PlayStation VR Review – Is it the next big thing?

There are a few very special moments in every gamer’s life. For example when you play your very first video game ever or when you purchase your first console / PC.

PlayStation VR is exactly one of those memorable experiences that you will never forget, even moreso than a new console generation.

Setup:

When my PS VR arrived I was quick to unbox it and took a picture of it for my Facebook and Twitter. There are lots of cables in the box, a demo disc, a pair of stereoheadphones, a power cord for the Processor Unit, the processor unit itself, and of course the VR headset.

The VR headset looks very futuristic and well made. The processor unit is like a tiny version of the PS4. Setup took maybe 30 minutes. I watched Sony’s setup video rather than the printed manual (a QR code with the link can be found on the backcover of the manual). My room is now a jungle of VR cables, but everything worked first try. If you want order if your gaming room, the VR will most certainly mess that up. During setup I was thinking: could they have put in any more cables if they tried?

You will also have to install a PlayStation camera to make VR work. So if you don’t have one that’s another $60 to add to the list.

Surprisingly, all my video capturing equipment still worked without having to change anything. The VR box has HDMI passthrough so it doesn’t interfere with my existing setup. Really the only difference now is that the VR box sits between my PS4 and capture card. You can keep your VR connected to the PS4 at all times. You only turn it on when you need it (there’s an on/off switch built into the VR cable that sticks out of the headset. You can also plug your headphones into that cable if you wish).

So I turned on the VR and the first thing I tried was the Ocean Dive in “VR Worlds”. It was magical and had that “wow effect” I was hoping for. What I found most surprising was how accurate the head tracking was when turning around. You can walk around in your room and you will also move around in-game. It felt very realistic. So I finished my dive and jumped into the other game modes VR Worlds has to offer – thankfully it has a bit of everything and you get a good feeling for what the VR can and can’t do. I really liked the shooting range and the accuracy of the standard PS4 controller surprised me. Finally that odd lightbar has some use! I went on to test it with two Move Controllers and they gave a more realistic feeling with the same accuracy as the default controller.

Tracking & Controls:

This is something I like quite a bit: you can choose whether to play with default PS4 controller or the Move controllers. Some games don’t utilize a controller at all and only need head tracking. The accuracy of the tracking was a positive surprise. Two of the most prominent tracking problems I found was a) the picture “slipping” away sometimes, b) you cannot aim any guns through the iron sights as your controller will overlap with the tracking lights on the VR headsets, thus causing the aforementioned image slip and breaking the game.

Sadly, it seems you are (at least for now) unable to get a realistic “aim through sights” feeling with VR. Once you hold something in front of the VR Headset’s tracking lights the in-game image slips away and the game gets all messed up. This does limit the free movement quite a bit. When tracking works it’s a joy. But when it doesn’t, it makes you feel sick very fast, breaks the immersion and frankly just makes you want to take the headset off.

To get the tracking right you will have to test a bit. There is no “one fits all” setting. For shooters such as Until Dawn Rush of Blood I found you have to be closer to the camera to improve tracking (1 meter). Even moreso when using Move Controllers. Their accuracy really drops when you are more than a meter away. For games that focus on head tracking or need a lot of room you will want to be 2 meters away.

To use all VR games effectively you will need only 2 meters distance to the camera. You don’t need super much space for it. A lot of games encourage a sitting experience, while some are geared towards a standing experience (e.g. Batman Arkham VR is more fun standing). Half a meter to your left and right will do for most games. You may have to adjust the camera between sitting and standing experiences, it depends on where you have your camera and what game you are playing. There’s also a problem with the calibration getting glitchy over time, so you may have to recalibrate quite often. Controller calibration is usually done through the game’s menus. To recalibrate your own position you can hold the options button for 2 seconds and it will center your position in the game again.

Graphics:

The graphics don’t look nearly as good as normal PS4 games. The first thing you’ll notice when putting on the VR is how blurry everything is – texts in particular (a quick side note: if you have glasses you can wear them under the VR without a problem). You will have to adjust the VR headset a bit until it is the least blurry. But you will never be able to get rid of all the blur. In games it’s less noticeable, but when reading text or browsing the PS4’s main menu it is very noticeable. The textures often look like something out of a PS2 game. Character models tend to look far better than anything else. Because it is so immersive I didn’t mind the relatively poor graphics. VR is more about the experience than the graphics. The display could benefit from an upgrade. You can make out every single pixel no matter what game you play or where you look. There is a little black rectangle around every pixel. But you’ll only notice when you really concentrate on it. During fast paced games you won’t notice at all.

In the graphics department I have to say it’s one of VR’s biggest bottlenecks (although Sony has promised that the PS4 Pro will boost VR performance a bit). Given you get true 360° images it can be forgiven and it’s acceptable in most games. Driveclub VR had some of the blurriest graphics I have seen so far, other games like Batman Arkham VR look much clearer. This is also dependent on the game.

Realism:

One of the main selling points for VR is to give you a more realistic gaming experience. And I am happy to say: it does 100% deliver. It’s uncomparable to standard PS4 games and you must have experienced it yourself to understand. When looking at 2D trailers or gameplays all the games look like crap. But in VR it’s totally different. It is super immersive (some games are more immsersive than others, I like Until Dawn Rush of Blood and Batman Arkham VR the most). The fact that each game has true 360° image is fantastic! There’s always something to see from every angle. The picture doesn’t just “cut off” behind you.

As you move your head (or walk around in your room) you can see the same happening in real time in the VR.
It also does an extremely good job at fooling the brain. For example when you are on a rollercoaster ride in Until Dawn it feels super realistic as if you were sitting in a real rollercoaster. You do get the sensation of going up and down. Same when you stand on a tall building in Batman VR or use an elevator. It feels as if it were real, even though you are sitting in your chair comfortably.

The long cable that sticks out of the back of the VR hurts the realism a bit. You are always entangled in cables if you try to move around. Maybe the next generation of VR will offer a wireless solution.

Health Effects:

Personally, I have not once encountered any issues with motion sickness, nausea, blurred vision or dizzyness, or any of the other health effects Sony warns about. This will be different from person to person. If you are sensitive to it you could possibly get motion sickness. Especially in fast paced games it can make your stomach turn upside down. VR seems better suited for slow paced cinematic experiences. I did encounter some issues with dizzyness after putting away the VR and returning to the real world. It can take a few minutes to adjust. On my second day with the VR I was dizzy all day long – I probably played too much on day one (8 hours) and didn’t get enough sleep. You should be well rested before playing and don’t play before going to bed. If you feel uncomfortable stop playing immediately.

There have been concerns over the long term effects on the eyes and brain. I too am concerned about that and in my opinion you shouldn’t play VR all day long. It’s good for shorter gaming sessions. My longest sessions was 3 hours (played through Until Dawn Rush of Blood in one sitting on Insane difficulty). I felt perfectly fine afterwards and didn’t have any side effects at all. But is it good staring at a screen only an inch away from your eyes? I doubt it.

Build up your game time slowly. Start with 30-60 minute sessions and work your way up. Start with slow games before you try anything fast paced.

The Good:

+ The most immersive gaming experience available right now.

+ Interesting tech, a lot of fun to try different games.

The Bad:

– When you put something in front of the VR headset it makes the picture “slip away” in most games, very uncomfortable feeling. Can’t realistically aim through iron sights in shooters because of this.

– Graphics need some work. Especially the display could benefit from a higher resolution.

– Way too many cables. The cable sticking out of the VR headset is a hindrance.

VERDICT:

VR won’t replace mainstream gaming anytime soon – the tech isn’t “quite there” yet. All in all I am very positively surprised. It is a lot of fun and I had some of my best gaming experiences of all times with it! The tracking is great as long as it works, but needs frequent recalibration. Graphics are “meh” and need improvement, but are acceptable because of how immersive it is. The quality of current games is so-so, the full priced ones are often repetitive and the cheap ones are unique but too short.

FINAL SCORE:

8.5/10

Should you buy or not?

It depends. Try it first if you can. It may be best to wait and see where all this VR stuff goes. Will Sony leave it dead in the water like PlayStation Move and PlayStation Vita? Only time will tell – I would buy it again and I think it’s off to a good start. It just needs longer games and better games.