Now, here’s the situation. It might be challenging to satisfy everyone while evaluating a VR headset, such as the PlayStation VR 2, because there are so many things to take into account. With his excellent assessment of Digital Foundry, I believe John Linneman will satisfy both tech enthusiasts and seasoned VR users. Since I anticipate a good number of new users will be joining the fold at launch, I will also discuss the headset’s user experience for novices. However, I will mostly be contrasting the PSVR2 experience with that of the first PSVR, a headset that I am well acquainted with, for this review. Most of the folks who have pre-ordered the PSVR2 are probably former PSVR users. But more significantly, they will also be the ones who are most likely to be aware of all the technological improvements and breakthroughs that Sony has achieved since its initial VR game generation.
The first innovation is easily seen in the PSVR2’s inside packaging, which now serves as a stylish storage case for your controllers and headset while not in use. It’s a neat, straightforward concept, but when I and a few other testers opened the headset last week, we were surprised to see that the storage box’s flip-top lid lacks a catch. This implies that if you flip the box over, it will effortlessly spring open by itself, dropping your new headset onto the ground. When you’re unpacking yours, please keep this in mind since mine just dropped about an inch and was alright.
It’s time to set up your PSVR2 when it has been securely removed and gravity is no longer a menace. When compared to the previous PSVR setup, this method is remarkably straightforward and efficient. One straightforward, light-weight, 4.5-meter cable powers the PSVR2, and it connects to the console directly via USB-C. Compared to other wired headsets I’ve used, this one is incredibly convenient and is the epitome of plug and play.
Upon turning on the PSVR2 headset for the first time, a brief setup procedure will ask you to complete. This process enables you to quickly and simply calibrate the headset to your unique room and face shape. A few entertaining tiny setup panels that assist to illustrate the headset’s new functions add some excitement to an otherwise very basic procedure. You may simply rotate a little wheel on top of the headset to change the IPD (interpupillary distance, or the distance between your pupils), for example, until the digital representations of your eyes on screen fall into the center of two circles, which represent the headset’s lenses. That’s how simple it is.
All you then have to do is track a few dots on the screen with your eyes to calibrate the eye tracking on the headsets. After just a few minutes, you can check the precision of the calibration on a charming small screen with cartoon representations of your eyes surrounded by dots. It’s a lot of fun to bounce your eyes about and create up some small melodies as you go since each dot you glance at plays a little musical note. Another entertaining feature is that the PSVR2 reflects your blinks to the on-screen images based on the eye tracking system in place, allowing you to wink at yourself incessantly. It’s just a very lovely touch that gives the proceedings a little sparkle a la Astrobot.
The PSVR2’s See-through mode is another slick new setup feature that makes it incredibly simple to set up your play area for room-scale VR. By pushing a button on the bottom of the visor, you can quickly see the outside world in black and white when you’re in see-through mode. It’s not the greatest image, but it allows you to grab a coffee cup without worrying that it would fall to the ground, and as you’re setting it up, it looks around the area to find open space and impediments. since you see your room being scanned in front of you, it feels incredibly futuristic, but it also seems like it’s more for show than anything else, since I didn’t always get really precise findings. Fortunately, you can then use your sense controllers to rearrange the play area by redrawing or removing sections as appropriate.
It is not required to calibrate the Sense Controllers in this way. These Move Controllers are ready to use right out of the box, unlike the PSVR Move Controllers, which required calibration by holding them up to the PSVR camera. Once the headset is turned on and adjusted, all you have to do is hit the PS button to couple them. It’s that simple, really.
After using the PSVR2 for a considerable amount of time, I can confidently state that it’s the most comfortable VR headset I’ve ever worn. The rubber cushions and the simple headset tightening dial allow you to have the headset tightly fitted without experiencing extreme pressure. The halo band around the top of the headset distributes the pressure around your skull, preventing the visor from dragging down on your face like the Quest 2 does. Having said that, prolonged playtime did cause some pressure marks to appear on my forehead and nasal bridge, albeit they were not nearly as severe as the deep skin ridges I would have from the Quest. I played for about five hours straight at its longest without getting tired or hot from the headphones. Additionally, a thin rubber shield that rests against your face blocks out most light leakage from the outside. This is good news for those who wear glasses because I tested the headset while wearing a pair and had plenty of room to wear them comfortably without taking away from the experience.
Nor is the contentious PSVR2 to PS5 connection all that bothersome. I played sitting most of the time and never noticed the cable, which is understandable given that some people have problems with the unit’s lack of wireless capabilities. It’s practically weightless, and because of its length, you can use it for VR in a room without any problems. This cable is completely little in comparison to the Spaghetti Junction of wires from the original PSVR.
When compared to the Moves of the past, these objects represent a significant advancement in terms of sense controllers. They are really well-fitting into my hands ergonomically, with well-placed buttons and superb construction quality. Moreover, they are really light, which is fantastic for something you’ll be holding with your arms outstretched for extended periods of time. The grip buttons on the side lie far too flush with the handle, which is my sole complaint—and it’s a pretty significant one. This was probably done to reduce the number of unintentional button pushes, but it also meant that I had to squeeze them quite firmly to make them work.
My index fingers became really strained as a result, and I also felt very awkward handling objects like the blasters in Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy. I used to frequently lose items on the floor without realizing it because I would unintentionally relax my grasp, which became rather annoying. Fortunately, for mischievous people like me, the wrist straps can be taken off.
Regarding the duration of the battery in the Sense Controllers, I was able to play Horizon Call of the Mountain for 4.5 hours prior to receiving a low battery alert. Having said that, after around 3.5 hours of play, it seemed like the controller tracking began to suffer and became less accurate—not much, just occasional drift. It is obviously not quite as severe as what you could have encountered with the Moves, even during their full charging cycle.
A set of in-ear stereo headphones that slide neatly into the PSVR2’s halo band are also included with the headset. The ability to keep the earbuds in the tiny triangular slots on the PSVR2’s sides is a thoughtful feature, and the audio quality of these is surprisingly good. That being said, using a separate set of wireless headphones is still the ideal way to enjoy audio. Sony’s Pulse 3D Wireless Headphones fit wonderfully and provided me with greater overall audio quality when I checked it out.
Regarding the PSVR2 experience itself, the difference in visual quality between the 1080p resolution of the original PSVR and the 4K HDR OLED display on the PSVR2 is just astounding. The hazy, murky images of the past are replaced with vivid, bright colors, striking contrasts, and an incredibly sharp image that brings even far-off things to life. This is aptly illustrated by the vistas from the summits of Horizon Call of the Mountain. Its images are far superior to anything the PSVR could provide, and I cannot emphasize this enough. If you’ve never experienced high-end PC VR gaming before, the quality will astound you.
It’s not that the pixels in the display aren’t visible at times; they’re just not as obvious as they were on the PSVR. They stand out the most in brighter photographs, such as Horizon’s vivid blue sky, but other than that, I never saw them—especially in detailed images. However, field of view is one area where the headset falls short. Since it’s only around 10 degrees higher than the original PSVR, you may still see the black rings at the periphery of your field of vision, or “binocular vision” effect. Again, though, you really won’t see it until you actively seek it out. When I got really into a game, I completely forgot they were there.
Although I’ve previously discussed tracking a few times, I must emphasize how significant the generational divide is in this instance. The tracking of your headset and controllers on the PSVR was done by means of a mounted camera and some colored LEDs, which resulted in a great deal of inaccuracy and irritation. Inside-out tracking on the PSVR2, which has four cameras placed on the headset in addition to motion and proximity sensors, has made it such that you can forget about stumbling over on-screen objects and experiencing uncomfortable controller drifts when you extend your arms too far. It’s not perfect; occasionally, reaching too low seems like the headset is having trouble tracking your hands, and I lost tracking of one of my controllers for a brief while when I slipped it below the arm of the chair I was sitting on. Other than that, though, everything worked flawlessly. It was easy to reach behind my head and draw arrows from my shoulder, and best of all, I could play games with my back to the camera, which meant I could face whatever way I chose.
The headset haptics, which are also new to the PSVR2, certainly enhance the experience a little bit more without being very remarkable. It changes depending on the game, much like the haptics of the DuelSense controller. For example, when a T-Rex passes by in Jurassic World Aftermath, you get shaken off, while in Horizon, they’re used more gently. It’s entertaining the first few times it occurs, but eventually you start to forget it exists. Similar circumstances apply to the haptics that the Sense Controllers also feature. The adaptable triggers, which can be utilized to simulate things like trigger pulls and engine rpm, really struck me more than the DualSense controllers. Again, this varies between games, but in After the Fall, they felt very amazing, giving the firearms I was holding a particularly realistic sensation. In any case, their inclusion here is a significant improvement in terms of immersion after their absence from the Move Controllers.
Of course, eye tracking—which employs an infrared camera to precisely monitor your eyes within the headset—is the last major new feature for the PSVR2. Numerous new features are added as a result, such foveated rendering, which enables the games to depict regions you’re directly looking at in greater detail than parts you’re not. Additionally, it allows game creators to include eye tracking directly into their creations; I tested this in the Horizon Call of the Mountain menus. I was able to choose the menu item I wanted by only gazing at it and pushing the X button with just my eyes and my thumb. It was a bit of a novelty given that switching weapons quickly or implementing other creative concepts could be accomplished with a single thumbstick press, but it functioned well and was enjoyable. (For instance, there’s a scene in Supermassive’s Dark Pictures follow-up to Rush of Blood, Switchback VR, when creatures only move when you blink in real life. That sounds rather scary to me!)
Similar to the original PSVR, you can use the headset to play flat-screen games or view movies, but there isn’t really a “theater mode” per se. On a large virtual screen with a simple black backdrop, all you have to do is watch movies or play flat games. I put this to the ultimate test by playing a little bit of Dark Souls 2 and watching the opening of All Quiet on the Western Front on Netflix. Both games and the images performed exactly as well as they would have in the PSVR, with the important difference being that the images had better resolution this time around and there was none of the screen drift I had experienced with the first headset.
Lastly, and maybe most crucially, is the PSVR2 worth Sony’s absurdly high asking price, particularly given these difficult times? That will always depend on your own situation, but those who have previously experimented with the medium and have extra money to spend will be overjoyed—even more so if they are switching from an original PSVR. Utilizing the PSVR2 after having a PSVR feels like a real generational jump, on par with playing Mario 64 for the first time. This headgear greatly enhances the immersiveness and quality of VR experiences on the PlayStation.
There are also a ton of launch games to enjoy, some of which, such as Horizon Call of the Mountain, have breathtaking graphics. Gran Turismo 7 and No Man’s Sky have great expectations for me with the PSVR2, but I haven’t had the opportunity to play them yet. Even while there are plenty of games to choose from, there don’t seem to be many large, noteworthy launch titles that would be considered system sellers. Alyx, without Astrobot or Half-Life. Hell, this one doesn’t even come with a demo CD in the vein of PlayStation Worlds. It’s unfortunate because I adore the hardware itself.
Tested games at the time of review writing:
Horizon Call of the Mountain was a fantastic PS VR2 debut, but its over emphasis on climbing gameplay held it down in certain ways. See my whole review of Horizon Call of the Mountain here.
The Jurassic World Aftermath Collection begins agonizingly slowly and gradually develops into something that is similar to Alien Isolation. This one really kicks up the headset haptics, and in the first scene when a T-Rex approaches you, its footfall are so massive that they practically cause your skull to tremble. This one had very little interactive elements, so at first I was rather bored with it. However, despite the cel-shaded artwork, it turned out to be really disturbing.
The Moss Even though I’ve played this game on a few other platforms, this is by far the finest version so far. Through the PSVR2, the narrative world that you and your mouse friend Quill live in is incredibly beautiful. The Sense Controllers make it much simpler to lean into the environment and interact with the surroundings than it was with the DualShock 4’s lightbar in the original PSVR edition. The colors are vibrant and the detail is clear, even from a distance.
WHAT THE BAT? – I’ve been unable to test this one out because of space constraints in my VR Corner, which is unfortunate because it seems like a lot of fun. This is a waste of time unless you can draw a 2 × 2 m playspace in your house. WHAT THE BAT? as the game wouldn’t even launch in my room, where I can hardly manage 1 m x 1 m.
One of the most lifelike-looking VR games I’ve ever played is Kayak VR: Mirage. I was kayaking across the Arctic at one point when I saw something that vaguely resembled an orca swim beneath me. I was so amazed that I forgot it wasn’t real life. As it glided through the water beneath my kayak, I experienced a sensation of almost primitive terror in my chest. It’ll blow your mind several times in the first few hours of play, but there’s not a lot to do other paddling and sightseeing. For those who have never used virtual reality before, the ‘Tour’ mode is an ideal way to get a taste of what the PSVR2’s graphics are capable of.
Style – The graphics of this survival role-playing game with a tabletop theme that I had previously played on the Rift S were definitely better on the PSVR2. As this game is double-hard, exactly like the PC version, I have only been able to test it out in single player mode, and I didn’t go very far. Though I would have loved some sort of stick movement, it’s still a lot of fun with friends and the control mechanism that uses your body motions to move around works great with the Sense Controllers.
The enhanced edition of Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge – Enhanced Edition manages to capture the essence of the original film, even though its gameplay is fairly simple, particularly when it comes to enemy AI and puzzles. It’s also a lot of fun to shoot blasters at cut and paste enemies, even though their AI isn’t much smarter than Bantha poodoo. Some of the game’s sights are quite breathtaking thanks to the updated 4K HDR graphics, but even in those cases, the game’s simplicity makes it obvious that it was once a Quest game.
Cities VR: Enhanced Edition – I’m not particularly like city builders, and this game didn’t do anything to alter my opinion. The haptics aren’t that noticeable, and the visuals aren’t all that great. Although I’m sure a lot of people will enjoy this game, it doesn’t have the same “wow” impact as the majority of other PSVR2 upgrades.
After the Fall: So far, I’ve only been able to play After the Fall in singleplayer with bots as partners. Other than a minor graphics upgrade and some clever adaptive trigger technology that effectively simulates the feel of a trigger pull, the game plays almost exactly like the PSVR version. It’s fast-paced, chaotic, and occasionally janky, but playing it with friends should be a lot of fun, especially now that the controls are much more precise.
Startenders VR: Unlike Job Simulator, which it obviously imitates, which is a silly, lighthearted office frolic, Startenders VR felt more like working at a real job. Which is to say, tedious and a little labor-intensive to play. It also didn’t particularly highlight the new headset functions, however the more precise tracking will be helpful in completing all of the drink orders.