MORE THAN TWO YEARS AFTER RELEASE, PLAYSTATION VR HAS FINALLY COME OF AGE.
Games like Tetris Effect and Astro Bot laid a solid foundation for 2019 to build on
PlayStation VR spent its first two years as an impressive proof-of-concept – cheaper than its PC equivalents, with smart use of pre-existing equipment like the camera and PS Move controllers – but it was still hard to justify dropping a significant chunk of change on it. There simply wasn’t the library of games to support it, and I’ve heard many sad stories of headsets stuck in cupboards, their lenses gathering dust.
But in 2018 – right around PS VR’s second anniversary, in fact – that started to change. Last year saw the arrival of Guitar-Hero-meetsJedi-Knight rhythm game Beat Saber, adorable mouse fantasy adventure Moss, and my beloved Tetris Effect (the best way to put yourself into a VR trance). But perhaps most important was Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, which showed how a platformer could not only work but flourish on the platform.
SOUL PROVIDER
The library’s swollen enough that I feel comfortable mentioning games that may or may not work for you. Déraciné is fascinating, but its delicate fairytale approach is unlikely to please anyone hoping for a Dark Souls successor in FromSoftware’s first PS VR game. Firewall: Zero Hour is proof that an online squad shooter can work in VR, but is less enjoyable without a PS Aim controller. The Persistence seems like a fascinating mix of survival horror, roguelike, and immersive shooter, but I couldn’t play it without getting motion sick. But they’re vital – because where is any gaming platform without its 7/10 games and divisive titles?
In 2019, PS VR’s future is as bright as the tip of a PS Move controller. We’ve seen discounts bring down the barrier to entry, and devs are starting to make their second or third games for the platform. Keep an eye out for Megalith, an Overwatch-style hero shooter from a team which worked on Insomniac’s Ratchet & Clank games, and Media Molecule’s Dreams, which will let players build their own games and explore others’ all in PS VR. And if all that makes you impatient… well, at least we can sink into virtual worlds while we wait.