- Written by Stephen Powell
- Gaming reporter
Is virtual reality the future of gaming?
It’s a question that industry insiders have been debating for some time, with passionate opinions on both sides.
And there’s nothing like a shiny new collection to reignite the debate.
With the launch of the PlayStation VR2, one of gaming’s biggest players says virtual reality will play an important role in the industry in the years to come.
After failing to invest in several blockbuster VR games, some thought Sony might give up on the virtual reality experience, signaling a lack of confidence in its first foray into the field.
I found the original PlayStation VR uncomfortable, confusing, and a cable-related worst nightmare.
Released in 2016, it gave gamers some really happy moments, and created a wide smile when playing the Tetris effect for the first time. Experiencing Resident Evil 7 through a headset was the most terrifying and traumatic gaming experience of my life.
But those memorable moments are few and far between. The lack of truly playable games, especially device-exclusive ones, is an issue that will never be resolved. Despite this, five million units are said to have been sold worldwide.
Jordan Midler says Horizon: Call of the Mountain is a “beautiful” VR experience, but he feels the platform needs more like it.
PS VR2 is undoubtedly a slimmer, lighter and more comfortable experience than its predecessors. It wants to corner itself in the middle of an increasingly crowded VR market.
You will actually need a PlayStation 5 to use it. If you own one, it’s the inexpensive VR gaming option like Valve’s hyper-threader (which requires a top-drawer PC to run). However, it offers more impressive technical performance than cheaper options such as the MetaQuest 2 (which costs around £400).
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Games journalist Jordan Midler of Video Games Chronicle (VGC) spent time with the device prior to its release.
He says he’s always wanted to experience the best of what VR has to offer.
“It’s an absolutely amazing and amazing headset from a hardware perspective,” he begins.
“The price (£529) may put some off, as it’s actually higher than a PS5 controller, but for the graphical power you get in this headset, it’s a lot more affordable than its PC counterpart.”
Midler worries that the same complaint that fueled VR gaming from the start still applies now that it’s drawn to the headset — what will people play? The device it claims has no unique experiences.
“You actually get Horizon: Call of the Mountain as a true PS VR2 exclusive.
Where are other big Sony titles that make PlayStation so popular? Where is the Spiderman VR game or the Last of Us VR experience?”
The lack of so-called “system marketers” whose titles encourage people to buy new hardware just to play a particular game is a criticism often leveled at many VR devices.
Most games available on PS VR2, such as Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, are also available on other VR headsets.
If most of the games that can be played on PS VR2 right now are also available on other headsets, why would gamers choose them over others?
“There’s not much in the way,” says Midler.
For now, Sony is banking on the Horizon Series VR tie-in to do much of the heavy lifting.
Horizon: Call of the Mountain might be the most popular exclusive title at launch, but Midler says he’s most impressed with the game, calling it “absolutely beautiful.”
The release sees you climbing mountains and hunting with a bow and arrow in the post-apocalyptic world made famous by 2017’s Aloy.
“I was shocked and a little embarrassed at how quickly the game tightened my arms and I started to feel the pain of climbing a virtual mountain!” He laughs.
“It captures the scale of the instruments that call this place home, compared to the scenes in Jurassic Park. There are moments when you go under a high neck, it’s a giant kind of mechanical giraffe, and the game is really hard. It is your mind to think you are in this world.”
“The gameplay supports that – it’s not just a theme park experience.”
Horizon: Call of the Mountain is a part of the Horizon series in which the player becomes a disgraced ex-soldier.
The original PlayStation VR games are not currently compatible with their newer sibling. This means players who have created a game library for this console and choose to upgrade to PS VR2 will have to start over or wait to see if a fix is available.
That’s part of the reason Midler thinks it’s a headset that will appeal to the “hardest fanatics” who truly believe in VR gaming.
He argues that since the previous iteration was “abandoned” at the end of its time, gamers should have “more confidence in PlayStation” to invest time and money into making more games.
The PS VR2 has many positives, but it also raises a lot of questions – it’s a microcosm of the VR gaming experience to date.
The hardware doesn’t provide any definitive answers, so the role of VR in the future of gaming will likely be a topic of conversation among industry insiders for some time to come.