PSVR Thoughts (Gaming)
by Cody Miller 
, Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Sunday, December 10, 2017, 13:53 (2322 days ago)
People here are thinking about getting a PSVR? I tried it a bunch at the Playstation Experience.
I'm… still not really sold on VR as a whole in its current iteration.
Of all the games I played, only three really 'worked': Gran Turismo VR, Golem, and The Persistence.
Gran Turismo worked because you are stationary, and so is your avatar in game. However, while the game is completely gorgeous in 2D mode, the VR portion is a low res sloppy looking mess. It seriously is PS1 level bad. It's so blurry and there's no detail anywhere. So the gorgeous visuals of the game go away.
Golem worked, but I feel as if it were designed around the limitations of VR instead of designed to its strengths, if that makes any sense. And as a whole, the game wasn't really that much fun.
The Persistence worked and was actually a blast, but as a lasting experience I don't think it would hold up too well. It's a great party game. In a way this was the most successful VR game at the show I think.
It's not an issue of money, but really just quality… I'm not seeing anything in VR that's going to change gaming the way Mario did, or dual analog sticks did. And I'm not really seeing anything that is just really solidly good enough to justify a VR only experience. Maybe when we have 8K per eye, things like Gran Turismo will shine. But until then… it's just not a worthwhile purchase IMO.
+1
Not only do I fully agree with cody here, but I FULLY agree with Cody: Only Persistence, Gran Turismo, and Golem made good use of the VR setup. For true racing enthusiasts, the VR is going to be a must-have. Persistence was my "best in show" game and I had a hell of a fun time playing and also messing with Cody while he played (you can use your phone or tablet to open doors, freeze zombies, and otherwise confuse, confound, and eventually kill or help the player in the VR game). And Golem was just a good solid game that made sense as a VR game and I can't really imagine it not being VR (even the great Persistence could be super fun without VR, possibly more so as you can talk to your friends as they fuck with you in-game).
I also played Farpoint Versus VR and it was kind of awful. My gun kept rotating away from true directional aim, which ruined the whole thing, and movement was funky. Great idea but just not there, yet.
Also, All VR headsets ever made need googly eyes on them. There should be a law mandating them.
+1
by Cody Miller , Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Sunday, December 10, 2017, 17:59 (2322 days ago) @ Kahzgul
Not only do I fully agree with cody here, but I FULLY agree with Cody: Only Persistence, Gran Turismo, and Golem made good use of the VR setup. For true racing enthusiasts, the VR is going to be a must-have. Persistence was my "best in show" game and I had a hell of a fun time playing and also messing with Cody while he played (you can use your phone or tablet to open doors, freeze zombies, and otherwise confuse, confound, and eventually kill or help the player in the VR game). And Golem was just a good solid game that made sense as a VR game and I can't really imagine it not being VR (even the great Persistence could be super fun without VR, possibly more so as you can talk to your friends as they fuck with you in-game).
I also played Farpoint Versus VR and it was kind of awful. My gun kept rotating away from true directional aim, which ruined the whole thing, and movement was funky. Great idea but just not there, yet.
Also, All VR headsets ever made need googly eyes on them. There should be a law mandating them.
DoomVFR was unplayably bad. The guy asked me how I liked it after I was done, and I told him it controlled so horribly that it was awful. Every station but one had move controllers. 20 mins after I said that they all had DualShock 4s instead.
I've had a PSVR for almost a year. I don't use it often, but I mostly play destiny as well, so that's no surprise. Many of the best games are from indie studios or are glorified tech demos.
It's true the resolution is not ideal. I've used the HTC vive a few times at friend's houses and, if you have the rig for it, I'd recommend that over a PSVR. Controls and visual resolution are both superior, and you also get free movement within a defined area. I'm broke, and chose a PSVR last year then got a PS4 Pro to go with it this year. I think? the PS4 Pro helps some here regarding framerate, load times and overall smoothness. No real surprises, but no real huge gains either.
I think simple, cartoonish/stylized graphics look the best, and games optimized properly look great. Some games look worse because of the resolution drop. Many games are only VR so it's hard to compare.
IMO overall the move controllers are a mixed bag at best. Having one in each hand can be very powerful. Often finding the buttons is a chore, and they are not really designed to be used by touch alone. "Simple" controls using them work pretty well. i.e. pull the trigger to "grip" and then move around works quite well, as does doing things with both hands at once. Especially hitting the top row of buttons or the start/select buttons is a huge immersive break as they are not easily accecssable, nor can you press multiple buttons at the same time very well. I still try to use them when games recommend them as most games controls are built for either the controller or the move controllers, and going to the opposite is usually a usb-par experience.
Note that one of the free PS4 games this month is Rush of blood which is a VR game, I haven't played it yet but it's on the list.
VR sound is only gotten from plugging into the VR cord itself, which is less than ideal. I usually use my regular sound setup which is pretty okay (depending on the game VR sound can matter more tho), though would be better if I could use my bluetooth PS4 gold headset with it.
My biggest problem with VR is my PS4 is in our family room, the hub of the household. It almost always attracts a crowd, but that isn't always ideal either. I suffer with wanting a couple hours to sit down and play some in-depth stuff, but can only do that late at night, so it doesn't happen as often. I have found I can't play for more than about 2 hours without a break for at least 5-10 minutes due to nausea-related things.
I'd love to have a room set aside that's for gaming and VR, that's unlikely to happen though. =)
I'll post my library and some brief thoughts about the games as they relate to VR in general as a response to this.
Here are a list of games I've got, most recent to least recent:
Owned but unplayed:
Playstation VR Demo 2
Until Dawn, Rush of Blood
Eve: Valkyrie (played demo, picked up at 50% off)
Battlezone (picked up at 50% off, loved the feel in VR demo)
Tethered
Played:
Skyrim VR - Worth it unless you're sick of skyrim. Very different experience in VR as opposed to onscreen. Lower resolution than you might expect. Controls are usable, not as good as I'd like them to be. Defaults to teleportation, but IMO is better changing the settings to full movement. using bows is not ideal, which is a shame, that should be a better experience.
Star Wars Battlefront Rogue One mission - good balance of free flight and movement without the nausea. Pretty short at 15-20mins.
Job Simulator - Great use of a "casual" game. There's not a ton to it, but it's got a decent amount of depth for the simple controls. Very good use of the move controllers, and immersive.
Thumper - One of my favorite VR games. Mostly a beat game and sort of a platformer. VR demo disc 1 has this demo on it, worth a look. Simple controls and good, immersive graphics.
Keep Talking and nobody explodes - also on the VIVE. Fantastic party game for people who like puzzles and coop social games. Good (but simple) visuals and pretty straightforward controls.
Herocade - mostly a bunch of inde games in a compilation, but a (mostly) fun bunch of demos. Worth it for DreadHalls alone, which is a standalone hit on the VIVE.
Fated: The Silent Oath - Fun story kind of game of a 1st person romp through a bunch of mini-puzzles and small story. Uses the unreal engine. Graphics are good though simple and stylized, controls are mostly okay. Short, 2ish hours, and mostly on rails.
Gunjack - Fun if you like arcade shooters. Sort of a tech demo that got a story and some upgrades to be sold as a standalone. Good at what it does, but is kind of a one trick pony.
Pinball FX2 VR - I'm a pinball fan so I picked this up with low expectations. PInball FX2 VR fixes an awful lot of what isn't fantastic about regular "flat" video game pinball. Has some fun default tables and great VR effects. Worth it if you like pinball, exceeded my expectations in this arena.
Harmonix music VR - I think this might have been free or super cheap at one point. Could have been interesting, but failed to catch my attention, and onboarding the controls was a chore. Don't bother.
I expect you to die - Might be my favorite VR title...! Puzzle game that has the right mix of graphics, controls, story and gameplay. Puzzle game, a little short but very fun. Great example of what could be done with the medium. I think this one's on the VIVE as well.
Catlateral damage - My younger kids like this one. Fun for 5-10 minutes, definitely geared for youngsters.
O! My genesis VR - has potential but I don't think they took it far enough. Good use of controls, okay gameplay. Fairly short and not very re-playable, but priced that way as well. Decent graphics for what it is.
The playroom VR - Sony's tech demos. Some fun games that are multi-player. My kids love the one where the VR headset is the cat, and the other outside players are the mice, and the cat tries to catch the mice. Worth the time doing some exploring.
PSVR demo disc 1 - mixed examples. Games are all over the map. Try everything, some surprises in there for sure. Sony's offerings here are not to be missed.
Wishlist:
Super Hot VR - Fantastic on HTC Vive
Star Trek: Bridge Crew
Werewolves within: wolves among us
Batman: Arkham asylum
Psychonauts: The rhombus of ruin
monster of the deep: FFXV (fishing, which was oddly the funnest part of FFXV for me)
moss
Obduction (I kickstarted this but want to play it in VR, so am waiting for the PSVR version. Doh!)
Golem
Xing
Happy to answer specific questions as well.
Get it.
I don't have extensive experience with PSVR or VR in general, but REZ Infinite is absolutely one of the best things I've experience. It's not as flashy and mindblowing as some of the other things, but I love REZ anyway, and VR is absolutely the best way to play REZ.