WHAT IS IT?

An action-packed virtual reality xeno-extravaganza.

IS IT GOOD?

In spurts.

WHO SHOULD PLAY IT?

Aliens diehards.

CREW: EXPENDABLE

The title Alien: Rogue Incursion is a bit of a misnomer, as this is not so much an Alien game as it is an Aliens game. As in, an action-packed, pulse-blasting, action thrill-ride inspired by (and borrowing from) James Cameron’s legendary 1986 sequel Aliens, with an “s”.

This distinction matters a lot. As I have written (probably too many times) before, the xenomorph fandom can easily be divided into two camps. In one, there’s the Alien fanatics, like me, who prefer the slow-burn, oppressive terror of the original 1979 film. In the other camp, there’s my buddy Matt and others like him, who prefer the roller-coaster adrenaline rush of its immediate sequel, Aliens. (There have been seven more films since then, but anyone who says Alien: Resurrection or Prometheus is their favourite has clearly been infected by a parasitic organism and can safely be ignored.)

Whether a video game is inspired by the first or the second film can, in other words, tell you a lot about what to expect. Alien: Isolation (2014), which happens to be one of the scariest video games ever made, functions as a remarkably faithful tribute to the 1979 original. The long-running Aliens vs. Predator series, which is far better than that title might suggest, is decidedly more action-oriented. To be clear, both options are valid: sometimes, it’s fun to experience an unstoppable killer organism bearing down on you; other times, you just want to unload a film-accurate pulse rifle on a horde of xenomorphs.

Alien: Rogue Incursion, which really should be called AlienS: Rogue Incursion, falls so firmly in the latter category it may as well come with a cute kid sidekick and a “Game Over, Man” screen every time you die. Loud, dumb, and only intermittently scary, it’s a VR game for action junkies who don’t mind more than a few technical hiccups.

MU/TH/UR!

Alien: Rogue Incursion begins confidently, with a thrilling opening spaceship crash sequence which quickly introduces central character Zula Hendricks (Andia Winslow) and her “Working Joe” robotic companion Davis 01 (Robbie Daymond). Hendricks and Davis are, I am told, characters from the old Dark Horse comic book line, though I’m far more intrigued by the fact they name drop Ellen Ripley’s daughter Amanda, suggesting this is a kind of sequel to seminal horror title Alien: Isolation. Of course, Alien: Isolation had exactly one xenomorph to fend off; Alien: Rogue Incursion has approximately a bagazillion.

And that’s where Incursion‘s problems really begin. In this game, it seems like you can’t take five steps without a xenomorph peeling itself off a wall and making a beeline for you. Firing your weapon – there’s a pulse rifle, shotgun, revolver, and eventually proximity grenades – will typically make quick work of it, though it’s easy to get overwhelmed when too many xenomorphs (or facehuggers) are on-screen.

This is fun and even scary the first few times it happens. It becomes mind-bogglingly dull and rote long before the game ends. It doesn’t help that xeno-attacks are heavily telegraphed: activate or unlock something, you better believe a xenomorph is going to drop in to say hi; enter a new area, you may as well have your pulse rifle armed and ready.

It really doesn’t help that checkpoints are few and far between, forcing you to replay sections ad nauseam every time you die at the acidic jaws of the umpteenth xenomorph horde. At least the death animations are awesome (and the closest this game comes to giving you a heart attack).

EVERY BULKHEAD AND EVERY VENT

It also doesn’t help that Rogue Incursion is plagued by technical deficiencies.

VR controls are notoriously fiddly at the best of times, but Incursion does you no favours with a confusing array of motion-controlled actions which never quite seem to work. It takes like six steps to reload your pulse rifle; you’ll often be dead by the third step because your arm started flailing about while a xenomorph bore down on you.

Shades of Alien: Isolation, most of the game’s retro-tech is tactile, with levers to pull and buttons to mash; this too becomes a problem when the controls are unresponsive and put you at an unfair disadvantage during even the simplest of tasks. Heck, even the act of holstering your pulse rifle is frustrating; you might think you’ve safely stowed it, only for it to fall clattering to the floor at your feet. Sometimes, the game just crashes.

In any other game, those failings would be fatal. In Alien: Rogue Incursion, the excitement of exploring this otherwise well-realized fictional world is enough to keep you going, despite the glitches.

It is, after all, very cool to be exploring this world, with its absurd number of vents just begging for a creepy-crawly to leap out of. Every once in a while, Incursion even has a hint of that Alien: Isolation magic which made that (slower, more thoughtful) game one of my all-time favourites. So even though Incursion is clumsy and broken and, worst sin of all, renders the xenomorphs boring, I still can’t resist recommending it to fans of the series or, for that matter, those looking for a slightly different VR horror experience.

Look out behind you.

***
Final score: 7/10 Bill Paxtons.

Visit the official website for Alien: Rogue Incursion here.

The post Alien: Rogue Incursion (PSVR2) Review: So Many Vents appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

It also comes with a treasure trove of launch titles, ranging from rhythm-action to rhythm-dance to rhythm-puzzle. (Okay, we kid, but only slightly. There are a lot of rhythm games.)

While you can scan Sony’s slightly misleading “launch window” lineup here (many of those titles won’t arrive for several more weeks), we’re featuring here our favourites available on Day 1. Somewhat disappointingly, this initial batch is dominated by remakes and sequels, though that probably says more about our current cultural landscape than it does about Sony’s long-term plans. Presumably, once the launch window is out of the way, we’ll start to see the more interesting and, if we’re being honest here, weirder titles the PlayStation brand is best known for.

KAYAK VR: MIRAGE

We singled out Kayak VR in our PS VR2 launch piece as the showpiece for non-gamers. That’s mostly by default – the PS VR2 is, for now, almost exclusively a gaming device – but it so happens that this particular non-game is simply wonderful. It looks amazing, the gesture-based controls are so intuitive anyone can pick it up and play, and its free roam mode is utterly absent of anything gamey whatsoever. Go ahead, paddle to your heart’s content.

HORIZON CALL OF THE MOUNTAIN

If you’re going to buy a PS VR2, get the one bundled with Horizon. (Honestly, it’s silly Sony is selling a Horizonless headset at all; it’s the system’s signature game, and probably should have just come with the base model from the start.) A few years ago, we could not have predicted that a robot-dinosaur-riding cavewoman would become the face of Sony’s next big franchise. But here we are, three games in, and Horizon Call of the Mountain is the game to play to experience everything PS VR2 has to offer. The haptic feedback where you feel every swing of a robo-raptor’s tale, the elegant bow-and-arrow combat, the lush visuals: Horizon is PS VR2’s best launch game by a long shot.

REZ INFINITE / TETRIS EFFECT: CONNECTED / THUMPER

The original Rez remains one of the definitive arthouse games of all time. When we first played Rez, back in 2001 on the PS2, there was nothing else like it. A rhythm-shooter set in a psychedelic wireframe landscape, its singular innovation was a soundtrack that dynamically responded to the player’s actions, beat by beat, note by note. Its recent VR resurgence as the rebranded Rez Infinite made it one the most popular games on the original Oculus Quest and PS VR, and we’re just as happy to play it again on PS VR2 – especially now that it uses Sony’s eye-tracking technology so you can play it with your mind.

Joining Rez at launch are too many rhythm games to count, the best of which are its two spiritual successors: the brutally difficult “rhythm-violence” title Thumper, which sends you careening down infinite light tunnels to an electronic soundtrack, and Tetris Effect: Connected, from the mind of Rez creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi. We’re huge fans of Tetris Effect (we’ve reviewed it twice before), which won us over with its synesthetic gameplay, where every button press causes a corresponding shift in the visuals, the music, and even the vibration of the controller. Tetris has never felt so cool.

STAR WARS: TALES FROM THE GALAXY’S EDGE – ENHANCED EDITION

We loved Star Wars: Vader Immortal, which saw players face off against the dreaded Sith lord himself across a three-hour “interactive movie”. ILMxLAB’s latest, Tales From the Galaxy’s Edge, can’t match the dizzying heights of its predecessor, not least because it’s saddled with the absurdly corporately synergistic task of advertising a Disney theme park. Still, if you can get past the fact you’re restricted to Batuu (the new Star Wars planet invented, sigh, for DisneyWorld) and the cast of new characters voiced by the likes of SNL’s Bobby Moynihan, there’s some decent lightsaber-swinging, blaster-wielding fun to be had. But if they’re going to be adapting Disney rides, would it kill them to make a Star Tours game?

JURASSIC WORLD AFTERMATH COLLECTION

Originally a Quest exclusive, the PS VR2 version of Aftermath (which includes the original’s DLC sequel chapter) is definitely worth checking out. Set shortly after the (dreadful) legacyquel film Jurassic World, this eight-hour adventure sends players roaming through the ill-fated Isla Nublar, stalked by all your favourite dinosaurs. We have mixed feelings about the cel-shaded comic book aesthetic – it looks great, but the raptors and T. Rexes can occasionally come off as more goofy than scary – but the overall dino-survival-horror vibe is well implemented. Hold on to your butts.

AFTER THE FALL

If you wish The Last of Us had a thousand times more zombies and a thousand times fewer moments of quiet and introspection, After the Fall is for you. Available as a free upgrade to those who own the PS VR version, this multiplayer zombie fighting FPS has one thing going for it, but it’s an awesome thing: ice zombies. Playing in teams of four, each round of After the Fall consists of an intense firefight against nigh-endless waves of zombies, who have come crawling from Hell (yes, really) to stalk the post-apocalyptic streets of Los Angeles. It’s dumb fun, emphasis on the dumb, but there’s definitely something cool about teaming up with real human players to take on the ice zombie apocalypse.

TENTACULAR / THE LAST CLOCKWINDER

There’s a particular genre of cutesy VR puzzle games, perhaps best exemplified by A Fisherman’s Tale, in which amusing physics-based gameplay is paired with a soft, relaxed aesthetic and borderline twee voice acting. PS VR2 launch titles Tentacular and The Last Clockwinder fall firmly in this category, the former putting players in the virtual, er, appendages of a giant Giant Squid, the latter giving you control over an army of steampunk robots tasked with gathering magical fruit. Both were previously available on other VR headsets, but are certainly worthwhile if you’re seeking a more relaxed puzzler vibe. That said, if any game was begging for a dark and gritty reboot, it’s Tentacular: when I first heard there was a game where you control a CN Tower-sized squid, my only question was how many city blocks it would let me demolish.

MOSS/MOSS: BOOK II

Moss is another game that won us over back on the Quest, even if it mostly resembles the type of puzzle adventure game that works just as well on a TV. Played from a “human’s eye view”, Moss follows a sword-wielding mouse as she makes her way through a fantasy landscape which would not be out of place in Middle-earth (or a Lemmiwinks episode of South Park). While the mouse moves using standard video game controls, the immersive aspect comes from Moss‘s many environmental puzzles, which have you leaning down to push and pull objects to clear a path forward. Also, you can lean down and scritch the mouse on the head any time you want.

RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE / GRAN TURISMO 7

As admirers of the latest Resident Evil and Gran Turismo, we couldn’t resist shining the spotlight on their brand new virtual reality updates, especially since they come as free upgrades to existing games. Of the two, we’re slightly more excited about Gran Turismo 7, an extraordinarily lifelike racing sim which already feels incredible in VR with what little time we’ve had with it. But don’t discount RE either: given the noticeable dearth of proper PS VR2 horror games (anyone else remembers the PS VR’s shark attack?), Resident Evil Village will be worth the time for anyone seeking a good virtual reality jump-scare.

WHAT COMES NEXT

Speaking of horror, the PS VR2 launch window promises a few more intriguing titles. First up is The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners: Chapter 2. Hewing admirably close to its source material, the first Saints and Sinners impressed us with its thoughtful, methodical approach to surviving the zombie apocalypse, and we’re optimistic about what Chapter 2 will offer. Sticking to horror, but at the extreme opposite end of the spectrum, we are also looking forward to The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR, due in March. Though developer Supermassive is better known for its narrative-driven, choose-your-own-adventure games like Until Dawn, Switchback is explicitly advertised as a “roller coaster action-horror-shooter”. Fun!

Looking beyond the launch window, some of the more exciting games in the pipeline include Stranger Things VR (though we’d be more enthused if it wasn’t set in the recent, mediocre “Vecna” season) and the silly-looking co-op title Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord. We’re also cautiously, cautiously, cautiously optimistic about the as-yet untitled Aliens VR game. Anybody who’s followed us on Toronto Guardian knows that we’re huge Alien fans and yet have conflicted feelings about its pluralized sequel, from which the new VR game takes its inspiration. So long as Aliens VR gives us at least once “it’s in the vents” moment, we’ll probably be happy.

Beyond 2023, our Sony-brand crystal ball is having a hard time predicting what comes next. Presumably, some of the bigger name studios – your Capcoms, your Konamis – are waiting to see how launch goes, though we can likely expect some announcements before the year is out. (Metal Gear VR, anyone?)

We’re also curious about Firmament from Cyan Worlds, a studio which to this day remains best known for Myst, now celebrating its thirtieth(!) anniversary. Cyan’s previous VR game, Obduction, was heralded as a worthy spiritual successor to Myst, and we have every reason to hope for the same from Firmament. And speaking of spiritual sequels, another title with a lot of potential is the upcoming Shadow of the Colossus homage Behemoth, which looks to import the PlayStation classic’s colossus-fighting combat into virtual reality. (It remains to be seen whether it will pose equally murky ethical questions.)

What Sony hasn’t signalled yet is whether, beyond Kayak VR, it will make any sort of bid for the non-gamer space. We’d like it too – it would be a shame if its graphical capabilities didn’t get put to use beyond fighting and puzzling – but for now, it seems, the PS VR2 is a gamer’s machine. And for those of you dorks picking up a PS VR2 in the next couple months, you couldn’t do worse than the titles listed here.

***
For our PlayStation VR2 review, click here.
For the Toronto Guardian‘s original PS5 review, click here.
And stay tuned to the Toronto Guardian for all things PlayStation and virtual reality.

The post PS VR2 Launch Titles Roundup: Rhythm and Blues appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

UP IN THE CLOUDS

The PS VR2 (which we’ve also seen variously referred to as the PSVR2 or PS VR 2) arrives at an interesting time for the technology. On the one hand, VR continues its evolution into ever more sophisticated forms, with increasingly realistic graphics and innovative applications in fields (healthcare, design, etc.) far beyond gaming. On the other hand, now that the initial hype has died down, VR is at risk of becoming a niche product, priced out of reach of most people, even as its champions struggle to provide a clear thesis for what VR is supposed to be.

For now, at least, VR remains dominated by the Oculus/Meta Quest 2. Having traded one billionaire owner for another, the Quest 2 is the would-be Matrix or Holodeck of our time: a one-size-fits-all, cordless, relatively ($600) affordable headset, its self-contained ecosystem of games and edutainment reflecting its owner’s grand aspirations of a “metaverse” in which we live, eat, and breathe VR. It has some competition – the HP Reverb G2 comes to mind – but the eternal selling point for the Quest 2 remains the fact that it’s completely untethered: no wires to trip on, and, more importantly, no high-end PC required.

Beyond the Quest 2 lies another category of headsets, which we’ll diplomatically call the hardcore, but just as easily could be called the prohibitively expensive. These PC-tethered headsets include Meta’s own Quest Pro, which retails at a cool $2,000, while others – the Valve Index, the HTC Vive Pro 2 – sell for closer to $1,000. And that’s before you factor in the high-end PCs required to run them. Don’t get us wrong, hardcore VR is amazing, but most consumers aren’t looking to shell out thousands of dollars and fiddle around with graphics cards in order to go virtual sightseeing.

Entering this not-entirely-crowded market is Sony’s brand-new PS VR2, taking over the niche previously held by the PlayStation VR for PS4. As with its predecessor, the VR2 is its own beast: a high-end gaming headset with a $750 price point that situates it somewhere between the Quest 2 and the hardcore options, but which requires a gaming console in order to operate. Still, even factoring in the cost of the PS5, the VR2 winds up being one of the more affordable options, especially given its industry-leading specs (which we get to below). And with no Xbox or Nintendo VR options to speak of, it will probably be the go-to gaming VR machine for some time to come.

PLAY STATION

Having now spent a couple weeks with the PS VR2, we can report that it’s easily one of the most impressive pieces of VR tech we’ve ever encountered, with the kind of high-end graphics and haptic/tactile feedback we’ve come to expect from the PlayStation brand. Combined with the considerable might of Sony’s in-house studios and the prospect of ever more polished experiences from the stable of PlayStation developers, the VR2 is certainly an intriguing piece of technology. It may not be a Quest 2 killer (yet), but it also doesn’t have to be.

The PS VR2 is incredibly easy to get up and running. Turn on your PS5, plug in the headset and each bespoke Sense controller for a brief “sync”, and you’re guided through a simple setup culminating in a celebratory VR confetti drop. Weirdly, though, the VR2 lacks an Astro’s Playroom-style tutorial where you can try out all the hardware’s bells and whistles, meaning that new owners will have to make their way over to the PS Store to scope out the offerings.

Top of that list is Sony’s own Horizon Call of the Mountain, a new side-story in the beloved PlayStation series. As a video game, Horizon is simply outstanding, in many respects better – more streamlined, more immersive – than its console-bound cousins. As a video game, it’s also a clear showcase for what the PS VR2 can do, from its stunning opening river sequence to its dizzying climbing mechanic to its thrilling bow-and-arrow combat. It’s everything an immersive robot dinosaur video game should be.

At the same time, it is a video game. Which means that, with its complicated control scheme and slower moving (albeit excellent) narrative, it’s a poor showcase for those of us, and I assume there are many, looking to show off some gee-whiz immersion to their less tech-inclined parents or roommates. Horizon should be a must-buy for every PS5 owner who wants to experience the leading edge of gaming technology – which, to be fair, is every PS5 owner. But, paradoxically, it’s not the thing that’s going to sell the PS VR2 to the masses.

For that, we need to look elsewhere. Absent any of the non-gaming titles that populate other VR consoles – your Tripps, your Brinks – our favourite launch title wound up being, of all things, a kayak simulator. Kayak VR: Mirage, previously available for PC-tethered VR headsets, is probably what most folks picture when they think of immersive VR. Graphically, it’s extraordinary, sending you floating down Norwegian fjords and Costa Rican coastlines of breathtaking beauty, with intuitive gestured-based controls which should be immediately accessible to even the most game-averse. Technically, yes, there’s some gamification here – there’s a time-trial mode where you can race against the ghosts of other Kayak VR owners – but the real meat is in free roam, where you’re free to paddle around at leisure. Quasi-randomly generated events, like the collapse of a glacier or the appearance of a school of fish, add some excitement to what is (and should be) a relaxing, meditative experience.

WIL WHEATON: THE NEXT GENERATION

If you’ll forgive us getting technical for a moment, the PS VR2 has some very impressive specs, handily outdoing the competition in key areas.

To begin with, it’s the first VR headset to offer full 4K HDR (High Dynamic Range) visuals, making the colour and lighting pop like on a very high-end TV. It also has one the highest pixel counts – 2000 x 2040 – on the market, even boasting a slightly wider field of view – 110° to the Quest 2’s 90° – than its nearest competitor. Like the Quest 2, the VR2 also relies on a set of outward-facing cameras to scan the room, detect your movement, and ensure you don’t bump into any sofas or credenzas. This is a big improvement over the original PS VR’s requirement of both a dedicated VR hardware box and a TV-mounted PlayStation Camera.

One of the most startling features of the VR2 is its eye tracking capabilities. It’s going to take some getting used to, but be prepared for the fact that the hardware can quite literally track your eye movements. For now, we’ve mostly seen this relegated to menu navigation – it’s initially quite disconcerting when you realize that merely looking at the “settings” icon will cause it to react – but we’re bound to see some more innovative uses down the road. (I, for one, would kill for a PS VR2 version of Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s The Game.)

Equally impressive and yet disconcerting is the VR2’s use of haptic feedback. Gone are the simple days of N64 Rumble Paks or the infamous Rez Trance Vibrator, with the VR2 boasting full, context-sensitive vibration not only in both Sense controllers, but in the headset itself. We cannot emphasize enough how amazing and yet weird this is. Fighting a robo-velociraptor for the first time in Horizon, I actually yelped when it smacked me in the head and I felt the impact. It’s the type of setting that can be turned down or turned off – the VR2 boasts plentiful accessibility and comfort settings – but for those keen for that level of immersion, trust us when we say that it’s fantastic.

LAUNCH TIME

With Horizon its would-be system-seller and Kayak its non-gamer-friendly showcase, the PS VR2 also comes with a small but admirable launch lineup. While a few too many of these are available elsewhere, they greatly benefit from the crisp, ultra-high-definition graphics and haptic feedback of the new hardware.

Some of the more enjoyable (and already popular) titles include multiplayer zombie FPS After the Fall, adorably soft puzzle adventure games Moss (our original review here) and Moss II, and the very silly twofer of Job Simulator and Vacation Simulator. Other VR mainstays making the move to PS VR2 include duelling game Swordsman VR, the Sim City-alike Cities VR, G.O.A.T. rhythm-shooter Rez Infinite, and a plethora of other rhythm/music titles including rhythm-puzzler Tetris Effect, rhythm-FPS Pistol Whip, dance game Synth Riders, and rhythm-hell title Thumper. Though, with all due respect to that latter group (and saving Rez), they’re mostly just here to fill the void left by the noticeably absent Beat Saber, which won’t arrive on PS VR2 until later this year.

What may be of more interest to would-be owners is the short list of existing PS4/5 games getting free PS VR2 upgrades. Top of that list, at least in our book, is Gran Turismo 7. It may have its faults, but GT 7 is nevertheless one of the most stunningly accurate racing games ever created, and the prospect of experiencing it in immersive VR has our mouths watering. A close second in its immersive possibilities is Resident Evil Village, the latest (if not quite greatest) title in the long-running series. Village certainly made for a fun action-horror game at its original release, and we’re excited to see how it plays out in VR. (Though we’re going to have to wait to find out for both GT and RE – their VR updates weren’t available to critics ahead of launch.)

Finally, we’d single out a couple of the more notable not-quite-remakes/not-quite-original games arriving at launch, namely Fantavision 202X and Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge – Enhanced Edition. The former is a pseudo-sequel to long-forgotten PS2 launch title Fantavision, a “fireworks simulator” this writer can still remember reading glowing previews about back in (checks watch) 1999. The latter, a rebuilt-from-the-ground-up Star Wars/Disney World simulator, is effectively the same title already available on the Quest, but with the very large added bonus of haptic feedback in the headset and controllers. Swinging a virtual lightsaber never felt so cool.

LOOSE ENDS

Maybe the wireless Quest spoiled us, but the PS VR2’s built-in 4.5 metre (approx. 15 feet) USB-C cable has us worried. In fairness, we haven’t ripped the PS5 off our TV stand yet, but based on the number of times we’ve been tempted to wander off into the distance at virtual Star Warsland, we can’t help but wonder how long it will be before someone panics mid-Resident Evil, to disastrous results. While this is likely a function of USB-C’s limitations (data transfer decreases as cable length increases), we still wish there was a way to extend the cable if needed. Our best piece of advice? When handing your headset to a new user, get your PS5 on the floor and tucked out of the way… just in case.

We have some other minor quibbles with the PS VR2, though we expect most of them to be ironed out over time. For now, there’s seemingly no way to filter your game library for VR2 games, so you’ll have to sift through your PS5 titles to see which ones are VR2 compatible. It’s also annoying that, as far as we can tell, you still need to use your PS5 controller to turn on the main console before you can activate the VR2. It would also be nice if the VR 2 interface was more, well, VR: when you hit the home button it simply takes you back to the PS5’s two-dimensional home screen.

The flipside is that the PS VR2 is remarkably user-friendly, regardless of room setup. We’ve tried it in sitting, standing, and “roomscale” modes, all of which work well, though some games inevitably work better in roomscale, where you can actually walk around. We also appreciate that, following initial setup, the TV never needs to be turned on, though if you do, others are able to watch what you’re playing. This so-called passthrough capability has long been a stumbling block for VR, so it’s nice that it’s so simple to do straight out of the box. The PS VR2 also makes it easy to livestream your gaming sessions, a nice acknowledgement of the Twitchified era in which we live. We also love how easy it is to switch to the headset’s outward-facing cameras, allowing us to quickly peek at the outside world without having to remove the headset.

Speaking of the headset itself: yes, it’s bulky, and yes it still looks dorky. But it’s comfortable, it’s glasses-friendly, and it’s breathable. It’s also very easy to adjust how it fits, making for quick changes when you’re alternating with friends. The provided headphones are quite good, too, though you’re free to swap in your own.

U R E, TOO

If you own a PS5 and you’re on the fence about the PS VR2, let us put it this way: you are ready. Or rather, U R E.

Much like the PS5 itself, the PS VR2 is both an amazing piece of technology, and an example of what happens when the sheen of newness has largely worn off that technology. Yes, it’s bleeding-edge VR, and yes, it’s jaw-dropping and most importantly it’s fun. But, seven years on from the release of the original Oculus Rift, the PS VR2 simply is not – cannot be – a paradigm-shifting bit of hardware, nor is it a major departure from anything that’s come before.

The advantage to that, of course, is that you’re equally likely to have a clear idea of what VR can do, and more importantly what you want your VR to do for you. If your only VR experience has been at the art gallery, or if you’re more interested in virtual sightseeing, the PS VR2 probably isn’t for you. Conversely, if you already own a PS5, or if you’re a gamer debating which next-gen system to buy, then you’re definitely ready for the PS VR2, which happens to be tethered to the best gaming console of the past decade. The future of virtual reality may be unclear, but Sony’s latest offering has firmly staked its place as one of the great additions to the virtual landscape… wherever it may be headed.

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For the official Sony PlayStation VR 2 website, click here.
For all your outstanding PS VR 2 questions, check out Sony’s surprisingly robust PS VR 2 FAQ here.

The post PlayStation VR2 Review: U R E 2 appeared first on Toronto Guardian.