Review: PlayStation VR2 is a huge leap that still can’t escape its niche

The PlayStation VR2 is simply a simultaneously breathtaking and disappointing improvement successful nan virtual reality space. Well-specced, easy to group up, and reasonably ray and comfortable, Sony’s latest still can’t shingle nan basal issues that person prevented VR from going mainstream: a deficiency of compelling contented and contempt a marque caller 4K OLED display, distracting image fidelity. It’s nan champion VR has ever been, and I still can’t bring myself to urge it to anybody who wasn’t already connected board.

The PSVR was 1 of nan first really consumer-accessible VR headsets, and was elemental to group up for its time, but besides relied connected outdated controls successful nan instantly obsolete Move controllers and a TV-mounted camera. Still, it demonstrated that VR had a early successful gaming, and that Sony was approaching it pinch an oculus to accessibility and easiness of use.

Last twelvemonth nan PSVR2 was announced, and based connected specs alone it mostly led nan pack, pinch a fewer exceptions present and there. With a unit value of $550 each in, it struck a equilibrium betwixt nan progressively decent entry-level headsets (Oculus Quest 2) and much expensive, analyzable PC-bound ones (Vive Pro 2).

With a 4K OLED surface moving astatine 120Hz, inside-out sensing (meaning nary mounted cameras aliases emitters), and a brace of controllers cribbed from others and improved on, it seemed to embody a champion of breed, its superior drawback being that it is simply a single-platform device.

And really, successful believe that is precisely what PSVR2 is: champion of breed, without meaningful discuss successful hardware beyond having a azygous cable. It’s a portion of barroom to group up and accommodates room-scale arsenic good arsenic sitting and opinionated play styles. A assortment of games are disposable connected time one, including a Horizon: Zero Dawn spinoff and a Resident Evil title, and others successful little aggravated genres. So why do I still hesitate to urge it?

Because VR gaming — arsenic magical arsenic it tin beryllium — is itself still a compromise. Even astatine its astir seamless and convincing, VR is simply a sweaty, uncomfortable, artificial-feeling acquisition for illustration sitting nether a broad looking astatine a 3D TV done a surface door. Within 10 seconds of putting connected Sony’s biggest hardware effort successful years, I couldn’t thief reasoning “So VR is still for illustration this, huh?”

I cognize immoderate will opportunity that conscionable makes maine a hater. But I really want VR to beryllium good. I want it to beryllium successful — I tried connected that duct-taped Oculus prototype each those years agone and instantly understood nan potential. And now, a decade later, I’m seeing a important fraction of that imaginable — but thing for illustration what it would return for maine to show personification “hey, spell walk six bills connected this,” unless they were fresh to forgive a lot.

Still, I don’t want to outright disregard a perfectly bully VR headset because it takes portion successful a processing ecosystem, truthful let’s talk astir what nan PSVR2 does right.

Easy, breezy, beautiful-ish

First, nan headset is attractively styled and reasonably light, and doesn’t return up overmuch abstraction erstwhile it’s not being used. Likewise nan controllers, which are a spot puzzling and pretzel-like astatine first but yet make sense. It’s each very good thought retired and put together.

Setting it up is besides incredibly easy: by acold nan easiest VR setup I’ve experienced. Plug successful nan headset to nan USB-C larboard connected your PS5 and it gives you a step-by-step tutorial of really to put it on, set nan fit, which buttons do what, and past really to sync nan controllers (literally conscionable hitting nan PS fastener connected them).

Establishing a play area is done automatically by looking astir you successful nan passthrough mode, which is simply a black-and-white real-time position of your surroundings (and for immoderate logic somewhat unnerving). It builds a small play area utilizing nan clear abstraction astir you, which you tin easy adhd to aliases subtract from by zapping it pinch a beam coming disconnected your controller (it’s rather nosy actually).

Gaze discovery is built successful and setup is likewise speedy and simple: travel nan dot around, and successful 20 seconds it’s finished. It was meticulous capable for non-precision worldly but I recovered it was intolerable to look straight astatine nan crosshair successful Rez:Infinite, which was frustratingly ever conscionable half its width beneath my gaze. Repeated configurations didn’t thief but I hit nan first 2 areas unscathed anyhow – it was biased downwards but meticulous and highly responsive otherwise.

Once you’re successful a game, you’ll get immoderate acquainted prompts, for illustration whether you want to usage gestures aliases nan analog sticks for movement. I thought gestures for judge until I recovered that successful Horizon: Call of nan Mountain, nan motion to move guardant is holding buttons down connected some controllers and pumping your fists up and down. I laughed retired large and switched to nan sticks, which weren’t overmuch better. Movement successful VR is still an unsolved problem.

(I didn’t person capable abstraction to really effort retired afloat room standard play, but from nan small I did nan search seemed bully if not peculiarly basal for astir games.)

Easily nan astir awesome facet of nan PSVR2 is nan accuracy and responsiveness of nan controllers. Although there’s still a furniture of “well, these fake, silly looking hands aren’t my hands,” nan contiguous feedback of activity and rotation — not a jitter aliases jank to beryllium seen — fools your encephalon very quickly. There’s a logic climbing is astatine nan halfway of nan Horizon game; it changes awkward activity to thing natural-feeling and fun. On level surfaces nan crippled feels silly; connected cliffsides it is genuinely thrilling.

The show is great, arsenic VR displays go. It’s agleam and vibrant and has bully heavy darks because it’s an OLED panel. The activity is soft too, either moving astatine a afloat 120Hz aliases interpolating a little framework complaint to that level. At 110 degrees, nan section of position is among nan best, overmuch amended than nan passageway imagination successful different headsets — but nan vignetting is still very noticeable and occasionally distracting.

Hard limits

But moreover astatine 4K and 120Hz, you can’t flight physics, and successful truth your eyes are only an inch aliases 2 from nan screen, pinch a analyzable Fresnel lens assembly betwixt them. The consequence is — arsenic it has beautiful overmuch ever been — shimmering, chromatic aberration, smearing, aliasing, vignetting, and inevitably oculus fatigue.

To beryllium clear, it looks arsenic bully aliases amended than thing that’s retired location correct now, particularly successful colour strength and depth. But moreover truthful it is not (and nor is nan competition) what I would telephone sharp. I recovered location was a very constrictive saccharine spot wherever I sewage maximum clarity, and moreover past that clarity declines nan further from nan halfway of nan viewport you go.

Other reviews person said that 2K per oculus drastically reduces nan aliasing, and that’s true, but it is acold from eliminated and nan last image, though convincing owed to nan depth, fluidity, and very quality of VR, still seemed to maine hazy and chunky. Screenshots are not an meticulous practice of what it’s really like, unfortunately.

In nan discourse of a elaborate and immersive crippled situation for illustration a Horizon jungle aliases stylized Rez area, moreover nan storybook tableaux of nan Moss series, you whitethorn very good beryllium capable to look past nan surface doorway effect and bask nan moment, but it’s ever there, conscionable waiting to beryllium noticed. In much fixed scenes wherever specifications tin beryllium admired astatine leisure, nan deficiency of clarity will beryllium instantly apparent, particularly to gamers utilized to seeing ultra-crisp imagery connected large 4K screens 8-10 feet away. The thought that anyone would want to play a normal crippled aliases watch a movie connected its “cinematic mode” virtual surface alternatively of connected immoderate decent (and I mean for illustration $300 a fewer years ago, for illustration mine) TV simply doesn’t clasp water.

The basal problems of convergence and accommodation fatigue — your eyes not being capable to take their attraction decently by redirecting and reshaping themselves — is besides not alleviated by eye-tracking and foveated rendering, though these techniques clasp promise. I’m not prone to mobility sickness but aft an hr aliases truthful successful crippled my eyes and temples decidedly ached and there’s a lingering consciousness of optical distortion.

When you get down to it, though nan acquisition has been very efficaciously streamlined and nan exertion improved immensely complete nan past fewer years, nan games are still not worthy nan value of admittance for astir people. Certainly immoderate dedicated players who really emotion Horizon aliases Resident Evil, and are constitutionally suited to VR playing, were sold connected nan PSVR2 agelong ago.

And to them I say, enjoy! It’s amended than ever, and ace easy to group up, and nan controllers are amazing! And location is nan anticipation of genuinely caller and powerful gameplay experiences connected offer!

But nan advances of nan PSVR2, important arsenic they are, look improbable to person anyone who wasn’t already convinced years ago. The games still consciousness for illustration costly showcases and though immoderate titles use from VR (Rez pinch oculus controls is really singular and screen shooters will shine), nan level of imagery and immersion imaginable connected a TV surface is still only increasing. I didn’t request to deterioration a VR helmet to beryllium frightened retired of my mind heavy successful a cavern successful Elden Ring. And Resident Evil Village was already scary arsenic hellhole erstwhile I was looking astir pinch a mouse!

Games that really return advantage of nan possibilities of VR still consciousness tentative and half-formed, a hint of what is yet to come. I dream to eat my words successful nan adjacent twelvemonth aliases 2 erstwhile a existent slayer app appears. I would for illustration thing more.

But for now, VR is still simply excessively costly for nan acquisition it offers. And pinch nan expanding image and audio value of location TV setups, gaming isn’t successful dire request of an upgrade, fto unsocial a sidegrade. The PlayStation VR2 accomplishes its extremity of making a authorities of nan creation headset much elemental and tin than ever, but unless you’re already among nan VR faithful, it tin beryllium safely considered conscionable different promising measurement connected nan roadworthy to nan beatified grail.