation VR is finally realizing its potential and I can’t wait for more games made specifically for it and the power of the PlayStation 5, not held back by the PlayStation 4.
By reader thewearehere (PSN ID)
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MORE: No Man’s Sky PSVR2 review – another VR game better than Horizon Call Of The Mountain
MORE : Resident Evil Village may be the best VR game ever made – PSVR2 review in progress
MORE: Gran Turismo 7 PSVR2 review in progress – the real killer app simulator
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