Despite PSVR only being on the market for a little over two months, there is already a number of really quite decent efforts available for Sony’s flourishing VR platform.
To that end, if you’ve just received one at Christmas (you lucky sod) or already own one (still a lucky sod) here are seven of the very best titles that you need to have for your shiny new lump of PlayStation plastic.
Here we go! Check out the best PlayStation VR games so far!
Batman: Arkham VR
Read the Batman: Arkham VR review
Something that many reviews of Batman games have often said is that you can “be the Batman”, and in truth, I’m not sure any further non-VR can really say that anymore because in Batman: Arkham VR, you really do feel like the Batman.
A true fulfillment of superhero fantasy, Batman: Arkham VR embraces the sleuthing aspects of the World’s Greatest Detective. Eschwing fisticuffs for fancy gadgets, Arkham VR has players using a combination of head tracking and gesture controls to solve mysteries that take them from the depths of the batcave and out into the Gotham streets beyond, where they’ll tangle with iconic villains such as The Penguin and other unsavoury characters from the pages of DC Comics.
It’s also tremendously immersive; a particular scene when you look into a mirror and see Batman staring back at you, reacting to every little movement and slight twitch of your head, remains one of 2016’s most poignant gaming moments. In short, no PSVR collection is complete without Rocksteady Studios cracking Batman: Arkham VR.
Battlezone
A VR take on one of the all-time arcade classics of yesteryear, Battlezone transplants the arena based shooter beats of the 80s original into a much more modern guise, replacing the distinctly old-school wireframe graphics with visuals that look like they’ve just leapt out of the most recent Tron movie.
With a bespoke focus on ultra-responsive controls, team working (including a surprising role-based multiplayer mechanic) and an incredibly rewarding progression system, Battlezone is an hellaciously entertaining and accessible blaster that finds an excellent home on PSVR.
Eagle Flight
Top of the list of experiences that we want to have as humans, but could never hope to possess (at least until they manage to sort out cyberwing appendages, anyhow) is the ability to fly. How timely it is then that Eagle Flight from Ubisoft seeks to replicate that sensation on PSVR, and does so with resounding success.
With silky smooth visuals, gorgeous landscape and oodles of side quests and activities, Eagle Flight doesn’t just nail the feeling of flight, it also wraps an intriguing and deceptively deep game around that sensation as well; something lesser developers may have easily omitted. As it stands, Eagle Flight is a soaring achievement and a must-have title for PSVR.
Rez Infinite
What happens when you take one of the best games ever and stick it on PSVR? The answer is predictably simple; you end up with one of the best games ever, in VR. A staggering achievement on just about every level, Rez Infinite channels everything that was great about the PS2 original into what ends up being the best Rez ever.
Boasting near abyssal depth, a rip-roaring thudding soundtrack and some of the most accessible yet challenging gameplay money can buy, Rez Infinite is an essential purchase for PSVR owners everywhere. Furthermore, it should come as no surprise that, PSVR or not, Rez Infinite also effortlessly cements itself as one of the games of the year. Don’t miss out on this one.
Robinson: The Journey
Read the Robinson: The Journey review
Of all the games in this article, none come as close to thrusting the player so convincingly into a virtual world than Crytek’s Robinson: The Journey. With arguably the best visuals on PSVR (the PS4 Pro version is simply stunning) Robinson: The Journey fashions a sense of place quite unlike any other; the sensation of watching a colossal Brontosaur crane its massive neck around as it slowly thunders past proving to be a revelation to say the least.
With an expansive environment that begs to be explored and some really cleverly implemented traversal and player movement systems, Robinson: The Journey is the game that you want to bring out when you’re showing off your shiny new PSVR. I mean come on now, it’s basically Jurassic Park in VR for all intents and purposes. What’s not to like?
SuperHyperCube
Read the SuperHyperCube review
The most conceptually simplistic of all the games in this feature, SuperHyperCube is basically Tetris in VR. Sort of. Basically, by using a combination of the DualShock 4 controller and PSVR’s head tracking capabilities, players are given an angular shape which they have to twist and turn so that it fits the hole which rapidly approaches them.
Supremely easy to pick up, yet challenging to master in the later levels, SuperHyperCube’s bite-sized sessions do a great job of satisfying that pick up and play impulse, while also familiarising non-gamers with the charms of VR. Simply put, if you have a PSVR you don’t want to sleep on SuperHyperCube.
Tethered
A towering example of how you should do the god sim in VR, Tethered leverages the immersive capabilities of PSVR to create something highly unique for the platform. Sticking players in the cloudy shoes of an unseen deity, Tethered has folks quite literally tethering its lombax-like creatures to complete a number of tasks, such as foraging for food, fighting enemies and building structures.
With an expansive construction tree available, not to mention a wide variety of different units to use and levels to conquer, Tethered is a fantastic strategy and resource management affair that will hopefully serve as a beacon for other like-minded efforts to find their way onto Sony’s Virtual Reality platform.