VR’s coming of age?

Virtual reality’s growing pains are still uncomfortably apparent. Just when it seems to be hitting its stride, with games such as Phasmophobia, Paper Beast and The Room VR, it trips over its own feet with disappointments such as Medal Of Honor: Above And Beyond and Oculus Quest 2’s mandatory Facebook connectivity. Not to mention Sony’s apparent step back from the technology with PS5: a new headset may well be in the format-holder’s plans for this console generation, but not in the immediate future.

VR cheerleaders will point to the two-million-plus sales of the outstanding HalfLife: Alyx – a number that certainly isn’t bad given the system requirements of the flagship title for Valve’s Index headset. However, compare that to the 26 million units shifted by Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons and it’s clear that VR is still some way off being a truly mainstream concern.

Had it launched on any other format, you sense, Alyx would probably have swept the board during last year’s awards season. Then again, it wouldn’t have worked on any other format, and therein lies the beauty of VR – it continues to deliver experiences that simply aren’t available anywhere else. And the coming year promises plenty more of those. There’s Hitman 3, which proves transformative when you’re looking at the world through Agent 47’s steely blue eyes. Enhance is continuing its VR love affair with the arty strangeness of Humanity,

while The Climb 2, MaskMaker,

and offbeat air-guitar strummer Unplugged all suggest this might be the year in which VR finally escapes its awkward adolescent phase.