Sony’s PSVR for PlayStation 4, the first serious VR add-on for a console, has done pretty well for itself. It was reasonably priced, well-received by players and critics alike, and had better post-release support than many previous PlayStation hardware efforts (RIP, dear Vita). Now, various outlets have had their first hands-on sessions with an early version of Sony’s upcoming PSVR2 for PlayStation 5. There’s no official price or release date for the expected new VR hardware yet (“early 2023”) but based on these impressions, it’s already making waves with critics.
Various outlets that have received these hands-on demos describe the experience as on par with more powerful PC VR offerings from Valve or Meta. It’s still going to Sony and other developers to create compelling games, now new platform-exclusive experiences the horizon spin-off and last year’s VR version Resident evil village. The latter is being played for the first time in VR on Sony’s headset. There is even one The Walking Dead Game and a Star Wars VR experience, both ports of previous PC/Quest VR games.
Overall, critics were impressed and surprised by the experience. Among the qualities cited, overall build quality and comfort seem to compete well with existing headsets. It is still connected, but the cable length is sufficient. Graphical quality and overall “immersion”, in particular, attract attention. One of the headset’s most bleeding edge features is its eye tracking, which allows the unit to optimize rendering based on where you’re looking or locking gazes with other players in the future. The headset itself also has haptic feedback. Polygon Specifies that both features are used the horizonIt’s the most advanced display of hardware yet.
Basically, it needs some killer apps, and the quartet of existing demos sound like a solid start. Here are some highlights from each outlet’s hands-on impressions:
“Last week, I tried out Sony’s new headset for the first time and was blown away by how stunning its two marquee games were. The mountain horizon is calling And Resident evil village, saw They don’t rely on particles or stylized art movement; They were like AAA console games in VR. The past few years of playing Quest have redefined my expectations of how VR games should look, and it’s nice to see games moving visually forward again without the need for elaborate setups.
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“But what’s it actually like to play games on PSVR2 with all its new bells and whistles? The actual PSVR2 hardware was a joy to use. Like most modern VR headsets, it allows you to adjust the head strap to make sure everything sits comfortably on your tongue, and the actual lenses inside the headset are for you. The inter-pupil distance (IPD) can be tweaked to be just the right distance.The screens looked good, although sometimes things looked a little blurry around the edges, which can happen with the first PSVR.
“Wow. Wow, wow, wow. That’s what comes to mind as I try to sum up my time with the PlayStation VR2. As an avid fan of VR for years, it’s safe to say that my first experience with Sony’s upcoming headset blew my VR-loving socks off. This sleek and stylish unit is exactly what I wanted for an upgraded PSVR headset and more.
In terms of technical and visual quality, it feels like one of the most memorable generational console leaps. Experiencing the difference in visuals between PSVR1 and PSVR2 brought back memories of graduating to PS3’s bright, sharp, high-definition games after years of playing games on PS2 in standard definition.
“Sony has claimed more visual fidelity for the PSVR 2, and for the tech-savvy folks out there, it’s an OLED display that offers 2000×2040 resolution per eye, HDR, 90Hz and 120Hz refresh rates, and a 110 degree field of view. It’s all impressive on paper, but if you’re a headset When you experience it through, it’s a bit of magic.
The level of detail displayed was truly high, something I don’t expect from a mostly VR game. While I know how dismissive all the VR games out there sound, there are definitely some interesting looking ones out there. However, there is a clear line between VR game and non-VR game appearance – there is a level of richness, detail and polish that separates the two. The mountain horizon is calling Blurring that line on PSVR2.”
“PlayStation VR2 thankfully feels like a modern entry into the VR landscape, with great visual fidelity and comfortable ergonomics. Its haptics and adaptive stimuli, if implemented well, can be a welcome addition to an immersive experience. As with all new hardware, the question now becomes whether there will be enough games to make the investment worthwhile. Like first party games The mountain horizon is calling Certainly help assuage those fears, and while nothing has been announced yet, I’d be shocked if there were any pending Half-Life: Alix Didn’t go on stage.
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