I almost cannot believe how long I allowed my PlayStation VR to collect dust for. After becoming utterly enchanted with it for the first couple of months, I just seemed to forget all about it and continually shrugged off the idea of slipping into a virtual reality world again. A hulking mess of cables and wires behind my TV was the only sign that I even had a headset, itself too daunting a task to untangle and try anything new*. I’d really given up the ghost.
Perhaps it was because I had simply ran out of things to play after making my way through what some might call the essentials, of which there weren’t that many a year or so ago. Resident Evil 7, Superhot VR and Until Dawn: Rush of Blood were great fun while they lasted, but the release schedule was a little arid with too many proofs of concept and not enough of the finished article. There were many excellent experiences, yet few that could be seen as more than short distractions.
And then something happened with PlayStation VR when it moved into its second full year: the hits just kept coming. While Sony may have been making a hard push to shift units in 2017, it’s in 2018 where PlayStation VR has truly started to come into its own — minus Bravo Team, of course, but we don’t talk about that.
There’s been so much quality over the past year that it’s almost a wonder why more people aren’t shouting about it. There have been ports and “rejiggings” like Skyrim VR to welcome in a broader crowd, but where PSVR has succeeded this year has been in its wholly original properties like Moss, Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Firewall Zero Hour, Déraciné, Tetris Effect, Sprint Vector, and more that I am sure I am just forgetting.
The marquee act for PlayStation VR this year (in my mind, at least) has to be Astro Bot Rescue Mission: a charming platformer with retro sensibilities that seems custom-built to turn players into adoring goo. It’s a simple idea executed to almost perfection with some of the best platforming seen this generation; its biggest fans even say that Mario may have something to worry about.
Moss is a similar tale with just as much heart that enchanted players who believe in the underdog. Third-person platforming in VR shouldn’t sound like something that should be a magical time, but Moss truly delivered the goods. The first time you stroke the tiny digital mouse and watch as she gets disgruntled with you is just one of the many ways in which Moss excels in its use of virtual reality, but its approachable nature is probably its biggest selling point.
For the more bullet-inclined players, Firewall Zero Hour is the undoubted cult favourite shooter of the year. Comparisons to Rainbow Six Siege feel inevitable, but if anything it’s Firewall that demands better teamwork and a more tactical approach. Holding corners in virtual reality is far more heart-pounding than it has any right to be.
In terms of sheer visual spectacle, it’s hard to top Tetris Effect: a game so astoundingly beautiful that it brings back memories of putting on the headset for the first time and being blown away by what you see. It also managed the seemingly impossible by making Tetris cool again, no doubt helped by the mad mind of Tetsuya Mizuguchi behind the scenes.
There are many more PSVR games from 2018 that are worthy of praise, though I won’t go through them all at the risk of sounding too effusive. What makes all of them so irresistible is not so much the fact that they are brilliant games in their own right, but that they have had the fortune of seeing what works and what doesn’t in virtual reality for PS4.
While the technical nous to jury-rig virtual reality for what is aged hardware is impressive, it hasn’t come without its drawbacks for the PlayStation VR experience. Motion tracking can be incredibly and infuriatingly finicky as well as the visual fidelity through the headset lacking a lot when viewed through a base PS4. Most of 2018’s best PSVR games have worked around those limitations of the platform to great effect with Firewall Zero Hour arguably being the most accomplished as the most movement-heavy game; there’s a lot going on under the hood to limit the amount of aim drifting.
It’s almost a shame that PlayStation VR has had such a short time in the limelight and is peaking now when the PlayStation 5 is reportedly right around the corner. You’d expect (or at least hope) that Sony will continue to push virtual reality with a follow-up to their flawed but increasingly attractive peripheral in the next generation. However, with the amount of great games available for it now and the huge price cuts for the holiday season, now may be the best time as ever to experience PlayStation VR.
*Just to clarify, I had disconnected the PSVR during a change in rooms and then stupidly left it to get tangled with cables from a TV, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and a floor lamp. Has nothing to do with how difficult the PSVR itself is to set up, which I found easy.
MORE PLAYSTATION:
– 10 Best PS4 Games For Christmas 2018
– The A-Z of the Best PS4 Games
– 40 Easiest Platinum Trophies on PS4
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.
