Today is the day! PlayStation VR2 opens the gates to new virtual worlds – and with over 40, that’s not even a few. Sure, almost all of them could already be visited on other platforms, but the lineup is very extensive, especially for VR beginners and players who only play on consoles. And after all, the launch titles also include the exclusive Horizon Call of the Mountain and the VR version of Gran Turismo 7.
It’s also the reason why we can’t review every title in full, although of course there are always exceptions like the excellent Thumper. In order to give you an overview of what you can use to pass the time under your new hood, I will present some of the starting titles in short tests. And there it goes first of all to a very famous, albeit very, very distant galaxy.
Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge – Enhanced Edition – PlayStation VR2
Ah, nice! Looking out the window of a small bar directly at the hangar where the Millennium Falcon is parked is something. I then played a round of darts with spinning targets before grabbing the batons from a drum kit and – well, yeah – all my ducklings spoofed. Then repair the jukebox, select a song and chat with the bartender… You can’t initiate a conversation here or use multiple choice to talk to someone. But because Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge sets it all so vividly, I just really reacted to the stories he told me.
Now the real adventure takes place on missions in which you fight familiar creatures and new villains with the blaster, laser gun or shotgun. You take cover, swap positions with a jet pack to attack from greater heights, or duck when an unexpected enemy suddenly appears in front of you with a drawn weapon. Those are cool moments when you dodge down at the last second, quickly reload the weapon (officially cools down, but it’s classic reloading moves) and then land that crucial headshot yourself!
You also collect remote droids (Luke practiced sensing the Force on one of those floating, laser-tipped spheres on the way to Alderaan) that fly around as autonomous helpers in battle, uses an all-purpose tool for screwing or welding on switching and other boxes, in which small mechanisms for opening supply containers are then triggered. This interactive intervention nails Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge – Enhanced Edition all round!
Because the breast pocket with the inventory and two holsters are in close proximity to the tools, you sometimes grab the wrong object or accidentally drop a weapon. If you get into trouble, it’s also extremely fiddly, first starting more droids, then using the first-aid spray, putting it back and maybe throwing a grenade so that you can finally shoot again.
The actual battles are constantly recurring shootings in very manageable arenas, where rarely anything else happens. You may encounter well-known characters in entertaining sequences, but overall the shooter is a little thin and monotonous over the long term.
Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge – Enhanced Edition – Rating: 7/10
Developer: ILMxLab – Genre: shooter Price (RRP): almost 40 euros
REZ Infinite – PlayStation VR2
I certainly have to write less about this than about most other games. For those who don’t actually know it: REZ is a classic rail shooter in which you are automatically pulled forward while attacking opponents in different configurations and aesthetically animated bosses. To counter this, hold down the fire button and drag the crosshairs over the desired targets; when you let go, you fire a salvo at all locked objects.
What’s cool about the PlayStation VR2 implementation is that not only can you aim with the analog stick, but you can also aim with the Sense controllers themselves, as well as by turning your head and just looking with your eyes. Because the last three variants are quite a bit faster and more precise than the original analog stick method, it’s a shame that an optional difficulty level hasn’t been adapted to match them.
It is also unfortunate that the fourth variant with aiming by line of sight only works with two restrictions. Firstly, you can’t already get a look-ahead overview while aiming elsewhere, and secondly, the line of sight detection doesn’t cover the entire field of view – which unfortunately for me constantly breaks the immersion and feels uncomfortably limiting.
I also find the menu navigation strange, where you only have to click on tiny arrow keys with the X button. But well, that doesn’t matter at the end of the day. In return, the PlayStation VR2 edition also has the additional mode introduced with earlier VR versions, in which you can fly freely through larger arenas in which different enemies are booting and hovering around.
If you slide around in the vicinity of several enemies, the spatial sound in particular shows its strengths. Just be aware here that the head and stomach have to tolerate twists and turns in all directions, which isn’t for everyone in VR!
REZ Infinite – Rating: 8/10
Developer: Enhance Games – Genre: arcade shooter – Price (RRP): just under 30 euros or 10 euros for the upgrade of an existing PS4 version
What the Bat – PlayStation VR2
So, that was all too serious, too stylish, too traditional for you. Something to shoot with? Then grab a baseball bat and hit the bananas with it so that the banana slips out of the skin and catches the bread that is freshly coming out of the toaster. Yes, okay: is also shooting. But only briefly! Later, I served fish on plates at the Cat Cafe by first pulling the fish out of a machine by pushing a giant lever, then carefully grabbing it with both baseball bats and lifting it onto the plate.
Because no matter what you do, you always have baseball bats in your hands. Or baseball bats instead of hands. You can see that in the selfies that you take after each chapter. And with them you always have to first find out what needs to be done in order to get it right – which is of course never particularly difficult. It’s like a WarioWare for VR, it even rhymes and it’s definitely a lot of fun, especially since you can fool around outside of the actual games.
It goes without saying that this isn’t for long sessions or emotional experiences. What’s missing most is the possibility of somehow collecting points in order to fail in a high score list. And one more important note: The program only starts if you have set up a playable area of at least two by two meters. So before you buy, check if this is even possible for you.
What the Bat – Score: 7/10
Developer: tri-band production Genre: skill – Price (RRP): almost 25 euros
Swordsman – PlayStation VR2
At this point I also want to introduce you to a title that I was very excited about – but unfortunately it really disappointed me. As good as the idea is to stage real sword fighting in VR, the implementation of it is poorly managed. Basically, everything is there: you can use different swords as you want, while the opponents basically know how to counter, dodge and so on. If you hit her in the leg, she’ll also hobble back, and if you want to decapitate her, there you go!
The trouble is, even the best of them can be taken down just by running up to them and waving something around. That’s almost always enough, as long as you just make sure to block the opponent’s sword with your other hand, no matter how. And that almost completely destroys the good approaches. At the latest when I finally just had to cut down dumb zombies in wave mode, I didn’t feel like it anymore.
Well, in the normal game you face Vikings, knights, samurai and other enemies – but only in small, not exactly attractive arenas, into which different opponents are beamed one after the other. It’s a shame about the local hut, where you buy numerous swords, shields and armor from the blacksmith and also strengthen your own skills like in a role-playing game. The love for the subject is noticeable in Swordsman VR. But that’s not the only reason it’s a good game. The possibility to duel with human opponents would change a lot in my opinion, but that doesn’t exist here.
Swordsman VR – Rating: 5/10
Developer: Sense Studio – Genre: action Price (RRP): just under 20 euros or free upgrade of an existing PS4 version in the first three months after release
Demo – PlayStation VR2
At the end of our first overview, a real highlight: Demeo is the VR version of a fictitious and extremely stylish board game in which you push up to four heroes through winding alleys like in a kind of hero quest. The nice thing is that you can look at what is happening from an angle like a gaming table from above, but can rotate the view at any time, also “lean” over the middle of the playing field – and zoom in so far into the action that you are in a classic computer game. RPG imagines. This transition from being far away to being almost in the thick of it is amazingly cool…
… and in general I like the noble presentation. Alone the valuable clicking of the bookmarks in the main menu as well as the cozy cellar, decorated with all kinds of retro exhibits, create a cozy board game atmosphere. Add to that the heroes’ abilities lined up as cards when you flip a hand backwards, and more sculptural details. I just think it’s a bit of a shame that you pick up the figures like you would with pliers, instead of grabbing them with your virtual hands and dragging them across the rectangular playing field.
Speaking of which: Demeo is also reminiscent of Hero Quest in terms of content, because each game takes place in one of five always the same environments, whose rectangular playing fields are generated procedurally, i.e. always have a more or less random arrangement of opponents and walls. Friend and foe take turns there, with two actions per round. This includes moving, physically attacking, picking up a companion before it bleeds to death, and using one of the card’s abilities.
Not too many of them are available per character. There is more variety in the entire group of maximum four fighters, since assassins, melee fighters, archers and so on naturally work very differently – and by the way, either in offline play for soloists or online in public and private groups. It’s nice that Demeo brings players from all platforms together via cross-play and can also be played on a TV with a gamepad.
Demeo – Rating: 8/10
Developer: resolution games Genre: arcade shooter – Price (RRP): almost 40 euros
