Sony gives us a head start
June’s State Of Play gave us more reasons to be excited about PSVR2
The mere thought of going up against a Thunderjaw in VR is intimidating and thrilling.
We may still be waiting to learn the release date and (gulp) price, but Sony is no longer coy about showing off games running on its upcoming virtual reality headset. The company revealed footage of an existing VR title promising to be better than ever, an adaptation of the tall vampire lady game, brand-new titles… it’s clear that PSVR2 is set to hit the virtual ground running.
The star attraction among the games revealed so far is, surely, Horizon Call Of The Mountain. This isn’t a VR port of Zero Dawn or Forbidden West, it’s being created from the ground up exclusively for PSVR2 by Horizon’s usual developer, Guerrilla Games, plus Liverpool-based Firesprite (acquired by Sony last year).
For this completely new game, we’re getting a new player character: Ryas, a former Shadow Carja Warrior. Ryas is an expert when it comes to climbing and archery and, thanks to the magic of virtual reality, you will be too. His road to redemption will be full of surfaces to scale and enemies that demand careful use of his bow and arrow. Games that emulate such actions on the existing PSVR can suffer from poor tracking, as the Move controllers (and the headset itself) rely on an external camera. PSVR2, however, should make drawing back a bowstring silkysmooth thanks to its four built-in cameras. The only resistance you’ll encounter will be from the adaptive triggers on the Sense controllers.
BOW TO ME
It won’t be all clambering and shooting. You’ll chat with NPCs, get to enjoy some breathtaking views, and whizz down the odd zipline. And, of course, you’ll be able to craft yourself some gear; Call Of The Mountain is a full-fat Horizon adventure. Still, there’s going to be plenty of combat with mechanical monstrosities, so you’d better ensure your best dodging and aiming trousers are ready.
The mere thought of going up against a Thunderjaw in VR is intimidating and thrilling in equal measure. We don’t know if any of the characters we’ll meet (including Aloy) will fight alongside us at some point, but we hope they will. More relaxing – well, kind of – will be River Ride mode, which takes you on a nice, well, ride along a river. As you might have guessed, some mechanical wildlife will be keen to cut your ride short…
If you found Resident Evil Village creepy, then we have good/bad news for you. Yes, it’s being adapted for PSVR2, so you can expect another wave of, er, interesting Lady Dimitrescu images and memes to accompany its release. There will no doubt
be plenty of in-game clips from people keen to share their hands-on experiences.
VAMP SHADE
The entire campaign is going to be playable in VR, but for the developers it’s not a simple case of fiddling with the camera a bit. As PSVR2 will allow you to control each hand individually, the game will take advantage of that. We’ve already seen a virtual Ethan dual-wielding guns, and you’ll be able to wave a knife around in one hand while shooting one of the many boomsticks with the other.
Immersion, therefore, seems to be the name of the game. PSVR2’s 4K OLED display means the graphics won’t suffer from the transition to VR (and could potentially even look better than your TV), while the 3D audio ensures there’s no escape from the creaks, groans, and shrieks that surround you. It’s the perfect format for a horror adventure.
With that in mind, it’s little surprise that Capcom also announced it’s bringing the Resident Evil 4 remake to PSVR2… in some way. We didn’t get any more detail than “PlayStationVR2 content also in development”, but it’s already something to look forward to. VR campaign? VR Mercenaries mode? VR exclusive adventure? We can’t wait to find out.
MAKES SENSE
Grabbing the VR zombie baton and running with it is The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2. Subtitled Retribution, it’s a direct sequel to the (really rather good) 2020 game. The previous entry had a strong survival element, and that’s unlikely to change too much. The latest trailer had plenty of booms and bangs, though – including the use of classic zombie-mashers like the shotgun and chainsaw – so it’s possible this latest game will be a little more action-oriented. We look forward to seeing it in all its 4K gory.
Last, but certainly not least, is No Man’s Sky. Originally released way back in 2016, it’s enjoyed a phenomenal number of free updates since, including one introducing PSVR functionality in 2019. The announced PSVR2 version is no less exciting for that, as the improved graphics and advanced controls might just mean that it attains its ultimate form. “The power of PlayStation 5,” says Hello Games founder Sean Murray, “coupled with the all-new PlayStation VR2 hardware, including the new Sense controllers, combine to take that sense of immersion and believability up by several major notches.”
PSVR2’s specifications impressed us immediately, but fancy technological innards are just pointless wires without the games to back them up – which we now have every reason to believe Sony has. We’ve already seen enough to get us excited, and there’ll only be more of that as we approach whenever the release turns out to be. VR looking forward to the new headset more than ever.
3D audio ensures there’s no escape from the creaks and shrieks. It’s the perfect format for a horror adventure.