Your guide to the first batch of PlayStation VR games
After a long wait that’s involved multiple names, Sony’s PlayStation VR headset is finally here, and its arrival has been announced with the release of a number of highly anticipated games (see: RIGS, pictured above).
We’ve seen the ultimate fantasy come to life with Batman: Arkham VR, a classic game remastered in VR with Rez: Infinite, and others built from the ground up for the new medium.
Better yet, now that we’ve actually had a chance to try out these games in the comfort of our own homes we’ve been able to weed out the experiences that don’t hold up over long play sessions.
For a launch line-up, Sony has really done an amazing job trying to put out something for everyone: there’s a horror title in the form of Until Dawn: Rush of Blood; a trippy psychedelic music title from Harmonix and a shmorgishborg of content in one place with PlayStation VR Worlds. But those games are just the tip of the iceberg. Sony’s promised us 50 games in 2016 and early 2017. Plus, considering the publisher’s extensive relationships with third-party developers, we’re excited to see what it and its partners have to bring to the VR table.
Without further ado, here’s our roster of the best games on PlayStation VR.
Resident Evil 7 is a bit of an anomaly on this list. The next entry in the long-running horror series takes the experience into first person for the first time, but, more impressively, can be played in its 18 hour entirety in VR.
This means that the game is one of the longest VR experiences available right now, but you’ll need a lot of courage to make it through the game this way, since by all accounts Resident Evil 7 is one scary game – especially in virtual reality.
But if you’re able to stomach the scares you’ll be rewarded with one of the finest horror games of this generation, and a true return to form for the Resident Evil series.
It may only last 20 minutes, but what a fantastic third of an hour it is. Star Wars Battlefront’s X-Wing VR mission, even as an extended tech demo, is a perfect example of what VR is capable of. Putting you right in the cockpit of a lovingly modelled X-Wing fighter, it transports you directly into a key element of the Star Wars universe.
Handling like a dream as you dart between asteroids and take on a fleet of Tie Fighters, you’ll get all the feels when John Williams‘ iconic score begins to swell.
Who’d have guessed that a 15 year old Dreamcast game would turn out to be one of the killer apps for Sony’s PlayStation VR headset? The second time that the classic shooter has been updated, Rez Infinite adds VR head tracking into the mix, putting you at the center of its Tron-like wireframe soundscapes.
It’s always been a game that lets you “get in the zone”, but with VR head tracking, Rez Infinite becomes almost hypnotic. With an ace, pulsing trance soundtrack that builds to a thumping crescendo as you shoot down polygonal enemies, you find yourself fully immersed in the futuristic landscape as it zips past your floating avatar.
With an insane sense of speed and spot on head-tracking enemy targeting, it’s easy to completely lose track of reality whilst playing Rez Infinite, and it’ll be hard to stop yourself dancing along to the grooves your shots produce. Packing in all the additional content of the earlier HD re-release of Rez, it’s still a relatively short VR experience at just around an hour long.
But, like a good album, it’s something you’ll want to dive into again and again. Just be careful that you don’t do a “Jeff Bridges in Tron” and find yourself so hooked that you’ll never want to leave.
Batman: Arkham VR is probably the best introduction to PlayStation VR as a platform. While there isn’t a ton of gameplay in the traditional sense, it’s an amazing visual showcase that demonstrates the power of the platform.
The opening sequence of the game draws you into in by leading you from the top floor of Wayne Manor down to the basement wherein you suit up as the Batman for the first time.
What you’re paying for here are the vistas and the incredible level of immersion as you solve crimes throughout Gotham and come face-to-horrifying-face with Batman’s greatest adversaries.
There’s few things scarier than looking the Joker in his beady bright green eyes or standing mere inches away from Killer Croc, and Batman: Arkham VR is one of the only experiences in the world that offer just that.
