PSVR - Week One Game thoughts

[AffectatiousDonk]

Hey all, picked up my PSVR this morning and quite enjoying it so far. I thought it might be a good idea to write down some thoughts about the games we are all trying so far. Maybe just a few lines (initial thoughts / value / motion sickness etc.) will help in deciding what to buy / play etc.

I will update this post as I work through the games I have over the weekend.

Games I have :

PlayStation VR Worlds
Rush of Blood
Eve Valkrie
Job Simulator
Here They Lie
Wayward Sky
The Assembly
Thumper
Batman VR
Driveclub VR


PlayStation VR Worlds (basically a collection of tech demos / hard to justify full price )

Ocean Descent - basically a VR movie / no interaction required. Probably perfect first experience, cool introduction to looking all around / behind you. 15 mins / 3 different dives. Little to no replayabiltiy

The London Heist - pick of the disc, great rail shooter / narrative experience. 20 mins, some replayabiltiy

Luge VR - dreadful graphics and unable to play due to sudden servere motion sickness ( don't usually suffer from motion sickness). Cool concept / poor execution. Definitely worth missing

Scavengers Odyssey - basic shooter, no depth. Fine for about 10 minutes / looks pretty average.

Danger Ball - still to try

Edited October 14, 2016 by cjshaitan

[AuzzieWingman]

I've gone through all of them myself. I'd say that I like the Luge game, I'm not so queasy from it as the Scavenger Odyssey game though. Ugh, I feel sick right now

 

The Danger Ball game is definitely my pick for replayability though. It's basically pong but using your head. 

[Fatty_Fatness]

So it seems there's a WHOLE lot of people with really strong opinions about PSVR in that other thread, but with very little actual PSVR experience among a vast majority of its participants.

And judging from the neglect of this thread, it seems there's very little PSVR experience had in general, in this forum. 

 

 

I've only played Arkham VR thus far, but it's been a blast! Got everything set up last night at about 7:30pm, and finally forced myself to pull the headset off at 3:30am. Which means I was playing the game - eyes engulfed fully in VR - for a solid, non-stop 8 hours. Even more amazing, in my opinion, was that I was doing all this standing up almost the entire time! Of course, the game itself is only a few hours long, but tooling around trying to find/solve all the Riddler puzzles and (perhaps the most fun) simply just looking at the unlockable character/bat vehicle models apparently made the time really zip by... plus I was really pushing for the 100%. (Just couldn't figure out what needed to be done for those last few trophies).

 

Seriously... if you've unlocked any characters and vehicles in Arkham VR, try to take the time to check them ALL out, rotating them all around and (in the case of the character models) selecting the 3 additional "poses". The sense of an iconic hero/villain/character/vehicle in the 3D space is pretty amazing to witness... that you feel like that character/vehicle is RIGHT THERE, able to be touched or (for vehicles) climbed into. Killer Croc, and every single Vehicle, are my top faves. And yes... you can get a very, very up-close view of the cleavage of a moving, breathing, life-size Harley Quinn.   

 

Based off of everything I was hearing, I was expecting to have to take the headset off every 30mins, or at least every few hours, for the strain it supposedly places on the body/eyes... but I think that might only apply to the type of game? I did feel like I was getting a little blurry/cross-eyed at the end, but 8 non-stop hours of normal TV-watching might do the same thing, not to mention doing so while staying up past 3am... so I'm giving that a pass - for now. (I also suffer from central serous retinopathy, which when it's at its worst makes me feel cross-eyed even just walking around outside, but that didn't seem to affect or be the cause of anything last night.) The headset itself was totally comfortable... wearing it feels pretty much the same as wearing a hat.

 

The issues I do have so far though... the trophy notifications. That HAS to change... as the fact that it even plays the trophy-popping sound already does as much "immersion breaking" as a visual notification would, and then the curiosity of what trophy actually popped compelling me to pull up the Home menu... that's about as intrusive as it could possibly get with respect to preserving immersion. But that probably can (and probably will) change with a software update. What might be less fixable is the "jitters" that Kirk Hamilton at Kotaku wrote about... which seems to be PSVR's relying on the old Move + PS4 camera tech. It's not a HUGE deal, at least in the realm of Arkham VR gameplay... but definitely noticeable if you're trying to read text written on something you're holding. Hopefully it doesn't affect gameplay in other games that require precise movements. (I think we already know how horrible ANY game would be, if it has motion controls and requires precise movements.)  

 

So am I still as stoked on PSVR as I was pre-launch? I'm gonna say emphatically, YES. The game that convinced me to be a PSVR believer was, of all games, Wayward Sky (which I also downloaded last night), which had some very unmemorable point-and-click-y gameplay, from what I played last year. But the scenes I witnessed in the demo that placed you IN the scene (as cliché as it is)... those blew me away. Arkham VR is pretty much an entire game (albeit a very short one) that places you IN the game, and it's pretty incredible to soak in the sights and sounds of Gotham surrounding you... graphics that are crazy-realistic in comparison to Wayward Sky's cartoon-y look. To look at the light reflecting off a tiled floor, and actually see the mop-streaks on it when you tilt your head at the right angle... totally unexpected to see that level of detail (which is on the devs, of course), but which I didn't think was even possible with PSVR.

 

As for the Arkham VR game itself, its pretty passive as far as a game goes (which might be the standard for a VR game?)... since you're really only a stationary character in a very dynamic-feeling world. But as a taste of what it's like to be Batman in VR... I think it really works. Perhaps the jaw-dropping immersion is something that will only happen at this early stage of VR... but still, it's pretty amazing that such a passive game can have you look over the edge of a steep drop and you actually feel the vertigo, or to "walk" into a very cramped (and dirty) space and feel the claustrophobia... so I'm crazy excited to see what developers can come up with in the future, with these added tools of sensory stimuli at their disposal.

 

If/when I finish Arkham VR (tonight?), I'll dive into either Wayward Sky or Thumper... and I'll try to post my thoughts on them here.

[CaptainMonkster]

Ice only played batman so far and I absolutely loved it! I really hope they make another batman vr game with more!

[30 Year Old Boomer]

So it seems there's a WHOLE lot of people with really strong opinions about PSVR in that other thread, but with very little actual PSVR experience among a vast majority of its participants.

And judging from the neglect of this thread, it seems there's very little PSVR experience had in general, in this forum. 

 

 

I've only played Arkham VR thus far, but it's been a blast! Got everything set up last night at about 7:30pm, and finally forced myself to pull the headset off at 3:30am. Which means I was playing the game - eyes engulfed fully in VR - for a solid, non-stop 8 hours. Even more amazing, in my opinion, was that I was doing all this standing up almost the entire time! Of course, the game itself is only a few hours long, but tooling around trying to find/solve all the Riddler puzzles and (perhaps the most fun) simply just looking at the unlockable character/bat vehicle models apparently made the time really zip by... plus I was really pushing for the 100%. (Just couldn't figure out what needed to be done for those last few trophies).

 

Seriously... if you've unlocked any characters and vehicles in Arkham VR, try to take the time to check them ALL out, rotating them all around and (in the case of the character models) selecting the 3 additional "poses". The sense of an iconic hero/villain/character/vehicle in the 3D space is pretty amazing to witness... that you feel like that character/vehicle is RIGHT THERE, able to be touched or (for vehicles) climbed into. Killer Croc, and every single Vehicle, are my top faves. And yes... you can get a very, very up-close view of the cleavage of a moving, breathing, life-size Harley Quinn.   

 

Based off of everything I was hearing, I was expecting to have to take the headset off every 30mins, or at least every few hours, for the strain it supposedly places on the body/eyes... but I think that might only apply to the type of game? I did feel like I was getting a little blurry/cross-eyed at the end, but 8 non-stop hours of normal TV-watching might do the same thing, not to mention doing so while staying up past 3am... so I'm giving that a pass - for now. (I also suffer from central serous retinopathy, which when it's at its worst makes me feel cross-eyed even just walking around outside, but that didn't seem to affect or be the cause of anything last night.) The headset itself was totally comfortable... wearing it feels pretty much the same as wearing a hat.

 

The issues I do have so far though... the trophy notifications. That HAS to change... as the fact that it even plays the trophy-popping sound already does as much "immersion breaking" as a visual notification would, and then the curiosity of what trophy actually popped compelling me to pull up the Home menu... that's about as intrusive as it could possibly get with respect to preserving immersion. But that probably can (and probably will) change with a software update. What might be less fixable is the "jitters" that Kirk Hamilton at Kotaku wrote about... which seems to be PSVR's relying on the old Move + PS4 camera tech. It's not a HUGE deal, at least in the realm of Arkham VR gameplay... but definitely noticeable if you're trying to read text written on something you're holding. Hopefully it doesn't affect gameplay in other games that require precise movements. (I think we already know how horrible ANY game would be, if it has motion controls and requires precise movements.)  

 

So am I still as stoked on PSVR as I was pre-launch? I'm gonna say emphatically, YES. The game that convinced me to be a PSVR believer was, of all games, Wayward Sky (which I also downloaded last night), which had some very unmemorable point-and-click-y gameplay, from what I played last year. But the scenes I witnessed in the demo that placed you IN the scene (as cliché as it is)... those blew me away. Arkham VR is pretty much an entire game (albeit a very short one) that places you IN the game, and it's pretty incredible to soak in the sights and sounds of Gotham surrounding you... graphics that are crazy-realistic in comparison to Wayward Sky's cartoon-y look. To look at the light reflecting off a tiled floor, and actually see the mop-streaks on it when you tilt your head at the right angle... totally unexpected to see that level of detail (which is on the devs, of course), but which I didn't think was even possible with PSVR.

 

As for the Arkham VR game itself, its pretty passive as far as a game goes (which might be the standard for a VR game?)... since you're really only a stationary character in a very dynamic-feeling world. But as a taste of what it's like to be Batman in VR... I think it really works. Perhaps the jaw-dropping immersion is something that will only happen at this early stage of VR... but still, it's pretty amazing that such a passive game can have you look over the edge of a steep drop and you actually feel the vertigo, or to "walk" into a very cramped (and dirty) space and feel the claustrophobia... so I'm crazy excited to see what developers can come up with in the future, with these added tools of sensory stimuli at their disposal.

 

If/when I finish Arkham VR (tonight?), I'll dive into either Wayward Sky or Thumper... and I'll try to post my thoughts on them here.

 

Nice thoughts, my friend. I'm glad that you had a great experience.

[AffectatiousDonk]

Interesting reading Fats, sounds like Batman VR was a great experience. I am also keen to try Wayward Sky. 

 

So yesterday I played for roughly 4 hours over about 3 sessions. I found that at the start of each session the screen would fog up, but after wiping and approx 15 mins of playing time the temperature of the lens would warm up to my head temperature and that problem went away. Getting the correct positioning also seems to be paramount as its amazing how just slightly higher or lower can blur the text considerably. I don't suffer from motion sickness normally but at times over the sessions I did feel varying degrees of it. The free camera games are definitely more likely to bring this on I have found so far. I am hopeful that given a bit more exposure I will get use to this. Definitely recommend playing fixed position or on rail games if you are finding similar problems.

 

Driveclub VR 

 

Started this yesterday before the trophy list went up, but since then the list has been posted. This game is a standalone game from the base Driveclub. Your driver character restarts at 0 and you are no longer in your old club. 

Progression is much like Driveclub bikes with 6 tours ( 5 events + championship). Something to bare in mind is you will be playing in first person mode within the car. I play alot of racing games but rarely play in first person due to the difficulty in really seeing / and seeing through the corner. I much prefer a slightly higher elevation so being locked into this view will definitely change / and make more challenging the driving experience if you are not use to it, or like it. I especially find drift events in this view far trickier. Graphically it is fine/average, but the chance to look side on at other cars, especially on the straights and corner approaches is fantastic. Trophy wise the grind to level 60 looks quite tedious especially as you will most likely finish the events well before reaching this level. ( perhaps more DLC content will be added later to help with this ). Also worth noting is I did feel some mild motion sickness when playing this game, this has been commented on in the demo so not sure if it has been improved or not. I am going to try it with a racing wheel this afternoon and see how it goes.

 

Until Dawn : Rush of Blood

 

I know this game has coped some slack but I really like the idea of a rail shooter on a rollercoaster going through various haunted houses (7 in total). There are 4 difficulty levels, online leaderboards and a " story mode " (the rollercoasters in order). Played with 2 move controllers I found the gun play to be very accurate and reload easy (either snap the wrists or press the options button). Have played through one level and found it very atmospheric and a good pacing of calm vs intensity. Depending on how you like your horror will probably determine if you like this game or not. It's not so much jump scares (although they are definitely in there - and yes jump scares in VR are scream worthy intense compared to regular games), but the moments that are more psychological, when sitting in pitch blackness and you hear footsteps approaching and surrounding you ...... that's some intense shit. For $25 I think its definitely worth it, if its your sort of genre.

 

Eve Valkryie

 

Out of everything I have played this is the first " complete " game experience I have had so far. Spent about 90 mins completing training missions and just starting to level up in online play. The cockpit layout, graphics and audio really leave you feeling completely immersed in the experience. The flying and shooting seem responsive, and the challenge maintaining a lockon on other spacecraft is definitely real. There also seems to be quite a deep upgrade system tied to in game currency and XP. There does seem to be micro transactions to give XP boosts and possible equipment boosts. There is a story mode but the online multiplayer was far to distracting for me last night, alot of fun, the time really disappeared on me. The fixed cockpit around your character and the use of the L1/R1 buttons to level out your spacecraft really help in keeping the experience smooth and didn't suffer from any queasy feelings. Obviously need to spend alot more time in the game to formulate a proper opinion but I feel happy with the content I have seen/tried so far in this title.

 

Thumper

 

I read a review on this game that described it as a music violence game, and immediately thought what a load of crap. But after playing through the first two stages (14 sub levels - 2 minor bosses / 2 main bosses) I can safely say this is a great way to describe this game. At its core it is a rhythm game (on rail) but each button press feels like a physical strike at someone. The heavy use of a percussion soundtrack, combined with hard sharp colours only furthers this. The difficulty increased pretty rapidly but the game loops when you make a mistake so you get to replay a section continuously until you pass on to the next. It is a fixed camera game so there is no side to side view but that doesn't detract from a very enjoyable experience. The more I play this game though the more darker and violent it really begins to feel. Definitely recommend this title for the $25 approx it costs.

 

Will post more thoughts tomorrow on todays games ; Job Simulator, Wayward Sky and The Assembly. I am going to wait a few days for Here they Lie as I have heard it can be quite difficult to play if you have been getting motion sick in other games.

Edited October 14, 2016 by cjshaitan

[MesopithecusUK]

Thank you Fatty_Fatness and CJ for the thoughtful and balanced reviews.  Whilst VR is not for me, just based on severe motion sickness I experienced in the times I tried VR out, I like that you have both given a realistic overview to the community of your personal pros and cons so far, along with a summary of the games you have tried out.  It's refreshing to see  

[xZoneHunter]

 

Eve Valkryie

 

Out of everything I have played this is the first " complete " game experience I have had so far. Spent about 90 mins completing training missions and just starting to level up in online play. The cockpit layout, graphics and audio really leave you feeling completely immersed in the experience. The flying and shooting seem responsive, and the challenge maintaining a lockon on other spacecraft is definitely real. There also seems to be quite a deep upgrade system tied to in game currency and XP. There does seem to be micro transactions to give XP boosts and possible equipment boosts. There is a story mode but the online multiplayer was far to distracting for me last night, alot of fun, the time really disappeared on me. The fixed cockpit around your character and the use of the L1/R1 buttons to level out your spacecraft really help in keeping the experience smooth and didn't suffer from any queasy feelings. Obviously need to spend alot more time in the game to formulate a proper opinion but I feel happy with the content I have seen/tried so far in this title.

 

 

I have read that the SP is supposed to be a pretty barebones experience. Which is a shame. Good to know the MP is at least beefy. This game looked really good and perfect for VR.

[JapanimeGamer]

I played the demo of EVE and it was over in about 2 minutes lol.

 

The in cockpit view of my legs and the controls was insane, not really my kind of game to be honest but i agree it is perfect for VR and MP.

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

Sorry if this looks lazy but I think what I posted in the other thread (no, not that one, the other other one) was spot on regarding my first day experiences, which I am going to repeat (and expand upon) here.

My top three lists of VR successes and VR disappointments:

TOP 3:

1) Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes. It's a hectic game but it is so rewarding when you manage to disarm a bomb... it's really fun to play together with someone (can't be played on your own unless you cheat). I have seen all the (non-needy) modules now and the morse code one is easily the most difficult for us. We have three out of seven sets done now (first set was just one bomb though) and we're really starting to get accustomed to the module types. This game might start to feel repetitive after a while but my guess is that will happen long after we've obtained all trophies, and it's not like the game is expensive. Tip: get your partner a printed Bomb Manual, we didn't even try the digital one.

2) The Playroom VR: Robots Rescue. Not much replay value here but that first time you play it... Wow. Super Mario VR indeed. This game shows how beautiful the graphics can be when you don't bother with pesky realism and just want to make Super Mario 3D Land, for VR. If this was to be the first level of a full game then I'd buy it day one.

3) Thumper demo. It looks awesome and weird, it feels awesome and weird... have I mentioned it's awesome and weird yet? It looks like it's a "racer" but actually it's a rythm button presser. Seeing it makes me think about how F-Zero would look in VR. I had no trouble with motion sickness but then again I had played some other stuff before starting on Thumper (played the Battlezone demo some time after and got a bit sick from that one). I will definitely get this game though I will wait for a bit of a sale.

BONUS: VR movies.
Allumette and INVASION! both definitely show what can be done with the medium. Bring me more! Allumette was a bit of an artsy film, while INVASION! made me recall the old days when a film in the cinema was preceded by cartoon shorts (like Pixar still does). I'm definitely interested in seeing more of this. Both are available for free so you have zero risk in trying them.

BOTTOM 3:

3) Wayward Skies demo. Not bad at all but just way too short to get a good impression. It left me wanting more but at the same time wondering if the game would get any more complicated, or if it would remain shallow (it seems like the demo is actually the first five minutes of the game).

2) Bound. Having to constantly adjust the camera and having it too low to the ground to see where you have to walk is annoying. They should have made the regular camera that follows the character accessible in VR. It is a nice game and I do not mind buying it but I will play the rest of it in 2D.

1) Rise Of The Tomb Raider: Blood Ties. Walking around in first person is fine but just like the Here They Lie demo I tried a month ago, the moving speed is much too slow. Shame, because the story had me from the start and the graphics are very good.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHT:
Doing first person walking in VR is a mistake devs should leave behind them. I will gladly sit in the cockpit of an X-Wing or an ordinary earth fighter jet, but there is just too much trouble with walking properly in first person (the devs make the walking speed agonisingly slow just to prevent people from getting motion sickness). For alternatives, look at Robots Rescue which manages to have a third person tracking perspective on platforming, or Wayward Skies which has stationary cameras on spots with a good overview.
 

Eve Valkryie

Out of everything I have played this is the first " complete " game experience I have had so far. Spent about 90 mins completing training missions and just starting to level up in online play. The cockpit layout, graphics and audio really leave you feeling completely immersed in the experience. The flying and shooting seem responsive, and the challenge maintaining a lockon on other spacecraft is definitely real. There also seems to be quite a deep upgrade system tied to in game currency and XP. There does seem to be micro transactions to give XP boosts and possible equipment boosts. There is a story mode but the online multiplayer was far to distracting for me last night, alot of fun, the time really disappeared on me. The fixed cockpit around your character and the use of the L1/R1 buttons to level out your spacecraft really help in keeping the experience smooth and didn't suffer from any queasy feelings. Obviously need to spend alot more time in the game to formulate a proper opinion but I feel happy with the content I have seen/tried so far in this title.

 

I played the demo and enjoyed it. I am not into online multiplayer so I won't get the full game but playing this demo makes me feel sure about X-Wing and Ace Combat. The graphics are awesome and the controls feel as good as with any recent big budget fighter jet game, very responsive.

 

I just hope that come X-Wing, there will be a decent joystick available for PSVR...

Edited October 14, 2016 by BillyHorrible

[JapanimeGamer]

Nice post. I will try the same...

 

My top three VR successes and VR disappointments thus far:

 

 

**May contain spoilers**

 

 

Top 3:

 

1). Summer Lesson, the very first moment you find yourself in the Hikari's (the female Japanese student) bedroom and she nervously opens the door is just a huge 'WOW' factor, then she walks over and starts talking and leaning right into your face, i will not exaggerate it is as though a real life person is there in front of you, it is that believeable, and the fact she is talking Japanese and needs help with her studies is just the absolute icing on the cake for me.

 

2).Until Dawn Rush of blood (Demo) from the first moment you look left and then right as sounds echo around you right thru past all of the pigs and other crazy stuff this is just one crazy trip, i thought the fact that because this was on a rail very much like how House of the dead plays that this would be limited, but no, it actually makes the demo what it is because you cannot run, you cannot hide, you are dragged thru hell and theres nothing you can do about it... oh and the roller coaster is so believable i honestly genuinely thought i was going uphill and downhill whilst all along i was sat motionless in my chair. Insane.

 

3). RE7 (Demo) Although very short (less than 5 mins?) and although in need of graphical tweaks it was super super scary in PSVR, ignore how it plays on a TV, that's just a game, in VR you are actually really in that room, just like you are in your own room right now... this game will scare the living shit out of people when it releases.

 

 

 

Bottom 3:

 

1). Driveclub VR (Demo) Not gonna dwell on this but let's just say it looks like absolute poo, and does not play a lot better either, after seeing the you tube clip where some guy says how real it looks etc etc i got a bit excited but in truth on my PSVR and launch PS4 it really is poor, very very poor. This is the only game i am going to mention in my bottom 3 things list, and i feel bad for slating a demo, but that's how it is.

 

2). Having to keep taking the cables out of the PSVR unit each time i finish playing, having to find somewhere to store it all safely, it can be a bit choreish, not a massive complaint, thing needs cables afterall, its just a bit tiresome having to keep doing it and i wanted to mention this as it still needs to be taken into consideration, especially the storing of everything point.

 

3). Screen door effect. Not something that has cropped up much here on these forums but i want to mention it. On Summer Lesson it is noticeable and on pretty much any game that is stationary it is noticeable, I can 100% see it if I look for it, and it is less noticeable when things are all flowing along, in fact during fast intense scenes you probably would do well to notice it at all, but still, it is there and again i must reiterate that all points both good and bad need to be covered fairly and evenly if they are to hold any value at all, i do not want to just say how amazing things are if they are not and vice versa.

 

 

Additional thought:  PSVR probably does need the boost it will get from PS4 pro, it will probably also benefit from software tweaks (to the unit itself) but this is just to be expected, none of that is going to stun anyone or shock anyone. So how good is PSVR then? well, as things stand i am over the moon with mine, i do criticise the things that i don't like, and i do praise the things that i do like, it wasn't cheap afterall but let us be realistic, VR technology is not cheap, so whilst this was still a hefty £350 to purchase it is a massive bargain all things taken into account. 

 

Since owning my PSVR i have played 1 full VR game, perhaps 10 VR demo's and 1 regular PS4 game in cinematic mode. Cinematic mode was not something i would recommend, i personally felt too close to the action, and this felt weird and uncomfortable, this was in Sleeping dogs, and it looked like a PS3 game in terms of graphics, that said, it is not the nicest looking game anyway.

 

I am loving my PSVR, it has some faults, but most things do, it is the strenghs that set this thing apart, only with PSVR can you actually be there in the scene, it is worlds apart from Kinect and PS move, in fact PSVR is so distant and unlike those things that only people who have never played PSVR would compare them alike.

 

Kinect and PS move had you looking at and interacting with a TV screen whereas PSVR actually puts you into that TV screen.

 

 

JapanimeGamer

Edited October 14, 2016 by JapanimeGamer

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

2). Having to keep taking the cables out of the PSVR unit each time i finish playing, having to find somewhere to store it all safely, it can be a bit choreish, not a massive complaint, thing needs cables afterall, its just a bit tiresome having to keep doing it and i wanted to mention this as this is all about honest opinions both good and bad.

 

3). Screen door effect. Not something has has cropped up much here on these forums but i want to mention it. On Summer Lesson it is noticeable and on pretty much any game that is stationary it is noticeable, I can 100% see it if I look for it, and it is less noticeable when things are all flowing along, in fact then you probably would do well to notice it at all, but still, it is there and all points both good and bad need to be covered concisely if they are to hold any value at all, i do not want to just say how amazing things are if they are not and vice versa.

 

 

Additional thought:  PSVR probably does need the boost it will get from PS4 pro, it will probably also benefit from software tweaks (to the unit itself) but this is just to be expected, none of that is going to stun anyone or shock anyone. So how good is PSVR then? well, as things stand i am over the moon with mine, i do criticise the things that i don't like, and i do praise the things that i do like, it wasn't cheap afterall but let us be realistic, VR technology is not cheap, so whilst this was still a hefty £350 to purchase it is a massive bargain all things taken into account. 

 

Since owning my PSVR i have played 1 full VR game, perhaps 10 VR demo's and 1 regular PS4 game in cinematic mode. Cinematic mode was not something i would recommend, i personally felt too close to the action, and this felt weird and uncomfortable, this was in Sleeping dogs, and it looked like a PS3 game in terms of graphics, that said, it is not the nicest looking game anyway.

 

I am loving my PSVR, it has some faults, but most things do, it is the strenghs that set this thing apart, only with PSVR can you actually be there in the scene, it is worlds apart from Kinect and PS move, in fact PSVR is so distant and unlik those things that only people who have never played PSVR would compare them alike.

Yeah the cables can be a bit of a bother, I'm glad I have my own mancave where they are all dumped behind the television.

 

Personally I can ignore the screen door effect and often I do not even see it but this is a very personal issue, like how some people can't view 3D correctly. it depends on your eyes, how sleepy you are and more. I can very well understand it if some people are bothered by this, especially in games that need to look real to sell the bit.

 

Playing on PSVR for a day does have me wondering about PS4 Pro... I might have to save up some more though before I can get it, will definitely not be this year.

 

I tried cinema mode again but with Netflix and I enjoyed that, I think I'll never use cinema mode unless I can't have access to a television screen though. I did not like the Sleeping Dogs PS4 graphics even when playing in 2D, looked too much like the old game in my eyes.

[JapanimeGamer]

I am hoping that as more people chip in this thread with their 'Top 3's and Bottom 3's that other people who want honest information from gamers who actually own these headsets and are actively using them will come here and be able to see what PSVR really is all about and to see its good points, and its not so good.

[pluginbaby]

Signed up to the forums to give my opinions after seeing quite a lot of (in my eyes) either unwarranted or ill informed criticism from people who have either barely played the unit or haven't at all. It isn't for everyone, some games have made me feel queasy, but the potential of PSVR, and VR as a concept in totality, is absolutely breathtaking. 

 

Best:

 

1) Kitchen Demo - No Motion Sickness

 

I urge everybody who is planning on purchasing PSVR, or has just got home with their unit to go to this for their maiden experience. As someone who ignored all other forms of VR (except for riding Galactica - a VR roller coaster - at Alton Towers in the UK!) to allow myself the 'shock value' of putting a headset on for the first time, arriving in the 'kitchen' of the title was an experience I can hardly put into words.

 

As a gamer since around 93, this was the most awesome moment since the first time I moved Mario around outside the castle on the N64. Never before have I felt such an intense feeling of shock, amazement and - above all else - fear. It really feels as if you have been transported into a horror movie, and no amount of telling myself that I was sat in my front room could stop me from physically screaming at numerous moments. I class myself as having a rather decent threshold to horror, seeing most movies without issue and finishing any game you care to mention (PT, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Project Zero etc etc) and nothing has ever come close to this. The five minutes or so spent in 'Kitchen' will stay with me forever, and it was absolutely THE proof of concept I was hoping for. Could I manage a 20 hour full game experience like this, i.e, Resident Evil 7? I will try my best as it is that good, but whether I have the bollocks to do so is up for debate.

 

2) Thumper - No Motion Sickness

 

Thumper is like an amalgamation of Guitar Hero and Amplitude but has an atmosphere all of it's own. I completed the first two stages (which amounts to a fair bit of gameplay actually, along with pseudo-boss battles) and found it to be a great experience. The gameplay is very simple, one button (X) alongside other flicks of the right stick to do specific actions and relies on muscle memory, and not blinking! The atmosphere is bizarre, and somewhat disturbing. It's certainly not a 'horror' game as some reviewers had alluded to, but has a daunting, apocalyptic feel to it that covers the track your little critter runs down with dread. 

 

As an FYI - the game seemed to get hard, fast so could well be very tricky in the later levels.

 

3) PS VR Worlds - No Motion Sickness

 

I am having a blast with PS VR Worlds. So far I have only tried the underwater sections (all three 'dives' can be completed in 20 minutes or so. The shark encounter is very impressive and immersive, but this amounts to little more than a VR movie really), Dangerball (Pong with your head - great gameplay, easy to learn, fun) and The London Heist. 

 

The London Heist deserves it's own paragraph simply because of how impressive it was. The immersion experienced in this 'game' (I must state, this only takes 20-30 minutes to complete and doesn't appear to have much replay value bar the challenges to be done) is almost unparalleled. There is one section where you are behind a desk looking for the diamond to steal, opening doors etc. Inevitably, a shoot out begins where you can peer over the desk and around the edges to shoot the goons. It occurred to me though that I was in VR - I can go anywhere! I dropped to the floor (in my living room) and crawled under the desk - shuffling forward bit by bit whilst unloading clip after clip. The fact that this is possible is truly awesome, VR really does reward creative thinking.

 

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I don't really have three downsides at this point. The one negative I have to state is that I played Driveclub VR (the demo) and after 2-3 minutes of play felt incredibly sick. The game looked terrible, felt awful to drive and was just...yeah...not good. The one impressive thing was climbing into the car and looking around the interior. I thought outside the box again and decided to climb into the footwell of the car, just for the Hell of it. 

 

VR has a long way to go - but my first 24 hours has been so much fun, and the first truly NEW form of gameplay I have felt in decades. When I get home from work today I will be trying out Batman, EVE Gunjack, The Assembly, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes and Until Dawn: Rush of Blood (along with the freebie VR movies). I will give my opinions on those later 

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

Stuff

Awesome first post, welcome to the forum!

 

Interesting that you're naming VR Worlds among your top, I have heard most people call it mediocre/bad, though even people disagreeing with the game tend to be slightly positive about Heist. I have not played it myself except for a short demo you got at the PSVR Experience where you just sit still.

 

Have fun with Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes, my favourite so far. Can you and your partner (or friend or whatever) communicate clearly with each other?

Also, since you mention Keep Talking and therefor probably have another player next to you: don't ignore The Playroom VR just because it's a freebie.

[pluginbaby]

Awesome first post, welcome to the forum!

 

Interesting that you're naming VR Worlds among your top, I have heard most people call it mediocre/bad, though even people disagreeing with the game tend to be slightly positive about Heist. I have not played it myself except for a short demo you got at the PSVR Experience where you just sit still.

 

Have fun with Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes, my favourite so far. Can you and your partner (or friend or whatever) communicate clearly with each other?

Also, since you mention Keep Talking and therefor probably have another player next to you: don't ignore The Playroom VR just because it's a freebie.

 

I am hosting a VR party at my house tomorrow night with my fiancee and three others where we will be doing all the multiplayer stuff - just printed off our 23 page bomb defusal guide in prep!

Edited October 14, 2016 by pluginbaby

[JapanimeGamer]

Great post and i fully agree with your opinions on The Kitchen and also Drive club.

 

You really need to try Until dawn Rush of blood as soon as you can.

 

Welcome to PSNP and welcome to PSVR.

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

I am hosting a VR party at my house tomorrow night with my fiancee and three others where we will be doing all the multiplayer stuff - just printed off our 23 page bomb defusal guide in prep!

Cool stuff!

 

I am keeping things a bit smaller. Did the bombs just with the missus, will perhaps have a few more people over tomorrow though.

 

I hope that before long we're getting a party game with a bit more meat to it. Playroom VR is great as a presentation of how that could work.

 

PSVR needs Mario Party!

 

And yes good thinking about printing the manual. Let nobody read it beforehand, for extra hilarity.

[AffectatiousDonk]

Some great posts guys, really interesting and enjoyable reading. As Japananimegamer mentioned above it's great to have insightful thoughts based on actual gaming experiences firsthand. Hoping we all keep it up

Didn't get much play time tonight but knocked over a couple more roller coasters in rush of blood and it really is impressive. There were at least two moments I screamed ..,,,, very loudly and one where I actually had to close my eyes to escape for a moment. Simply great horror fun.

I am curious to know how you found LugeVR on the VRWorlds disc. I have tried this game twice now and just can't do more than one or two runs without feeling extremely motion sick, is it effecting anyone else.

[DuckSwimmer]

I have..

 

Ace Banana

Batman Arkham VR

Battlezone

Harmonix Music VR

Job Simulator

Loading Human Chapter 1

The Playroom VR

PlayStation VR Worlds

RIGS

Thumper

Tumble VR

Wayward Sky

 

Ace Banana

Played for a few minutes, the game seemed nice although I was having issues with the controls. I'm not sure if it was because I don't have a huge open area of space in my room, but it was really buggy.

 

Battlezone

It's a pretty challenging game, but still fun at the same time. You have to go through levels in order to get to the "volcano" I think they described that thing as.. Anyways, I'm still learning all the controls there and such. The only downside to how challenging and frustrating it can be is if your'e playing with 4 players, you have 3 revives and everyone shares them. Also, if you fail the mission, the campaign is over. Still, being in the cockpit of a tank is pretty rad.

 

Harmonix Music VR

I bought this after playing the demo. It's not a game where you have to do stuff. It's a game where you can relax and literally do what you want. The cool feature in this game is you can import your own music into it so you could be playing "The Easel"(the mode where you're drawing stuff) and listening to whatever song you want. It's more of a game where if you want to relax, chill, zone out.. and just enjoy the VR experience.

 

Job Simulator

The one game I was super eager to play and Platinumed. It's extremely fun being put into scenarios as a Office worker, Gourmet chef, Auto mechanic or a Store clerk. Just the goofy and wacky things you can do makes the game fun. You do need to have a good amount of room when playing this though. I couldn't finish the office worker simulation for my life because I couldn't reach the lever. I had to glitch out one of my move controllers in order to pull the lever.. lol. Other than that, I recommend that game to anyone because it's a lot of fun! After playing to get the Platinum for this game though. I felt like my hands/arms were extremely light feeling.. Like I lifted them and they felt like feathers, I'm not sure if anyone else was having issues like this. This is the only game that's happened to me in.

 

The Playroom VR

Absolutely loveeee. I love the little bots, they're SO ADORABLEE. In the hub where you can view your toy collection, it's amazing. They're so cute how you can walk up and put your face right in front of them and they just stare, sometimes wave. I wish they had more single player games though. The single player game available though is pretty fun. I love the VR experience it brings since it feels like a mario game. I wish they changed up the level so it wasn't the same exact one because I love the experience it brings. It's the only game, to my understanding, where you can use a controller and you move with the little bot you're controlling. I know Wayward Sky is similar, but not exactly what I wanted to get at. The Multiplayer games are also fun too, just the cat one was eh.. idk. I enjoy that Sheriff one the most. If you get a VR, definitely play the Playroom because it is free and the experience is provides is fun.

 

PlayStation VR Worlds

I've only finished two out of the five games in there. Completely finished Ocean Descent which made me scream so much having the shark just come at you lmao. The London Heist, I only need to finish some of the remaining challenges.. I finished the story and the shooting gallery.. I absolutely loved the shooting gallery. I personally used the dualshock 4 controller opposed to the motion controllers. Danger Ball I felt a bit annoying and my head starting to hurt by constantly moving your head to hit the ball. Same thing with VR Luge. I didn't play Scavengers Odyssey yet. This was one of the games that I started to feel woozy/sick from.

 

RIGS

This was the other game that made me feel sick right off the bat. When you first start off the game, they're going through the basic controls with you. You have to aim by moving you head. When they introduce moving, you also have to move with your head... so both aiming and moving is done with the VR.. you can almost imagine how much spinning that is. Although after that, they ask if you want to switch the moving controls to the controller. So, someone correct me if I'm wrong, you have to do the training course with the head movement first, then you're given the option to change to the controller.. you're not able to change it to the controller right off the bat. There's also other instances too. When you die you're ejected out of your suit, you're floating in mid air and you have to use your head to choose what spawn point you want.. You can change it back to the default, choosing a point on the map.. but just how they let you experience that part was eh.. I didn't play more after this, but I'm still wanting to after all the crazy stuff  I experienced.

 

Tumble VR

I absolutely love this puzzle game. It can get challenging and confusing at times, but it's still a really fun experience. You're not just stacking blocks, you're positioning mirrors for a laser to get to the "end". You're positioning mines in certain places of a tower for them to explode outwards (the farther, the more points.. this gets pretty challenging) and using only a certain amount of blocks.. to strategically place them for them to get to the finish point. I personally really like it for the VR experience (o:

 

 

I've only played the demo of Wayward Sky, I don't have a good opinion on it except that it made me buy it lol. Thumper I've only played without the VR. I've pushed Loading Human aside for so long that I do want to try it.. Same thing with Batman.

 

One game that I only played the demo that almost got me sick as hell because of all the twists and turns is that Rez Infinite game, holy hell.. I was kinda considering it, but after all that.. I was like hell no. I was so dizzy after that experience.

[AffectatiousDonk]

I have..

 

 

 .

Thanks for posting DuckSwimmer, some good reading. I am not surprised about Rigs and motion sickness, pretty sure I'm not going to be able to handle that game, when you get to Loading Human I would be interested on your thoughts, haven't decided whether to pick it up or not but looks interesting.

[AuzzieWingman]

Ill probably play more tonight, and post my thoughts on Thursday. It'll be a biiiiig post.

Edited October 16, 2016 by AuzzieWingman

[DuckSwimmer]

Thanks for posting DuckSwimmer, some good reading. I am not surprised about Rigs and motion sickness, pretty sure I'm not going to be able to handle that game, when you get to Loading Human I would be interested on your thoughts, haven't decided whether to pick it up or not but looks interesting.

I played it for about 15 minutes.. I almost threw up.. The controls were so screwy that it messed with me tremendously. You have to push buttons on the move controller in order to move. It's just so choppy when you're turning and stuff.. I'm probably never going to play it again.. pretty disappointed about it x.x

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

I obtained the platinum of The Playroom VR, posted a longer review in the main VR thread. Played a bit with the missus on thursday and then did we played more with her brother yesterday, also looking at the trophies in the end.

All three of us are now looking out for the first full party game. Mario Party with those Playroom bots would be very cool.

All three of us are glass wearers by the way.

One thing I think that is weird though (forgot to mention this in the other thread) is that for the two games where the TV players use remotes, the VR player gives his remote to a TV player. This means the VR and the remote are operated by two different people but they're on the same gamer tag...

I played it for about 15 minutes.. I almost threw up.. The controls were so screwy that it messed with me tremendously. You have to push buttons on the move controller in order to move. It's just so choppy when you're turning and stuff.. I'm probably never going to play it again.. pretty disappointed about it x.x

Just to be clear, you're talking about Loading Human now and not Rigs, right?

[jimmypop01]

Well it's been over a year since I posted on this forum but felt the need to return now that I own a PSVR as I know many will be looking for real opinions (I.e. Not from people who've never given it a chance).

So I purchased the VR yesterday with a copy of Batman and Valkyrie. I haven't played any of those games yet, instead I plan on completing the demo disk first to get an idea of everything and draw up a list of games I want to buy in the future.

So let's get started on those demos that I've played so far.

PlayStation VR worlds - so I started of with Ocean Decent and WOW! What an introduction to VR, I was blown away by the 360 view and how integrated I was in the environment, I kept trying to hold on the barriers and reaching the fish but they weren't real! This was a great demo for my family too who are non gamers who thought the experience was incredible. Next was London Heist and the shooting range was awesome. As I live in Wales, UK, we do not have guns in this country so to actually have an experience shooting what felt like a real gun was a cool moment.

Battle zone - being in the cockpit of the tank was awesome, looking around I felt like I was there. The only time the immersion was broken was when I looked down and my legs weren't there. Either way it was a cool experience sitting there. The actual battle section was great having to look around you for these enemies. I found that if I moved my head too quickly on occasions I got giddy but I'm sure that will improve if I buy the full game.

Headmaster - a cool football heading experience and had a smile on my face the whole time. Not sure how long I could invest in a full game but as a tech demo it was cool.

Amalette - I think that's how it's spelled. Essentially just a movie but the fact I could walk around it feel like an invisible giant, to bend down and look under the bridge or to look inside the hull of the ship was mind blowing. If this is an early concept of VR movies then the future should be fantastic.

Thumper - I'm against the grain here, but I wasn't too fond of thumper. I got quite bored in the demo and as I rarely ever had to move my head was not fully invested. The game itself I imagine gets more exciting and crazy in later stages but for now it didn't interest me too much.

That was it for day one. I have around another 11 demos to try out so am thinking I'll try out rush of blood, drive club, rigs and kitchen today. Maybe a couple of others. I will then cap off the demos tomorrow before diving in to my too full games.

I also have Battlefield 1 and Gears of War 4 on my Xbox this weekend so I'm having a pretty amazing gaming weekend