Popular Post VeganVermithor Posted July 8, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted July 8, 2023 (edited) Hello VR party people, this forum section is in desparate need of some content, if you ask me. I merged an older and a brand new reddit post of mine together into the following list of ratings and reviews of PSVR2 games I completed to date. I'm using a rating out of 5 ★ for both the game in general, as well as its trophy list. Those ratings and the following ramblings are all totally subjective and I'm happy about any and all debates this might spark. I also include an approximation of my completion times, as per a mix of the PS5s internal (and often bugged) tracking, the psnp tracking and educated guessing. According to our very own VR leaderboard I'm currently the #1 non-regionstacking VR trophy hunter in the world, but it's a fleeting title. Shoutout to @KyonKuchiki and @MikeCheck-- for keeping it region-stacking free and interesting at the top. Here we go, enjoy my rants and add your own! ---------------------------------- Across the Valley 🎮★★☆☆☆ 🏆★☆☆☆☆ ⏱11 Animal friendly farming simulator that has you upgrade buildings and buying more and more animals, constantly adding to the complexity of your work day and the produce of the farm. Depending on your skill and efficiency in minigame type settings you gain more or less return from your fields and animals. Unfortunately, the gameplay loops are overall more annoying than fun, there are a few pretty unsatisfactory mechanics and general gameplay issues on top of a shit-tier trophy list. The devs were pretty engaged after release though and tried to fix issues as soon as possible, so I give a bonus star. Still, this is only for people who really crave farming in their living room - or wherever you have your PSVR set up. After the Fall 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★☆☆☆ ⏱24 Coop zombie shooter similar to Left4Dead, port from the PSVR1. Has many weapons, parts, mods and skins to grind for, so the replayability is solid. With crossplay there is always a healthy amount of people to play with. Especially in a group it’s great fun and the PS5 version profits from the better controllers and higher resolution. Unfortunately, it’s still riddled with unacceptable technical issues. Lots of bluescreens on higher difficulty, disconnecting from lobbies, glitched runs. On nightmare difficulty many people can’t play even a few rounds in a row without anyone in the group disconnecting or crashing. It’s way better on lower difficulties, but eventually you obviously don’t want to play those anymore. The trophy list would be pretty decent, if not for one insane and entirely over tuned 20+ hour grind. Afterlife VR 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★★☆☆ ⏱2-3 Pretty enjoyable horror title of the classic “haunted asylum” type. You try to find out what’s going on in the mental hospital while solving puzzles and putting together clues and the general story. Nothing mindblowing, but solid implementation. This genre loves generating shovelware like no other, but this game is clearly above that. The trophy list has the potential to get annoying, as the collectibles are a challenge, but the game as a whole is rather easy. Altair Breaker 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★★☆☆ ⏱8 Japanese sword action fighting game, mech-themed. The gameplay loop is running solo or coop through a number of arena-style levels until a final boss, then upgrading in a central hub area to get ready for the next run. The enemies get stronger over time, scaling to the lowest player level in the party. Gameplay and graphics are smooth and the first hour is very fun. Especially getting the hang of gliding around the various large arenas and then dropping onto enemies is very satisfying. At some (early) point you’ll probably realize that you have seen everything there is to do in the game though. Each run contains the exact same arenas, just in a different order. Enemies are all the same few models. Upgrading becomes expensive and therefore a bit grindy and doesn’t do much visually. Your swords and clubs and whatnot just get a bigger damage number or crit a bit more often. Without trophies, I don’t feel there would be much incentive to play this game for long, as there doesn’t seem to be much of a carrot to chase. The trophies are easy, most get awarded for very simple things within the first few runs. Reaching level 20 and beating the bosses final form takes a bit longer, but the most grindy challenge is a whopping 1.000 enemy kills. That one makes this trophy list ultimately overstay its welcome by a few hours. Overall a solid game to have some easy fun, especially with a group, but nothing to keep you engaged for long hours. Another Fisherman's Tale 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★☆☆☆ ⏱2-3 Sequel to the beloved gem “A Fisherman’s Tale” from PSVR1. Same as back in the day on PS4, you are listening to a storytelling captain while navigating a bunch of puzzles in a charming environment. Unfortunately, that’s all those two titles have in common, as the game we got here can’t tie on the first at all. The story is shorter than the first and less compelling, same as the style of puzzles. Where the first played with perspective and room-in-room type puzzles, the second has you solve the various predicaments by detaching and controlling individual body parts, mainly the head and different substitutes for the hands, which kept feeling somehow “off” to me until the end. Ultimately, the style of Another Fisherman’s Tale didn’t come close to what the first game offered and left me a bit disappointed. It’s not a bad game at all, but it’s sad to see this one adding only to the many mediocre games we currently have in the library, instead of becoming a hidden gem like the first was. The trophy list adds insult to injury, with the lack of both a platinum and any gold, while being unimaginative and boring. Awesome Asteroids 🎮★★☆☆☆ 🏆★★★★★ ⏱1 In this game you cruise around in a space fighter and protect your objective by shooting at waves of asteroids or the odd enemy ship here and there. It reminded me very much of the PSVR1 launch title “Eve: Gunjack”, that had you operate a gun turret in a similar setting. Shovelware without any glaring issues, but not a lot of gameplay either. You have freedom of movement in space though, which as far as I know no other game on PSVR2 offers currently. It’s a great game for the quick trophy hunter in particular, as the full list, including a platinum and seven gold trophies, is up for grabs in under an hour. And if you absolutely need to scratch that space itch, this is a temporary fix until we get a worthy PSVR2s equivalent to Star Wars Squadrons. Beat Saber 🎮★★★★★ 🏆★★★★☆ ⏱31 An all-time VR classic, deservedly a staple in the top 10 of most bought PSVR titles since release, and now on PS5 still one of the absolute best VR games I have played. I don’t even like the rhythm genre that much, but this game is special. Once you get used to cutting blocks and learn the songs, this game flows like no other and is both addictive and a workout at the same time. And not only is it the perfect showcase for visitors and VR newbies, it makes you feel like a Jedi-Master, too! The trophy list is demanding while being rewarding and compared to many other rhythm games neither unfair nor a push-over. Absolutely everybody needs to have this game in their library. Before Your Eyes 🎮★★★★★ 🏆☆☆☆☆☆ ⏱“3“ Story game with cartoon graphics that makes use of the eye detection of the PSVR2. You change scenes by blinking or looking at certain things, absolutely no controller input needed. This is kind of an odd one out of my list because I don’t have the platinum at the point of writing this. Even after the latest patch, the trophy list is broken for all but a small percentage of players, so 1 or 2 trophies can’t be obtained. I completed the game multiple times though and definitely wanted it on here, because it’s an absolute stunning experience. I have never been so emotionally hit by a VR game and recommend it to everyone. I don’t want to spoil anything, just have tissues and someone to hug nearby. This is a masterpiece of alternative storytelling. Brain Beats 🎮★★☆☆☆ 🏆★★★★★ ⏱2 Underwhelming Beat Saber/Synth Riders clone. People might recognize this as the uncoupled DLC from PSVR1’s “Mind Labyrinth VR Dreams”, so this is technically a port and not a new game. As far as rhythm games go, this one is pretty plain and easy with a small but alright song selection. Amazing for trophy hunters, but for everybody else, the only reason to get this over the two afore-mentioned would be one’s budget. Break Stuff VR 🎮★★☆☆☆ 🏆★★★★☆ ⏱4-5 In four different levels you throw things from a table in front of you and try to break stuff in the environment for cash. Cash in turn unlocks more and heavier things to throw as well as new levels. The throwing physics work incredibly well in this game, but other than that it’s not that great. Progression is unnecessarily tedious as you have to play the current stage over and over and over again to get to the next one, and the graphics are pretty rough too. The trophy list, despite being a very dry grind, is overall easy and a sure hit for the steeled mind of the trophy hunter. Budget Cuts Ultimate 🎮★★★★☆ 🏆★★★★☆ ⏱17 Stealth-action game with a funny premise (robots took over the world, humans are obsolete in the workforce and are now being hunted by HR) and a focus on speedrunning and creativity in solving the levels. This game is unique in being a port from PS4, but with a little extra. The ultimate edition released on PS5 contains the “old” Budget Cuts 1 as known from PS4, as well as the new Budget Cuts 2, that never made it to PS4. This game currently doesn’t get a lot of love and indeed the release version had half its trophy list bugged and graphics that didn’t do too well compared to other PSVR2 titles. After a patch the entire trophy list is achievable now (and it’s a pretty fun one!) and the graphics got a pretty decent upgrade, too. I like this game quite a bit and with the sense controllers it handles much better on PS5 than it did back in the day on PS4, which was teleport only. I stand by my rating, but it’s definitely higher than most people would award, be aware. Cave Digger VR 🎮★★☆☆☆ 🏆★★★★☆ ⏱6 Port from PS4 with a little bit more content than the pre-patched PS4 version had. You are going on runs down a mining shaft, smacking rocks and collecting valuables for money to upgrade your selection of gear and the town around the mining shaft. End-game is doing the same loop, but on and around a train that basically turns your vertical runs into horizontal ones. The overall premise of the game is alright, but it’s still as rough as it was on PSVR1, with some crashes, bugs and control issues. If you aren’t a trophy hunter, there is no reason to get this game over Cave Digger 2, which has way more content and behaves a little bit more reliable (but is still far from the state that could be called “polished”). Cave Digger 2: Dig Harder 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★★☆☆ ⏱7 Port from a PSVR1 game. You’re a miner equipped with several upgradable tools (pickaxe, pistol etc.), set out to get rich by riding down elevator shafts, mining different gems or collecting artefacts while shooting at enemies. Every shaft has three progressively more rewarding floors (randomly generated) with a safe full of valuables at the bottom. This basic loop (which takes anywhere between 2-15 minutes, depending on your approach) is spiced up by a quest system, tasking you with stuff like killing enemies, destroying bottles, or scanning spots in the overworld. I enjoyed this game quite a bit more on the PS5, as it ran a bit smoother, looked noticeably better and had less crashes than the PS4 version. The movement with the Sense controllers is also far, far superior to the old Moves. Still, the game gets a bit clunky at times and is prone to stuttering and infrequently crashing the farther into the endgame you get. The trophy list is pretty easy to complete, but the “endings” are very obscure to trigger without a guide and there is one collectible trophy that is a bit of a grind. Not a mind-blowing game, but fun enough and a good playground for trophy hunting. Cosmodread 🎮★★★★☆ 🏆★★☆☆☆ ⏱8 Remember the amazing rogue like space-horror “The Persistence” from PS4? This is a similar game, but on a budget. A bit smaller and shorter, fewer mechanics, toned-down color palette, but the same idea. Each new run through a monster-infested mothership mixes up layout and active mods, like more enemies, less ammo etc., but also gives you the chance to find permanent blueprints to enhance future runs. You are tasked to completed specific objectives (enter coordinates, start warp drive, initiate jump, flee to hangar) to get back home to earth. The implementation here is very, very solid for a small indie game and friends of the genre should absolutely hop in here and enjoy the trip. This game is on the easier side of the genre too, so it’s unlikely that finishing the game poses an insurmountable goal, even for casual Charlie. The trophy list is pretty bad unfortunately, lacking a platinum and overall oomph. Cosmonious High 🎮★★★★☆ 🏆★★★☆☆ ⏱8 A colorful puzzle game with lots of imaginative tasks in an alien high school. You are the new kid at the school and have to earn credits by attending classes and cleaning up various messes in the hallways. You unlock multiple superpowers progressing the story, including the mastery of elements, reading minds or manipulating the size of objects. While definitely aimed at younger audiences, I found the game to be cute, clever and endearing. The possibilities of goofing around with objects seem endless. The mechanics are very similar to Vacation Simulator, but Cosmonious High is the bigger playground. Unfortunately, it started to mess up towards the end with some crashes, stuttering and bugs. The trophy list with a platinum and 7 golds can be completed in one weekend, if you try to be fast and use a guide for the collectibles. Creed: Rise to Glory 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★★★★ ⏱2 A boxing game tied to the successful movie series or the 1st, 2nd and 3rd rise of Adonis Creed. Port from the PS4, but with a reworked trophy list (slightly less points, but massively easier too). You train, you box, you train some more and then box some more and then you have seen everything the game has to offer. The graphics are clean and sharp, and so is the gameplay, tempting me to give this a fourth star, but there simply isn’t enough content to warrant that. What little there is, is absolutely solid though and people who play this for a workout will likely get way more out of it than people playing it for the campaign only. Sticking mainly to solo play is mandatory though, as the multiplayer is dead, or near so. For any trophy hunter not disgusted by buckets of sweat (who are we kidding, we start sweating when opening our eyes in the morning) this is a must have. Don’t forget the real shower after the trophy shower. Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate 🎮★★★★☆ 🏆★★★☆☆ ⏱“21” Episodic anime crime-novela in a sci-fi/fantasy setting, high similarity to “Altdeus: Beyond Chronos” from PSVR1, but way better in every aspect. You as the protagonist try to solve a murder in a domed city, far in the future, while trying to avoid being murdered yourself. One of your skills luckily is jumping back to points in the past, giving you the chance to make difference choices and uncover more about the story and various characters in the game world. Episode 3 of 3 isn’t released at the point of writing this, but that shouldn’t impact the review much. This is a very niche genre among the US and EU population, so rating it is a bit hit or miss. If you like games with a minimum of gameplay, but a maximum of dialogue and story AND like anime, then this is a very solid choice for you. The graphics are top-notch, same as the voice-acting and depth of the story. The trophy list requires attention to detail and some research, as not everything can be solved by intuition alone. Garden of the Sea 🎮★★★★☆ 🏆★★☆☆☆ ⏱5 Absolute gem of a game. While the trailer makes it look like a farming sim, it’s actually more of an exploration puzzler. On a colourful island world, you expand a homebase by exploring your surroundings and discovering formulas for various items and buildings. Ingredients can be fed into a machine that crafts the desired product. A stable for the cute animal wandering the island, for example, might require fence parts, stones and certain plants, with the fence parts having their own formula to produce them. A central mechanic is also collecting a multitude of different plant seeds from all around the game world and growing them in your personal garden to have the adult plants readily available for completing new tasks. In the beginning you mostly encounter basic tasks and simple receipts, but after a while you unlock more islands, more complicated formulas and more animal friends! This game has lots of elements you might recognize from the PSVR1 title “Winds and Leaves”, which was an amazing game in its own way, just with a slightly different style. The game isn’t very long and is sadly lacking a platinum trophy. Some of the formulas required for progress are also a bit tricky to figure out and might have you travel to a bunch of wrong places before you find out where to get what. If you are open to playing calm, colourful and relaxing VR games, this is a must have title. Gran Turismo 7 🎮★★★★★ 🏆★☆☆☆☆ ⏱71 One of the three AAA titles in the launch line-up. The game needs little introduction and if you are even mildly interested in the racing genre, this is a no-brainer purchase. More interesting is the question about possible peripherals, which can quickly rival the cost of the console itself. If you have the disposable income for wheel, pedals & co, it’s a stunningly immersive experience and the definitively best way to play. If you don’t want to drop that kind of money for a complete racing setup, the game handles and feels great with the Dual Sense controller, too. Considering almost all PSVR2 games require the Sense controllers, having a VR game to play while they charge is a great bonus perk. While outside the car windows not quite as sharp as the trailers would have you believe, the clarity and detail of the interiors of the cars is amazing. The game is otherwise what you would expect from a high-quality racing sim, so people who come from Mario Kart will likely have to endure quite a learning curve, depending on what they want to achieve in the game. The trophy list was an absolute pain to complete, offering all facets of suffering known to trophy hunters. Grinding, RNG / time-gating and insanely difficult license tests made this the hardest trophy list I have completed in years. I would still only recommend not to get this title if you really don’t like the racing genre or get very frustrated by a game ruffling your feathers here and there. Horizon Call of the Mountain 🎮★★★★★ 🏆★★★☆☆ ⏱10 The second of the AAA launch titles. Set as a side story in the timeline between Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, this game is a mix of tech demo for PSVR2 and fan service for Horizon enjoyers. And when I say “tech demo”, I don’t mean it derogatory, because wow does this demo the shit out of the tech. This was the first game I tested the new headset on and it spoiled me for all the other games that came after. People call this game a climbing simulator and I get it. Some are disappointed with the lack of open world or free movement in combat and I get it too. Yet, this is by far the best-looking game of the entire library (this and RE8) and my hot take is that this is the only native PSVR2 game we currently have that makes any effort at being a true “generational leap” over PSVR1. It’s not perfect, but HCotM made it painfully obvious to me that games currently have to compromise way too much, being held back by the demand of other, less powerful systems. But the potential is there and I can’t wait for new PS exclusive IPs to blow all the years-old steam/oculus/PS4 titles out of the water. The trophy list was a bit challenging, as pretty much no one had completed the game yet and made guides (back in the days of February 2023, the older ones of you might remember). The options for backtracking are limited and you have to repeat missions fully when trying to clean-up all the collectibles. Meanwhile, you’ll get the same prompts and unskippable cutscenes over and over, which becomes quite irritating. Luckily you guys won’t have that problem, nowadays there are plenty of 100% walkthroughs available. I massively enjoyed my time with the game, neck and back pain notwithstanding. There is no excuse not to have this game in your library. Hubris 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★★★☆ ⏱4 Sci-fi adventure in a very generic setting. You crash on a planet and have to get the base working again while the unimaginative story unfolds around you. Pretty much “Farpoint” from PSVR1, but worse in every single aspect other than lush graphics. In fact, this game gets carried pretty far by how pretty it looks, but lacks in every other department. The voice acting is meh, asset and enemy variety is noticeably low, the KI is dumber than your average Andrew Tate cultist, there are glitches, sometimes oddly obscure progression, one level is designed so horribly bad that it feels like a random intern took over for that part (the hoverbike section) and then there is the biggest offender of all: climbing. There is lots of climbing and it’s absolutely terrible compared to pretty much any other game with climbing in it. Grab detection while trying to climb is atrocious, unintuitive, unpredictable and unreliable. On the other hand, climbing is pretty much the only source of deaths in the game, because even on the highest of three difficulties it’s still easier than most games set to lowest difficulty. The trophy list is juicy, you just have to know that the counter for fall deaths ironically doesn’t work as intended and only counts once per session. Job Simulator 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★★★★ ⏱2 In a museum for robotic visitors of the future you decide between one of four cartridges/displays, in which you interactively learn about traditional human jobs (mechanic, clerk, cook and accountant). You get accompanied by an AI buddy who guides you through the respective job and offers insightful titbits about the life and habits of the silly and inefficient humans. As an all-time classic and probably the most showcased VR game for friends and family around the globe, this was found in the monthly top ten list of PSVR1 downloads since the beginning of time. It’s still one of the more accessible titles for newcomers and a great choice for first ventures into the rabbit hole of trophy hunting. Personally, I don’t think it aged amazingly well though. While the PS5 version seems to have a few more funny and up-to-date Jobs added to the cartridges, the scope of the game is still very small compared to the newer goofy sandboxes (like Cosmonious High or Vacation Simulator even) and people with a couple of VR hours under their belt will likely feel a bit bored or annoyed by limitations like not being able to turn via stick. Ironically, this pretty small game demands a rather large, obstacle-free space to play. If you do have the space and like to show off VR to first-timers, this is still a very nice game to have in your library. Jurassic World Aftermath Collection 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★☆☆☆ ⏱9 Alien isolation type stealth puzzler. In a story setting very typical of the Jurassic Park franchise, you are crashing on Islar Nublar and subsequently try to fix various catastrophic failures within the facilities systems, while sneaking and crawling from room to room or hiding in air vents and lockers to avoid detection from murderous dinos. The art style of this game is pretty unique, looks very much like last year’s PSVR1 title “Fracked” (or a toned-down Borderlands). Voiceover and story are nothing groundbreaking, but perfectly fine for a game like this. There isn’t much competition in this genre and there is a compelling thrill in the first few hours. After a while though, the graphical variety leaves a bit to be desired, mechanics become repetitive and the core premise of the game starts to feel not threatening, but forced and mildly annoying. Too much of the gameplay becomes waiting in a locker until the raptor is done sniffing around and leaves the room again. This becomes a particularly irritating waste of time when you get stuck, as it’s not always immediately obvious what or where the next objective is. Checking a guide prior to running through the game avoids a huge headache in regards to the trophies. All but two are unmissable and story related, but if you fail to pick up any of six dino plushies and cross the point of no return, you will have to play two thirds of the entire game again. Overall, the game is alright, but playing it more than once, just for one missed plushie, wasn’t fun. There is also the occasional bluescreen, and I heard the PS4 version in particular has technical issues. Kayak VR: Mirage 🎮★★☆☆☆ 🏆★★☆☆☆ ⏱10 This game does what its name says, it’s a kayaking simulator. Four different maps with some weather and daytime effects + some options for races and unlockable cosmetics. My take will make some people a bit angry, but here we go: This game was an overhyped disappointment for me. I can see why people new to VR enjoy the water effects and the details of very close objects. Those two aspects are undeniably nice, and the pool you start in when loading up the game looks cool and polished too, but ultimately those things aren’t doing a good job of hiding the mediocrity behind them. Anything two kayak lengths away simply doesn’t look convincing, especially in daylight setting. Night time and shadows work better, but this game is graphically still a joke if you stop and look even a tiny bit closer. There are fish that look like cardboard, the scenery looks washed out, the sky is mostly static, large parts of the maps are lifeless in an uncanny way, you quickly find the immersion breaking map boundaries (especially looking under water), the controls are prone to messing up and at the end of the day, the game is very shallow. There has also been a severe technical issue for multiple people, resulting in permanent loss of progress. I had start from km 0 again, after having my previous save with 80km on the clock corrupted for good. If you have a very casual approach to VR, show it around a lot and do short sessions on average, this game is likely a fine and feel-good purchase. Otherwise, be aware that the hype might sell you this game as something it is not. Last Labyrinth 🎮★☆☆☆☆ 🏆★★★★☆ ⏱5-7 Escape room game, anime styled, with a high number of branching paths to multiple “endings”. This isn’t the worst game on PSVR2, but it’s the worst of the ones that are also infuriating enough to possibly cause the player to damage their game room. The pacing is so insanely slow that you feel like being drained of all your energy in between each of the horribly imbalanced and obscure puzzles. At the epitome of ambivalence, you watch with immense joy and profound irritation as the imbecile NPC, who is pushing you on a wheel chair from torture room to torture room, is killed in a multitude of perfidious ways. I don’t know what this pile of garbage of a game wants to tell me, neither acoustically (with the NPC talking gibberish non-stop, regardless of language settings), nor artistically. This absolute piece of junk should, if even, only be endured by trophy hunters following a guide to the letter, to minimize the brain damage cause by it. Masternoid 🎮★★★★☆ 🏆★★★★☆ ⏱8 A PSVR2 spin on the arcade classic Arcanoid. Here, you move 1-4 balls in a 3D space with the goal to destroy all bricks in the level, which are arranged in various creative ways. The game is easy to learn, but offers a nice skill ceiling to attempt maximum points each level to get on the leaderboard or unlock the trophies. This is unironically a sleeper hit and one of, if not the best arcade game in my collection. Soundtrack, graphics, gameplay, everything flows perfectly together for an addictive and Zen-like experience and I would not have expected that from watching the trailer. Part of the appeal for me too is that it’s on the easier side and not as brutal as we know other arcade games to be. The trophy list is very achievable and fun. It had a bugged trophy on release, but the devs reacted quickly when I reported the issue. Math World VR 🎮★☆☆☆☆ 🏆★★★★☆ ⏱4 12 similar minigames that have you do basic math for points, like smashing plates that show a number that can be divided by 5, or shoot a paintball gun at targets that add up to a given number etc. This game is very unpolished with a wide variety of bugs. The devs fixed two broken trophies quickly after I reported the issue, but other broken things are still in the game. This is an unpolished mess and currently the worst game on PSVR2 in my book. The only non-meme reasons to ever get this would be trophy hunting (you can afk the entire trophy list after getting all prices from the in-game shop) and for small children who’d enjoy learning math this way. But considering y’all let your 6-year-olds play Pavlov all day, I don’t see that happening either. Moss / Moss: Book II 🎮★★★★★ 🏆★★★★☆ ⏱4 / 5 I played these two games back-to-back on PS5 and think they are very similar in all aspects, so I rate them together here, too. You as the “reader” are a meta-being outside the story, frequently breaking the fourth wall and helping the little mouse protagonist Quill to save her world from impending doom. You do that by moving her through highly detailed and lovely crafted puzzle rooms, that have you fight enemies, parkour Quill around on platforms, reach switches or interact with objects. The one most fitting word to describe both titles is simply “Masterpieces”. Although both games are long released on PS4, I still found them to be shining examples of VR game design on PS5. The detailed world building, the storytelling, the gameplay, the polish, everything about these two games is stunningly awesome. On top of that, both have tons of trophies, most of which are fun and easy. The only minor obstacle on the way to the platinums will likely be the two types of collectibles, glass fragments and relic dust. There are guides for both, but finding all relic dust is still tricky, as it requires breaking most objects on every screen. Finding the one or two missing vases or barrels after completing the game could be quite a challenge. As the question comes up quite a bit on this sub: The two books are almost seamlessly intertwined and it only makes sense to get both, or start with book I and go from there. Nock 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★☆☆☆☆ ⏱3 This game is both unique and…not. It’s unique for being a sports game where you shoot arrows at a ball, trying to score goals against the opposing team of 1, 2 or 3 people. And it’s not unique because it’s basically Rocket League, but without a player base. The game is very barebones, lacking a decent lobby system and core menu options. An example is that every time you are back at the main menu, the same song plays and you have to manually and individually click forward to get to different songs. I suspect the devs allocated most of their resources toward skins on the battlepass, which is highly irritating. I also never warmed up to the core mechanic. Due to the nature of the PSVR headset, drawing your bow behind your head loses tracking, resulting in erratic shots. Not drawing that far results in less tension and more unreliable arrow vectors. Due to the lack of players, you have massive skill gaps in most of your matches, resulting in one sided stomps, followed by getting the same player back-to-back in matchmaking. Overall, this game was not very enjoyable, but I can see what it could have been. The trophy list is very lackluster, too. This could’ve been the measure to keep more players longer, but no, that battlepass needed more tiers. Organ Quarter 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★★★☆ ⏱4 Linear horror game with a nice set of different sections and a cool, creepy-rusty-gore-y atmosphere. Not a shooter per se, as you try to avoid enemy encounters and wasting ammo if possible. Very much like a budget, low-action Silent Hill. The game gets hailed like the second coming of Christ by a vocal minority from the PC forums though, and I just don’t see it. This is clearly a low budget indie project, and it shows. Vast empty sections turn this game into a walking sim for most of the time, the graphics are below average, asset variety is super low and the game is quite short. It’s also a bit finicky to get into, especially the early progression is annoying to figure out, but in the second half it becomes much more straightforward. The trophy list offers a good amount of points and only has a few miscellaneous ones that require looking out for. Pavlov 🎮★★★★★ 🏆★★☆☆☆ ⏱13 The PSVR2 fps game. Ported from the highly successful steam version, this game offers amazing Counter-Strike styled gameplay in various modes (TTT, S&D, DM, TDM, Zombies and more). Getting started in this game tends to be brutal, due to the complex gun handling. After a few hours, everything starts to become second nature though and the game opens up to a deep, varied and immensely fun experience. The playerbase is solid, with many modes getting hosted at all hours and most interactions in lobbies are friendly and often hilarious. The gameplay is smooth, the graphics crisp. A very minor issue for some could be that crossplay currently isn’t working, although I doubt people would really prefer to get matched with 1k hour PC veterans in their lobbies just yet. My only gripe with this awesome game has been the lackluster trophy list. The trophies are tacked on to the game like an afterthought, there is no platinum and while not requiring much effort, it often seemed like they didn’t work as anticipated. I’ll take this list over an unobtainable or heavily bugged one every day, but would’ve liked to have more reason to stay with the game a bit longer. In regards to expected upcoming fps titles, this game sits comfortably in the large gap between the hyper-fast and rather simple Alvo and the very tactical and slow-paced Firewall. The typical fps connoisseur won’t have any reason not to extensively play all three, or at least both Pavlov and Firewall. Pistol Whip 🎮★★★★★ 🏆★★★★☆ ⏱4 On-rails, rhythm-based shooter with tons of tracks, modifiers and highscores to chase. Alongside bass intense music you shoot bad guys in polygon styled levels and reload on beat for points, while avoiding off beat actions and getting shot. This game has a great flow to it and is rightfully cherished as one of the top PSVR1 titles. The port to PSVR2 doesn’t innovate much, but doesn’t have to, either. The unique concept still works, the game is captivating and more of a workout than most people will expect. As soon as you get the general idea about how to move efficiently to avoid enemy gunfire (see Christian Bale in “Equilibrium”, but more squatting), playing the game quickly becomes addictive and the trophy list turns out to be a satisfying and rewarding endeavor. If you ever skipped leg day you might have trouble moving much at all the next day though. Pixel Ripped 1978 🎮★★★★☆ 🏆★★★☆☆ ⏱5 I have to admit that I never played a Pixel Ripped before - I never touched the one in my backlog on PS4 - so I didn’t know much about what to expect. This turned out to be a cozy, nostalgic trip to the good old sidescrollers era, with some clever switching between 2D and minecraft-looking 3D sections. I’m probably overshooting the rating a bit here, with the game being a tad short on content and not tapping the full potential of the involved franchises, but I enjoyed it quite a bit amongst the titles we currently have on PSVR2. What I did not enjoy were the collectible trophies. They are implemented horribly and having the golden cartridge counter stuck at 39/40, forcing you to carefully replay each and every inch of the game is pure torture and should be forbidden by Sony decree. Sign my petition at sweettrophyhuntertears.com (not actually real). Red Matter 2 🎮★★★★★ 🏆★★★★★ ⏱4 Sequel to the acclaimed first Red Matter on PS4, a sci-fi/horror adventure puzzle, this game sets a new benchmark for graphics on PSVR2. It’s actually mindboggling how good this game looks, leaving most other releases in the dust and at last-gen optics. This is what I dreamed PSVR2 to offer, back in November ‘22, but what we sadly only get on very rare occasions. Same as in the first part you are an astronaut on a dead space station (you travel a bit in this one though), akin to communist Russia of the cold-war era, trying to find out what happened to your team, the station and the research being done on it. This game is much lighter on puzzles and horror elements than the first one, but in turn adds a bit more fighting and story depth. If you really, really dislike short games, deduct one star from my rating and still get this title. The trophy list is solid and everything missed can be cleaned up later via chapter select in “new game”. Resident Evil Village 🎮★★★★★ 🏆★★★☆☆ / 🏆☆☆☆☆☆ ⏱34 And here is the third AAA game we’ve got so far. Building on the story of RE7, this game continues to follow Ethan Winters along his gruesome journey of trying to save his family. The game has amazing graphics and atmosphere plus lots of replay value with a juicy list of unlockables (e. g. weapons, infinite ammo, a lightsaber !!1!), a DLC with a short but great sequel story and a wave mode, called Mercenaries. Unfortunately, on PS5 the VR mode is much less integrated than it had been done for RE7 on PS4 back in the day. Flat mode progress can’t be carried over to VR and you can’t earn any trophies. The DLC and Mercenaries modes are also not available in VR. For those reasons, I begrudgingly 100%ed the game shortly before the PSVR2 launch. Of course, I tested it for about an hour in VR, to see what all the fuzz is about. Holy fuck. Holy FUCK. Once you experienced this in VR you simply can’t see the launch library in the same light as before. This game shows you what the true power of PSVR2 could be about, and all the other games we currently have are just fun gimmicks (with the only exception of HCotM). If you play the game flat and are eligible for trophies, the massive list tasks you with a wide variety of challenges, including a sub three-hour speedrun, a melee-only run, reading all files (a type of collectible), upgrading all weapons, and much more. Initially daunting, most of the list is actually neither too hard, nor too time consuming. The keen trophy hunter just needs some preparation and endurance, especially while trying for S ratings on all maps in the Mercenaries mode. The disappointing separation of VR and flat mode notwithstanding, this game is a truly great experience and if you could buy only one single game for your PSVR2, for now it should be this one. Runner 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★★☆☆ ⏱8 In a setting reminiscent of old school anime, you ride a futuristic bike through six distinctive, cyberpunk-esque levels, while collecting power-ups and taking out enemies with your impressive arsenal, including laser pistols, grenades, missiles, and a lightsaber mode for reflecting bullets. Every level takes about ten minutes and ends in an intense boss mech encounter. Figuring out the general mechanics of the game, the weak points of enemies and the strategies to defeat each boss is a tough and often hectic challenge that feels impossible at first. If you stick with it and bite through, you’ll get rewarded with a visually pleasing game that runs buttery smooth and quickly turns “This is unfair, I keep dying!” into “This is unfair, they keep dying so fast”. There are a few different bikes to unlock, all of which handle in unique ways and mix up the gameplay a bit. Ultimately, the scope of the game is quite limited of course, so once you “git gud”, all challenges are conquered with relative ease and there is little incentive to come back. For fans of older arcade games, retro side-scrollers and the like, this game is very enticing. For all others, it’s an ok but not mandatory addition to the VR collection. Seeker: My Shadow 🎮★★☆☆☆ 🏆★☆☆☆☆ ⏱2 Colorful puzzle platformer aimed at kids and, more specific, couch coop play. This is a pretty rough unity game of limited scoped, that I’d call shovelware. The dev(s?) is pretty nice though and an issue I reported on their discord got tackled quickly, so one bonus star for that. If you play VR with small kids, this might be an ok purchase, if not, steer clear. The trophy list is trash-tier, no platinum. Song in the Smoke 🎮★★★★★ 🏆★★★☆☆ ⏱12 I heard high praise for the PSVR2 version of this game and having completed it on PS4, I didn’t believe the hype at first. After getting the platinum for this version now too though, I have to admit that this is an amazingly good looking, well-rounded game, that is fun from start to finish. It’s a survival game with multiple levels, from lush jungles to snowy plateaus, dinosaurs, a nasty Vendigo keeping you up at night, crafting, upgrading, boss fights and a light story. My initial irritation about the devs sneaking in a brand-new trophy for beating the game on the highest difficulty quickly vanished when I got the hang of the game again and noticed how fun taking it on as a full-focus speedrun is, instead of a slow and steady exploration adventure. The trophy list isn’t that easy and requires some dedication, while also having a small issue that is unfixed since the PS4 version. Startenders 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★★☆☆ ⏱5 Just a moment ago chilling in your office, you are suddenly beamed lightyears away to the Startenders Academy as an unvoluntary new employee, having to learn the ropes of intergalactic bartending. The only way to get back, of course, is not to stir any trouble, do the job as expected and secretly build a teleporter in the back of the barship. The gameplay is basically a slightly deeper and more polished take on Job/Vacation Simulators food serving sections. During a shift, multiple alien customers will approach you and place orders from a fanciful palette of drinks, which require a progressively more complex sequence of steps to mix correctly. Cutting, squeezing, heating, freezing and shaking will get more stressful in later shifts of the “campaign”. Your bar has multiple devices that you can upgrade with earnings and a 3D printer. You’ll also spend money to diversify the bars stock of ingredients, as well as buying blueprints for the secret teleporter. The game is humorous and colorful, runs well and has good graphics. The way content gets added in the early shifts keeps players engaged for quite a while. The trophy list is straightforward, although ending in a bit of a grindy clean-up. Fun game for newcomers, kids and as a group showcase. Veterans won’t be engaged for long though, due to the lack of endgame. Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge 🎮★★★★☆ 🏆★★★★☆ ⏱9 This game has a bit of everything “Star Wars”: Space ships, gunfights, funny looking aliens, lightsabers, droids, stormtroopers, rebels, guest appearances of Master Yoda and Darth Vader and much more. The “Tales” part of the title can be taken literally, as the generic main story is flanked by a variety of unique side missions, presented as stories told by an NPC in the main hub area. Despite being an older Quest port, the PSVR2 version of this game has a lot of polish, with top-notch voice acting, solid world building and high-end graphics. You easily feel immersed in an authentic Star Wars universe. It can’t quite outscale Horizons quality and has some glitches here and there, but is less linear and offers more fun distractions of fooling around with the environment. Nothing in the trophy list is particularly demanding if you do your research. The long list of collectibles suggests a bigger hassle than it turns out to be. As one of the big story titles in the launch window, you can’t go wrong with this game at all. SURV1V3 🎮★★★★☆ 🏆★★★☆☆ ⏱17/31 Zombie survival game with a campaign and coop mode, similar to Left4Dead. The PS4 version released far at the end of the last systems life-cycle, so I missed that one entirely. Until now. Initially, this game tests the players nerves with a wide variety of obscure mechanics. Especially figuring out what to do in survival mode without the help of veteran players is no small task, as this game doesn’t hold your hand at all. Once you get a basic understanding of what to do where and why, solo or with the help of friendly coop partners, the game opens up and shows a lot of potential, especially in group play, and hunting legendary loot and clearing objectives together becomes fuel for many fun hours. The game has a good amount of jank and glitches, but it’s much better than the PS4 version, which has massive trouble handling even one player on the map, and is prone to freezing when in coop matches. Be aware that I’m rating this game slightly higher than the general population, chances are most of you would rather see a 3-star rating. The trophy list is long and too overtuned in the grinding aspect. Unfortunately, efficient leveling requires boring and repetitive solo play. The 31 hours is my platinum time without having a clue in the PS5 version and some coop play, while the 17 hours are the PS4 version with having a clue, solo play and maxing leveling efficiency in survival. Swordsman 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★★★★ ⏱2 Port of a PSVR1 title. Arena styled sword fighting against several different historical people, like Vikings or Samurai. There is a skill point system as well as a bunch of weaponry and armor to unlock. There are also countless modifiers to switch up the gameplay, one of which being the armor physics. With those on, the game can be tough and will require good precision to hit uncovered areas on the enemy’s bodies. With physics off, every part of the enemy is fair game and the stabby stabby will have you sweat buckets. This game is loved by its devs, who update and expand it constantly. The current result on PS5 is a fun ragdoll sandbox that looks and runs great. If you max your efficiency with the help of smart modifier settings, you can get the platinum in about two hours. For people who played this on PS4: This game massively profits from the new controllers. The stick movement makes for a much better experience than the clunky old Move controllers. Synapse 🎮★★★★☆ 🏆★★★★☆ ⏱5 Rogue like shooter with telekinesis mechanics. You are an agent diving into the mind of a high-ranking enemy operative, Inception-style, where you have to slaughter masses of cognitive security personnel to reach deeper parts of the enemy’s mind. On death the run ends, but clearing certain tasks like performing a number of headshots, specific weapon kills etc. rewards you with skill points which you can invest in a huge skill tree, improving your abilities. The game has a unique art style, sharp graphics and exceptional fighting mechanics, but like other titles from the same studio before (see “Fracked”), the title uses a very high level of polish to conceal a lack of depths in most areas. The levels are always the same, you just start and end at different points of the map or get different temporal abilities in between. Enemy types are limited, same as weapon variety (with a very clear imbalance towards the grenade launcher, which at max level renders the game trivial at any difficulty). The game is very easy for a rogue like and with 5-6 hours on the clock you likely finished at least 2 full runs at different difficulties and cleared most of the game’s goals, without much of an endgame left. The trophy list is a bit obscure; to know what to do you have to check in-game, but none of the challenges are particularly daunting, one task currently seems to be buggy though. Synth Riders 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★☆☆☆☆ ⏱2 Currently the systems only basic rhythm game (Pistol Whip is a fighting rhythm game and Thumper is a bug on crack) and a port from the highly regarded PSVR1 version. Cruising along a musical track, you use your hands to hit individual notes or slide a rail, which quickly becomes a meditative experience, putting you in a cozy zone. The general feeling of the game is “Tron”, synthetic, retro. There is an extensive library of musical albums to choose from (many as paid add-ons though), including my personal favorite, Electro Swing. The game is often compared to Beat Saber, and while I enjoy Synth Riders, I’m not perfectly happy with the wrist-breaking way tracks work on higher difficulty and prefer the flow of Beat Saber when it gets hectic. Having the game constantly rub all the additional content packs in your face is something I find irritating, too. I also had worse tracking on PS5 than on PS4, often with the abrupt switching between VR and 2D. The tracking issues in combination with an absolutely underwhelming trophy list (no platinum, only 2 golds) sadly caused an overall mediocre experience for me, but I would still recommend this game to anybody who likes active, accessible and party-proof VR titles. Tentacular 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★☆☆☆ ⏱11 Cute puzzle game from the viewpoint of a gigantic octopus, helping the citizens of La Calma with various tasks by using huge tentacles. Often those tasks are repairing damage you caused to the town, but you also stacking things, helping with rocket launches or saving cargo ships from sea damage. There is a ton of levels, each with their own unique mechanics. My main gripes with the game were the constant struggle with the tentacles, which while intended left me feeling handicapped the entire game, as well as too much dialogue and very needlessly convoluted menu and level selection. It’s too tough to check which missions you finished already, and finding out which collectibles you already found is impossible and thus an absolute nightmare for trophy hunters. It’s overall an alright game, but some potential was definitely lost here. The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR 🎮★★☆☆☆ 🏆★★☆☆☆ ⏱12 Horror rollercoaster with lots of jump scares, sequel to the acclaimed PSVR1 launch title “Rush of Blood”. On a joyride through ten levels, you defend yourself from corpses, ghosts, bats etc. by shooting everything that moves. This simple and accessible formula brought a stupid fun and cherished experience to PSVR1. Understandably, gamers were super hyped for the successor. Anybody with eyes and access to reddit probably noticed that what we got…underdelivered. If you never played Rush of Blood and try this game without any kind of expectation, you can have some fun with it. But for anybody else, this game is a huge let down. Carl Sagan said “There are more stars in our universe than there are grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth” and unfortunately there are still less stars than there is pop-in in this game. On top of that, cheap graphical assets are copy pasted all over the levels, yet long sections remain empty, messing up the pacing, everything presented in laughingly bad resolution. In its current, unacceptable state, this game couldn’t compete with an average PSVR1 game, especially not with its predecessor. Slogging through this mess for at least three times to clear up the trophy list is brutal. Personally, I think there is too much wrong with this game to ever have it morph into something great, even if Supermassive started to release weekly patches. The Last Clockwinder 🎮★★★★☆ 🏆★★☆☆☆ ⏱6 During a flying visit of a gigantic, partly mechanical tree you recall memories of spending time there as the apprentice to a “clockwinder”, the operator of the driving mechanism of the tree. You unlock rooms within the tree, activating its engines and recollecting your memories via messages on tape recorders. This is a beautiful little puzzle game with a great all-around package. Music, voice acting, story and graphics are very well done and endearing. The puzzle mechanics are pretty unique, people might remember the PSVR1 title “Transpose” doing something similar: You record yourself doing certain actions, then have a robot repeat those actions in an endless loop. The more complex the puzzle, the more iterations of you have to work together to automate the mechanisms. These puzzles are not trivial and going for all trophies requires maxing the clone set-ups efficiency. This title should not be ignored by any fan of VR puzzlers, trophy hunters are a little less inclined though. The list lacks a platinum, only has one gold and has you work for it. The Light Brigade 🎮★★★★☆ 🏆★☆☆☆☆ ⏱12 I preface this by voicing my deep-rooted annoyance with the unity engine. Many VR games are developed in unity and suck in unity. Controls are often clunky, you can’t grab and release stuff as expected, assets have unpredictable interactions or graphical borders, physics stem from a parallel universe where everything is a mix of jelly and rubber and anything requiring precision turns into a big fumble-fiesta. The Light Brigade is one of the few titles, in my experience, that manages to almost negate all those issues with a very high level of polish. The game is a rogue-lite with elements of both magic and military shooter. There are a lot of different classes to unlock and upgrade, which ensures tons of replayability. During each run, a system of temporary skill cards offers strategic choices and makes each attempt at completing a run a slightly different experience. There were still times I couldn’t help but wish I would play on a different engine. Weapons don’t handle as snappy as in other fps; enemy hitboxes, especially the head, appear a tiny bit unreliable at times; tracking sometimes gets wonky. You are supposed to aim like you would in real life, but the PSVR2 doesn’t appreciate having your hands in that particular position. One issue is also with mandatory teleporting, as you often have to cross gaps and aim for designated spots, which in unity-known fashion often behave unresponsive. All of these points would only be minor gripes in most games. The huge “but” in this case is the very high difficulty of The Light Brigade. Character level, skills and a maxed-out health pool don’t matter. If you peek at the wrong time or get caught out of position, you get shred to pieces. Having that happen because your vision turned 2D at the wrong time or you fumbled with the messy teleporting spot, is tilting. Simply put, the game demands a level of precision that neither the engine nor the PSVR2 are designed for. (People might remember this feeling from PSVR1s “Sniper Elite”) It also has to be stated that this game has two of the dumbest and most outrageous trophies in the launch line up. You are supposed to play an entire run with every single one of your shots being a headshot. This is simply not feasible and I have no idea how anybody involved in this games design would unironically bring such an idea forward in the first place. The first boss in the game even has a mechanic that requires shooting at other things than his head to end an invulnerable phase. No one can achieve these trophies without using an obvious soft exploit (still madness), or a not quite as obvious hard exploit. All in all, this title is an amazing rogue-lite, that is a bit overtuned if played as intended. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners 🎮★★★★★ 🏆★★★★☆ ⏱15 Flawlessly executed zombie survival game with a decent story and very fun gameplay loop. This game was a banger on PS4 and it’s still a banger on PS5, just with even better graphics and controls. Not much else to say about this one, this should be a staple in everyone’s library. The trophy list is pretty decent too, with lots of fun tasks and only a few weird trophies that require focused clean-up. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners Chapter 2: Retribution 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★★☆☆ ⏱32 Direct sequel to the afore-mentioned TWD. Unfortunately, where the first one was near perfect, Chapter 2 has a bunch of problems that hint towards a project that had to be rushed rather than polished. Grabbing and physics in general are working only half as good as in Ch. 1; new maps contain areas that are full of objects that can’t be interacted with, which breaks the immersion; Zombie spawns are increased, but often in a rough, immersion breaking and unnecessary way (e. g. spawning behind you in a closed room, while in full vision of the player) and the story is paper thin, especially the side characters. Many missions in Ch. 2 just follow a dumb “bring X from a to b” formular, with the added spice of many one-tap kills, which are plain bad game design for what TWD is and luckily didn’t have a place in Ch. 1. The trophy list was heavily bugged at the start and the game pretty much crashed once per hour, often corrupting the entire save file. This game at launch was the biggest technical failure on PSVR2 and to this day it has issues. It now can be played and the trophy list can be completed, but it’s still a mere shadow of what Saints & Sinners Ch. 1 is. Thumper 🎮★★☆☆☆ 🏆★★☆☆☆ ⏱- Port from the PSVR1. Rhythm game for fans of arcade games and tough challenges. In a minimalistic setting you race a bug at high speeds along a rail and have to turn and jump to avoid obstacles and intermittently kill bosses. The intense music correlates to the obstacles. With PSVR2s clean graphics, the presentation of this game puts you in Zen-mode quickly. Each level you get introduced to more mechanics and more complex sequences. The levels are segmented and the individual parts can be repeated and perfected, to hunt the elusive S ranks. Many people celebrate this gameplay, but it’s not totally my cup of tea. I hoped for autopopping of the trophies, as promised by the devs. It turned out that importing a PS4 save file only autopops half of the list, luckily the hard one for S ranks on all levels. If you dig this kind of gameplay and like a challenge, I can see this game being a great experience. Townsmen VR 🎮★★★★★ 🏆★★★★☆ ⏱20 Settlers, but in VR! If I had to select only one winner of a “Hidden Gem Award” of the launch line up, it would without question go to Townsmen. The PSVR1 ventured into this genre quite a bit, with titles like Dino Frontier, Oh My Genesis!, No Heroes Allowed or Tethered, but on PSVR2 we currently only got this game (I believe Cities VR is more of a management sim, like the Tycoon games), and no one seems to talk about it! If you don’t know what Settlers is, I’m referring to an older, but widely acclaimed rts city-building series on PC, that had you coordinate a growing population of settlers to farm resources, build various facilities, establish supply-chains and ultimately outpower and dispel enemy forces. You do the same in Townsmen, all with a top-notch, medieval presentation, cute and crisp graphics and a smart way of introducing more and more layers of complexity each level. The genre fits VR to perfection, with the options to seamlessly zoom in and out, inspect every nook and cranny of the map or instantly jump into whatever scene requires attention at the moment. Taking in every minute detail of the lovely designed islands or zooming out and simply enjoying the “Where’s Waldo?”-ness of the scenery never gets dull. On top of that, the massive trophy list offers a range of very fun challenges, most of which are self-explanatory, but sometimes require a bit of imagination or trial and error. The game isn’t perfect though. In later levels or in a longer session of sandbox mode, when more individual entities have to be accounted for, the gameplay starts to stutter. Replayability is also limited once you beat the campaign. You can load up the maps in sandbox mode and set difficulties for wildlife and enemy pirates, but this is only a poor imitation of what full-fledged rts games on PC usually offer. Regardless, I was so delighted by this game that I’m comfortable with a five-star rating. Fingers crossed for more of these kinds of games in the near future. Transformers: Beyond Reality 🎮★★☆☆☆ 🏆★★★☆☆ ⏱5 Arcade on-rails shooter from the Transformers universe, port of the PS4 version. You shoot your way through 6 levels, each with an end boss and comic-style story boards in between. Your battlemech can be upgraded and there is an endless arcade mode as an endgame option. This is one of the few games I know of that are drastically worse on PS5 than on PS4, which I’ll explain in a second. This game gets an award for the worst shooting mechanic implementation in VR, but you’d have to experience it for yourself to fully appreciate it: Each and every single shot has to be individually triggered and the game wants you to fire thousands of times each level, with the speed of the trigger being directly translated into dps and thus into your success. The move controllers on PS4 work at least somewhat alright for that, because the angle and resistance of the trigger is much better to handle than the shape and feedback of the sense controllers on PS5. Both versions fuck up your fingers within hours though, so whoever thought this design was a good idea is a huge idiot. To top that, the PS5 can handle more stuff on the screen, so there are a few more enemies in that version, at select spots. The much bigger issue is that in the PS5 version a certain level type in arcade mode messes with the aiming, temporarily making all enemy hitboxes inaccessible. In a game that revolves around killing every enemy on screen before they can shoot you, this is a neck breaker. Pretty much the only way to beat the game on PS5 is to go to the ps controller settings and change the button layout outside of the game to fire on X and then hope for lucky level rng in arcade mode. Skip this if you haven’t seen all transformer movies. Travel the Words 🎮★☆☆☆☆ 🏆★☆☆☆☆ ⏱1 Very simple word puzzle game with a handful of different levels, suited for kids or adults who really like pattern recognition. Underwhelming graphics and nothing justifying this being in VR. The devs were engaged and nice on reddit, so I would’ve liked to give a bonus star, but there simply isn’t anything here. This could be a middle school IT project and would have the same quality. It’s better than Math World though, so there is that. Trophy list is shit-tier. Until You Fall 🎮★★☆☆☆ 🏆★★★☆☆ ⏱19 Rogue like sword fighting game in a very reddish world, with runs taking anywhere between 12 and 30 minutes, usually. One of the most overhyped PSVR1 titles. The game is very repetitive and way too hard to be enjoyable. That doesn’t keep people who never cleared the higher difficulties to praise it, but I’m not on board. It was a clunky pos on PS4 and is only a bit better with the sense controllers and better power of the PSVR2. The biggest issue I have with this is the audacity of the devs to leave their PS4 game in a broken state, as all the trophies with a counter only work to this day if you do them in one sitting (that’s 11 full runs in a row, have fun). They knew that early on, but still yolo’d out of sight without a patch, just to crawl back years later and release the exact same game, full prize, no upgrade path. “But-but-but there are three more weapons now, big mean two handers!”. Those are shit and nearly unusable in the maximum-bullshit mode that is nightmare difficulty. Just don’t get this game full prize or better yet, skip it entirely. Vacation Simulator 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★★★☆ ⏱6 Port from the PSVR1 version. Fleshed out successor to Job Simulator, with more activities and mechanics. Instead of jobs, you recreate favorite human pastimes across the typical vacation spots of beach, mountain and forest. Here, you don’t simply execute one task after another in a single predefined spot, but interact with different NPC robots in the area and work on collecting “memories”. The game aged alright and is still fun and engaging, in between all the fresher PSVR2 titles it’s not an absolute must-have though. It has a lot to offer for trophy hunters, with its list being easy and fun, but demanding more effort than Job Simulator. Walkabout Mini Golf 🎮★★★★★ 🏆★★★☆☆ ⏱8 Minigolf! THE social experience on PSVR2. The graphics aren’t the best and it lacks certain quality of life features, like multiplayer lobbies (you need 3rd party apps to find a group, as matchmaking is 1v1 only, wtf?), BUT the gameplay and the fun that can be had here are unmatched (Maybe Pokerstars comes close, but Germans are apparently not allowed to play poker, so idk). The base courses offer decent content already, but the volume when buying all level packages is absolutely incredible. And each of the levels is designed with so much love to detail and creativity in layout that this far exceeds the experience one could ever have on real courses. The trophy list could be meatier and is a pretty tough skillcheck (can be cheesed though, sorry elitists), but this is one of the games even a trophy hunter should take time to play for the sheer fun. And it’s a great game for showing off at a get-together. What the Bat? 🎮★★☆☆☆ 🏆★★☆☆☆ ⏱2 Goofy puzzle game directed at younger audiences. You have bats for hands and with that handicap navigate various challenges of life, like brushing your teeth, playing fetch with a dog, parking cars, making breakfast or doing chores on a farm. The game places you in thematically grouped levels, each one having you come up with solutions to whatever sticky situation you find yourself in. The game is creative and funny in a silly way, but is overall pretty limited. It’s good, one-dimensional entertainment for an afternoon, after that though you quickly find yourself wishing for actual PSVR2 graphics and other interactions than slashing at things. I’m also not overly ecstatic about a kids game teaching that fun things happen when hitting chicken, sheep and dogs with baseball bats. The trophy list can be done in two hours, but isn’t very rewarding. No platinum and only one gold. Zenith: The Last City 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★☆☆☆ ⏱28 The systems only MMO with all of the genres stereotypical mechanics, like class variety, weapon and gear farming, skills, level progression, open world activities, dungeons and quests, all in the jolly colourful unity engine. The game has a huge world and a long main story. With proximity chat and crossplay it’s pretty easy to connect with people to play with in one of the central areas of the game world. The playerbase is healthy and friendly. So much for the good. I gave the game four stars on PS4, despite many issues I found with it. Now, on PS5, the game sadly didn’t live up to my expectations at all. It got more content, but the problems linger. It feels really cheap and clunky. Spells work with gestures, many of which are constantly triggered on accident. Pop-ins are everywhere, important graphical assets and allies load in at irritatingly short distances, enemies move erratic and are prone to disappearing or teleporting. For some people the game keeps crashing almost on an hourly basis. Overall, this feels like a very rough beta build and not a seasoned, multi-platform release. The underwhelming trophy list offers no highlights either. You’d expect a game of this scope to come with a list of 30-50 trophies, incentivizing you to explore and wander off the beaten path. Instead, this list is a flat “Do the main story while reaching max level”. I can only recommend this game for MMO fans who play with friends, as the group experience is much better than the solo ordeal. Zombieland: Headshot Fever 🎮★★★☆☆ 🏆★★★☆☆ ⏱11 On-rails zombie shooter tied to the Zombieland Movie franchise, with tons of short levels that want you to speedrun them for a leaderboard position or clear them in a specific manner, with specific weapons, etc. This game doesn’t get much love and it’s certainly not GOTY, but once you start, it’s decent fun. Upgrading your arsenal feels good, the gameplay is easy to learn but has solid depth and the graphics are perfectly fine for this type of game. It’s one of those titles that look a bit too complicated or difficult at first glance, but then suck you in and make you go “One more try”. And then it clicks and you feel like John Wick. The trophy list definitely requires some getting gud and some grinding, but it’s very doable and watching the Zombieland movies during breaks for sure keeps morale high. Edited March 23 by VeganVermithor Forum update messed up the icons. 56 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorah- Posted July 8, 2023 Share Posted July 8, 2023 (edited) Amazing job. I rely on you to find the next vr gem. I'll get red matter and synapse soon. Thx for the reco. Edited July 8, 2023 by Shorah- 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prometheous101 Posted July 8, 2023 Share Posted July 8, 2023 (edited) 6 hours ago, OMG_ThisIsSoEz said: *snip* Much appreciated for providing the much needed info on VR games. Mainly the general hour estimates. Took a quick peak ,will read up more when I have time. Edited July 9, 2023 by Stevieboy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xKilljoyKaitlin Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 Great list! Wrote down a few games to play in the future. Thanks for compiling this! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JavaNext Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 Amazing post right there! Hoping to get a PSVR2 later this year, and have been checking which games I should get. But having never owned a VR platform, I'm always happy read opinions from experienced players. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woopa777 Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 Thanks for putting this list together! Added a few games to my wishlist because of it 1 hour ago, Prometheous101 said: Much appreciated for providing the much needed info on VR games. Mainly the general hour estimates. Took a quick peak ,will read up more when I have time. Please don't quote the entire post. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanolt Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 (edited) Thanks for the guide! Would you say there's a platform game better/similar to Astrobot in any console? Haven't seen a game use better the VR than that. Edited July 9, 2023 by Jeanoltt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlindMango Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 This post is so awesome, and really useful for judging what games to look out for! Currently playing Beat Saber and I'm the same as you, I would not at all call myself someone who normally likes rhythm games, but this game is freaking incredible! And one heck of a workout Also I'm glad to see that you managed to overcome the troubles you were having with the Walkabout Mini Golf platinum! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganVermithor Posted July 9, 2023 Author Share Posted July 9, 2023 2 minutes ago, BlindMango said: This post is so awesome, and really useful for judging what games to look out for! Currently playing Beat Saber and I'm the same as you, I would not at all call myself someone who normally likes rhythm games, but this game is freaking incredible! And one heck of a workout Also I'm glad to see that you managed to overcome the troubles you were having with the Walkabout Mini Golf platinum! That's definitly all on you. In the end switching the internet on and off for cloud scumming worked like cutting cake and with some training the late courses felt better and better. I also watched a lot of "InnerPrincess" courses guides on yt to get the strategies down. Was a fun experience. Thanks again, also for the kind words! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No longer here Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 thanks for this ! Ill use this in a couple years eventually when I find a new place lol! Some VR games and plats would be nice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganVermithor Posted July 9, 2023 Author Share Posted July 9, 2023 3 hours ago, Woopa777 said: Thanks for putting this list together! Added a few games to my wishlist because of it Which ones? Just so I know which devs to charge? Kidding, I hope the games live up to my rating. Have fun! 16 minutes ago, victorrfuego said: thanks for this ! Ill use this in a couple years eventually when I find a new place lol! Some VR games and plats would be nice! Do you mean this in a "My rooms isn't big enough" kinda way? There are a few PSVR2 games that could easily be played sitting calm and collected in a chair, but I get wanting the good action and some freedom of movement. On a related note: The PSVR2 has this nasty semi-hidden feature of grading your play area into one of two categories - "Roomscale" and "You are not allowed to play this game, get fucked". The latter is actively preventing you from starting up games that have the roomscale tag. To work around that, you can manually change the play area in the respective setting and just paint with the controller over your room environment until the area is big enough to quantify as roomscale. A lot of games with that tag don't even really make use of it and are totally fine in a narrower space. In fact, I can count the games where I absolutely need to step away from my starting point on one or two hands. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No longer here Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 7 minutes ago, OMG_ThisIsSoEz said: Which ones? Just so I know which devs to charge? Kidding, I hope the games live up to my rating. Have fun! Do you mean this in a "My rooms isn't big enough" kinda way? There are a few PSVR2 games that could easily be played sitting calm and collected in a chair, but I get wanting the good action and some freedom of movement. On a related note: The PSVR2 has this nasty semi-hidden feature of grading your play area into one of two categories - "Roomscale" and "You are not allowed to play this game, get fucked". The latter is actively preventing you from starting up games that have the roomscale tag. To work around that, you can manually change the play area in the respective setting and just paint with the controller over your room environment until the area is big enough to quantify as roomscale. A lot of games with that tag don't even really make use of it and are totally fine in a narrower space. In fact, I can count the games where I absolutely need to step away from my starting point on one or two hands. Yeah my room is not big enough lol, there’s a chance I might move out within a year or soon so I’ll consider the VR2 once I have my own space lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganVermithor Posted July 9, 2023 Author Share Posted July 9, 2023 (edited) On 9.7.2023 at 3:51 AM, Jeanoltt said: Thanks for the guide! Would you say there's a platform game better/similar to Astrobot in any console? Haven't seen a game use better the VR than that. Hey, thank you! Astrobot is THE platformer of PSVR1. Nothing really surpasses that game in that genre, but two alternatives to check out would be "Lucky's Tale" and "Mervils: A VR adventure". Lucky's Tale in particular is a sleeper hit and a surprisingly cool platformer. It's much tougher than Astrobot though and requires more finesse, a bit like the older Mario titles where missing a few pixels off a jump killed you. On PSVR2 we don't really have any worthy platformers yet, fingers crossed for some progress on that front! Edited July 11, 2023 by OMG_ThisIsSoEz 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwicrash Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 Great work on this list, I've been a little bit disappointed by the PSVR2 titles so far so this is a good way to pick some new games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganVermithor Posted July 9, 2023 Author Share Posted July 9, 2023 9 minutes ago, Kiwicrash said: Great work on this list, I've been a little bit disappointed by the PSVR2 titles so far so this is a good way to pick some new games. I get that and it's even a bit worse for trophy hunters I suppose, when you have to drop one of the better games for the lack of carrots to chase and instead turn to play more shovelware. Pavlovs trophy list for example is a crime. I would've spend 100 more hours with that game, if I had anything to achieve there. At this point I'm even looking forward to the Alvo PS5 release, even though I hated their insane trophy list (375 hours for Platinum on PSVR1), at least it gives you hundreds of hours of solid fun gameplay loop until you completed it. I think it will get better at the end of this year and the start of next. We have a bunch of super hyped titles lined up, just have to endure through the summer! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimydawg___ Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 Appreciate your insight @OMG_ThisIsSoEz I got vr2 almost JUST for Gran Turismo. It's so good lol. I'm going to get Star Wars and beat Saber when I can and knock out Horizon since it came in bundle 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganVermithor Posted July 9, 2023 Author Share Posted July 9, 2023 8 minutes ago, grimydawg___ said: Appreciate your insight @OMG_ThisIsSoEz I got vr2 almost JUST for Gran Turismo. It's so good lol. I'm going to get Star Wars and beat Saber when I can and knock out Horizon since it came in bundle Thanks and good game choices! The only must have you are missing (if you don't care about trophies that much) would be RE8. At this point you could wait for the PSVR2 version of RE4 too though, which is likely to be another big hit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prometheous101 Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 8 hours ago, Woopa777 said: Thanks for putting this list together! Added a few games to my wishlist because of it Please don't quote the entire post. ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimydawg___ Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 9 hours ago, OMG_ThisIsSoEz said: Thanks and good game choices! The only must have you are missing (if you don't care about trophies that much) would be RE8. At this point you could wait for the PSVR2 version of RE4 too though, which is likely to be another big hit. Look at my trophy list. I ain't worried about trophies lol. If I like the game, I'll buy it. I forgot about re8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilooGaroo Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 One of the top 5 topic in this site : great jobbbb ! Please continue! ?????? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValkerianCreator Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 (edited) On 7/8/2023 at 9:51 PM, Jeanoltt said: Thanks for the guide! Would you say there's a platform game better/similar to Astrobot in any console? Haven't seen a game use better the VR than that. Most people seem to be overlooking it, but I am here to tell you that the final boss, and the entire second half, in Moss Book 2 were awesome enough for me to feel that I liked it even more than the final boss in Astro Bot Rescue Mission. Moss 1 is not at the high level of its sequel, and even the sequel doesn't get to its truly awesome parts until its second half, but if you make it there, that's it, you will find that Astro Bot contender that you were looking for. Guaranteed. I honestly didn't expect it to be that good. If I knew, I would have played it years earlier, rather than last month. For the record, Lucky's Tale VR is pretty good too. If you want VR platforming goodness you will enjoy it for sure, but you can't compare its simple final boss with what Astro Bot and Moss 2 offer you at the end. Also, even though it's very enjoyable and it's probably the most similar to Astro Bot in its style, if you skip the super hard optional trophies (which are not fun, so I skipped them), Lucky's Tale will just last 3 or 4 hours at most. So, you will get a similar VR platforming experience as Astro Bot, but it has half the stages, just one boss at the end, and that's it. I still liked it a lot though, so it makes sense to recommend it to you. Also, I know I'm going to sound like a Moss 2 worshipper ??, but yeah, don't sleep on Moss 2 if you want to experience a great VR final boss and ending. It literally reminded me of what Kingdom Hearts 2 and Golden Sun The Lost Age felt like (in terms of sequels) when I was 15 and played those on ps2 and gba. That's something that only 3 or 4 VR games have done for me, and it shouldn't surprise you that Astro Bot was one of the other chosen few. So I can understand why you want another Astro Bot now ?? ... I think Bound was one of the others, but I would have to look over my entire "played VR games" list to remember if there was any other like that. Edited July 17, 2023 by ValkerianCreator 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaNSky Posted July 20, 2023 Share Posted July 20, 2023 I wish PSVR2 wasn't so expensive. Then I'd be able to make use of this. The few games I have seen for it seem more diverse and interesting compared to what PSVR has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganVermithor Posted July 20, 2023 Author Share Posted July 20, 2023 15 hours ago, AquaNSky said: I wish PSVR2 wasn't so expensive. Then I'd be able to make use of this. The few games I have seen for it seem more diverse and interesting compared to what PSVR has. The PSVR2 library is a shallow joke right now compared to the PSVR1. You have all the time in the world to get a new headset and eventually catch up. Playing all the truly great, PSVR2 worthy experiences would take you like one week right now (of you're not specifically a GT7 fan and can sink 500 hours into racing alone). We barely get 1 functioning release in 5, uninspiring ports and shovelware shit where ever you look. This post is merely a warm up for what's to come. We haven't seen anything yet and it's totally fine to stay with PSVR1 a bit longer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrenalStone21 Posted July 23, 2023 Share Posted July 23, 2023 (edited) This can get moved to its own thread if needed, but how do you know which games have optional vr modes? Examples being Resident Evil Village, No Man Sky and GT7. As far as I know they don’t have the VR tag. How do you consider those games completed for the sake of your Vr trophy collection as well as I see a few of those games but the trophy lists are the same right? Edit: Found this list, is this all of them that have Vr modes not required? Looks like 11 games here. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_VR2_games Edited July 23, 2023 by AdrenalStone21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganVermithor Posted July 23, 2023 Author Share Posted July 23, 2023 41 minutes ago, AdrenalStone21 said: This can get moved to its own thread if needed, but how do you know which games have optional vr modes? Examples being Resident Evil Village, No Man Sky and GT7. As far as I know they don’t have the VR tag. How do you consider those games completed for the sake of your Vr trophy collection as well as I see a few of those games but the trophy lists are the same right? Edit: Found this list, is this all of them that have Vr modes not required? Looks like 11 games here. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_VR2_games What you say is correct, RE8, GT7 and NMS have optional VR modes and don't "count" as VR games on psnprofiles. Given they are the best VR games the headset has to offer, I still got them to 100%, but mostly in 2D. I played all of them enough in VR to have an informed opinion about them though. RE8 for example, I'm in the middle of a full all-collectible run in VR because there haven't been any PSVR2 releases this week and I'm dying to unlock the light saber. (Btw.: I've also finally played the Lindsey Stirling Experience in Synth Raiders, that alone bumps the game back up to 4 stars imo). So I included those games in the reviews, because non-trophy hunters don't give a flying fuck about psnprofiles VR tags, but care a lot about the top titles of PSVR2. The points for those games are not part of my VR leaderboard ranking here though. The real question is why psnprofiles allows leaderboard entries for both region-stacking and early access. Both of those things invalidate the corresponding leaderboards and are plain silly workings on this site. Shima-busters for example has 100k points more than me and could never legitimately be challenged on the leaderboard, but he likely has less different games played than me for the simple fact that he just plays the bottom half of all the easiest VR games 3-6 times and mostly skips the difficult, huge titles. To each their own, but for a competitive scene it's pathetic af. Same is having "fastest" leaderboards with a handful of people getting games a week before the public. What KyonKuchiki, MikeCheck and me achieved in regards to the PSVR leaderboard is even more outstanding when you realize how many people in the upper echelon just paid their way into it with lame repetitions of the easiest and fastest junk available. Anyways, weak titles that have a flat mode and don't get the VR tag on psnprofiles I don't even play. Recent examples are Demeo, Humanity and The Last Worker. I'd rather play 2D blockbusters when not playing VR. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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