Not everyone who wanted a PlayStation VR rig would have gotten one when it launched on Thursday last week. The first shipment of headsets sold out pretty quickly, and some retailers sold out of the second shipment too.
So the PSVR has flown off the shelves. But is it any good?
As far as the headset itself goes, it’s exceedingly comfortable. The resolution and fidelity isn’t the same level as the Rift or the HTC Vive, not that anyone was expecting it to be. But it’s more comfortable thanks to the design, and the technical performance is enough that a lot of gamers will have no problems with immersion.
Hell, I was able to play NBA 2K17 and rounds of Crucible in Destiny without any trouble. The HUD elements were blurry, but it worked just fine.
But the motion tracking isn’t so hot. It’s reliant on the PlayStation Camera and Move controllers, technology that is well past its prime. And holy shit do the Move controllers attract dust like no tomorrow.
And developers haven’t quite got the PSVR formula nailed down yet. Take the reception to RIGS: a lot of writers have praised the gameplay, but plenty weren’t able to do so without feeling nauseous and a little sick at the same time. PSVR is still a bit of a crap shoot in that regard: you really don’t know whether something is going to make you sick until it does.
Maybe it’s time to make pre-release demos more commonplace again. It’d be handy for VR, no doubt.
But for those who got the first round of headsets, what do you think of PSVR? How are you finding the hardware and the games that you’ve played so far? And how long are you able to play before needing a break?
Comments
68 responses to “Community Review: PlayStation VR”
Just had to mention the lovely experience I had with the young fella manning the Sound/Vision desk during the weekend when I went in Target to see things for myself.
I knew it’d be sold out, but wasn’t sure what the shelves or optics were going to be so I had to check it out for myself.
The guy was _very_ knowledgeable about PSVR, quite passionate about his experience but also talked how others he’s shared it with have had markedly different experiences.
I wasn’t seeking a PSVR, nor was I looking to pre-order one from the the next batch, but damn if this wasn’t the most enthusiastic “games” guy I’ve seen working in retail for a bloody long time.
I couldn’t not buy a game, I was that impressed.
Do they even still call it Sound/Vision?
Send this to Target customer feedback, it’ll be much better for him than on here!
That’s a good idea, cheers.
That’s nice and all, but this is meant to be community feedback for the PSVR. What was his actual impressions of it?
“Buy”
I loved it. My first experience with VR so I may be seeing through rose coloured glasses here. I am keen to see more and more applications created with the headset.
I am still not a fan of the motion controllers, but would happily play something like battlefield with a controller instead. The immersion really is something special. I am personally looking forward to the future of VR.
I’m on the second shipment. Who knows when I’ll get it. Supposedly before Christmas. 🙁
I just got a 4k tv, though. I’m more excited for BF1, Dishonored 2 on the PS Pro.
Seen a few units sitting at eb games. You should double check
Love it. Haven’t had any issues with tracking or with the Move controllers and apart from Driveclub VR being more grainy and blurry than I would like (Other games like Arkham VR don’t have this issue and look brilliant) it’s been a fantastic experience and I feel like I’m living in the future.
I’m curious as to how this stacks up against a VIVE? Anyone have both? or tried both?
I love my Vive its crazy amazing but i also have a PS4 and the idea of a second VR headset for my console (that i can also configure for my wife’s PC) appeals to me for the price.
From what I’ve read, it obviously isn’t on par with the Vive (from people who have/tried both), but it excels in it’s game library. What I keep seeing is that Vive/Oculus owners feel like all their games are “indy” and don’t have the same polish as something like Batman on the PSVR. Also, the PSVR doesn’t have the god-ray issue that the Vive has
Edit: Just so you know I’m not talking out my a*!&, it’s threads like this that I’m basing my statements on https://www.reddit.com/r/PSVR/comments/57ykf6/an_honest_review_from_someone_who_owns_vive_rift/
See i find that funny, i’ve played some of the “Indy” games but there are so many full titles available for the Vive i dont understand what people are getting at.
Just to name a few in my list at home.
onward
house of the rising sun
Elite Dangerous
Call of starseed
Minecraft
Vanishing realms
Project cars
Dirt Rally
Hover junkers
War thunder
DCS
ARMA (with some tweaking)
Audio Shield
As for God rays, im guessing thats the letting light into the headset? if so no issue with that for me, using the Narrow headband i get a full seal.
but each person is different so i can see that being an issue.
Yeah, I think there’s a solid game line up, but that’s what I’ve been reading on the likes of /r/PSVR on reddit.
As for god rays, I believe this is what Vive/Oculus owners refer to: http://i.imgur.com/XaPk0VL.jpg
Ahhhh… yep i did get that at first, after some fiddling with the lens adjustment and head strap it went away, might take a look at what causes it.
So that’s not a thing on the PSVR? do they use the same style of lenses?
No we don’t get that effect, and I believe the vive/oculus use fresnel lenses which is why it happens? I’m talking out of my depth here now, but a lot of the reviews I saw before the PSVR came out made note of the absence of god rays due to the lack of fresnel lenses. Some jazz about it here https://vr-lens-lab.com/lenses-for-virtual-reality-headsets/
All good, will take a read cheers
Different lenses (better) and full rgb per pixels (less screen door) resolution…….cough cough
Isn’t House of the Rising Sun an early access game?
Could be, but its very solid, and even though the VR has been tacked onto an initially none VR game, its probably one of the nicest looking and feeling for a seated cockpit game.
I’ve had a vive at home for a few weeks and also picked up the psvr on Thursday, the experience is comparable in terms of the headset (it does have a smaller FOV by about 10 degrees) but the sexy 1:1 tracking of the vive will have spoiled you somewhat when it comes to the PSVR tracking.
Particularly if you’re used to playing things like Raw Data which rely on fast movement and perfect tracking you’ll get a bit of a shock. Having said that… i’m also really enjoying the psvr, Thumper is a cracking game and REZ is stunning in VR. EVE works surprisingly well too.
Overall I think they’re going to have some different games targeted to them, i’m happy to sit on the couch with the psvr and relax a bit more whereas vive I tend to be up and about.
one of the nicest suprises on PSVR was Bound, but the biggest suprise was how fun The Playroom mini games are with one person in VR and the rest with controllers watching the tv, it’s a lot of fun for a free download.
cool, so very different experiences by the look, cheers
I think there are some great unique experiences to be had with the PSVR right now. Whether or not you think ‘unique experiences’ equals x dollars is up to the individual but I’m enjoying it for the time being. I haven’t moved on to the meatier stuff yet. The real test will be Resident Evil VII in January.
Lets hope they can clean it up for the pro at least because i was shocked at how jaggy the kitchen demo was
I think that was just straight up the same one people were experiencing over a year ago, so hopefully should be better. I tried the demo wearing the VR headset, surprisingly effective even not being proper VR
Hey hey,
How did you get the kitchen demo from the aus ps store…? I couldn’t find it for the life of me.
Its under VR and all games – Theres a few in there that werent in the main VR page
cheers thanks found it!
Played, scared the crap out of my dog, stopped playing when crazy knife woman got all up in my face.
*decides to steer clear of resi 7 in VR*
it’s fun but 9/10 titles make me feel sick af and the virtual screen for some reason gradually tilts down and to the left and I’m not sure why (vr titles work fine though)
This is why I’m holding off. Definitely a case of try before I buy. I’m not spending hundreds of dollars on something that will make me sick.
I suffer severe motion sickness and vertigo – Not felt a problem with this like i did the gear VR or Oculus DK2
I went in with low(ish) expectations given the negative press thats been thrown around about the graphics and tracking, but you know what? I found it fantastic!
Sure the graphics aren’t cutting edge, but they are more then adequate and I had no issues what so ever with tracking bar the camera losing sight of the controllers in Job Simulator a few times, but that was likely my own fault for moving out of the play area without realising due to the immersion of it.
Don’t bother trying to compare it to a Vive. PSVR is an entry level VR experience, but it has blown me away and in 1 weekend it has justified my jumping on it at first chance as the (admittedly sub-par to ‘alright’) games currently available has me excited for the future.
I wasn’t sure about Until Dawn, reviews were pretty mixed, but I bloody love it. So much fun! And reasonable price too
Whats with the reviews for that?! I had an absolute blast last night but i couldnt get passed the last guy(on i think the last ride) – and i couldnt handle the screaming in my head anymore at that time of niight so i switched it off for the night haha
I got mine last week, took me a couple of days to finally get it set up as I rearranged my man-cave for it. First thing I played was a couple of demos: battlezone, driveclub, job simulator, headmaster and a few others.
It was my first proper vr experience (apart from Dactyl Nightmare in 1995 and a quick try of the original oculus dev kit), and I was honestly blown away with how amazing it was. I had mentally prepped for a hit to graphics and resolution, so that didn’t really bother me. However, I found some games like Driveclub just too crappy to enjoy – the blurriness on the track in front of you didn’t work for me. But being in the cockpit of the tank in Battlzone was something else.
Then I played Batman – that’s when I thought “I have to have VR in my life in from now on”. It’s so damn good. I actually found the move controllers fine for this game.
I’ve played Eve Valkyrie, and getting into dog fights and being able to look through the top of your cockpit’s canopy as you’re doing a loop to chase another fighter – something I’ve dreamed of all my life.
Yes, it’s got a long way to go, but we need to take the first steps to get consumers and developers interested so we have an audience for when it can get really good.
I had a couple of issues with tracking when playing London Heist, but I think that’s because I put the PS4 into suspend mode, then came back at night and was in a different spot, lighting was different etc. I found restarting the application seemed to work fine.
If they keep churning out small, but high quality games like Batman Arkham VR, that alone justifies the purchase for me.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Couple of hours I’ve been able to get into since it was only delivered this morning!
I haven’t seen the tracking issues with controllers being such a problem yet – lost tracking for a moment once or twice but the overall immersion for the rest of the time far outweighs a small hardware issue for me. I’ve used the move controllers with the PS Eye and it is FFFARRRR better with the PS4 camera!
Untill dawn rush of blood exceeded my expectations!!! I preordered a while ago and since seeing reviews I started to worry but it just DRAWS you right into that carnival horror them then all of a sudden theres shutters furiously banging shut while a womans crying on a bed and a baby screaming. Shit terrified me and i struggle to be scared from horror!
RIGS has been fun so far. I found using the head tracking to rotate completely counter intuitive but then using the right stick didnt seem to stick either. Untill i increased the sensitivity!!! Now it feels very natural!
Havent felt sick once after a couple of hours straight play… although i did feel like i wanted to get off the rollercoaster in untill dawn at one point! But thats partly because i dont like rollercoasters!!! So in that sense it definitely works!
Eve Valkyrie demo was great – not my kind of game i could sink hours into but definitely felt better than i expected.
Overall ive used VR before and after all the reviews i was expecting something much less refined than this. Sure the resolution is up and down depending on the game/scene even – Anything with textures further away it becomes instantly noticeable – but most close up interactions are crisp and defined!
10/10 – after a couple of hours… I’ll let you know after more!!!
When it works, it’s immersive as hell. When it doesn’t… blergh. On the one hand, I played a bit of BattleZone and DriveClub VR – I made it one lap round DriveClub’s track, and had to go lie down for half an hour; BattleZone wasn’t much better.
But on the other hand, I’m having a lot of fun with TumbleVR’s puzzles (tho I need to find a place to put the camera so that I don’t move the controller in front of the headset, which stuffs up the tracking a little and induces a bit of nausea). Also, Thumper is amazing, tho it’s getting pretty darn hard. And I have to re-centre the view every fifteen minutes or so (the view seems to drift to the left a bit (in the Cinema mode, too), which is a little annoying.
Oh, and Rush of Blood… I tried the first level, and I’m not entirely sure if I’ll be able to stomach it just yet – had no real problems for the most part, but the fast roller-coaster parts were a little nauseating.
Definitely think that this could be a great reason to bring back game demos – BattleZone looks fun as hell, but you never really know if something will make you sick until you actually try it. Been trying to pin down what does it for me, and it’s mostly the world shifting unexpectedly, or quickly – minor adjustments in DriveClub, or the world lurching in TumbleVr when the controller obscures the camera’s view of the headset… I find it odd that I can stomach Thumper with no issues, given it’s pretty high-speed, but maybe the speed is means there’s only really a fraction of a second when things are “passing” me, so they just seem to phase from “approaching” to “behind” me… or it could be that all of my focus is on the sound and the track, so the staff passing me just doesn’t register… *shrugs*
Regardless, having a lot of fun with it, and looking forward to seeing what devs come up with for it in the future.
Man I am jonesing pretty bad to give Battlezone a whirl.
Get Rush of Blood. I am bad with motion sickness and stuff and i did get a little bit of it in the first level but i experienced nothing like it later. Its a good time and i expect ill be trying to finish it in the psychotic mode or whatever its called!
Love it so far! The horror experiences are my favourite. I hope we get a lot more. Keen for Batman so I might buy that tonight. Had a couple of tracking issues but now I just sit closer to the TV and now it’s all good.
The two games on VR World I didn’t really care about (London Heist and Scavengers Odyssey) turned out to be heaps of fun.
I got a liiiiiiiiittle bit nauseus playing that VR Playroom platformer where you have to rescue the little robots but everything else has been fine.
When you move them that little bit too far forward, and the world moves without warning… Yea, had to stop the demo right there. Ugh…
Ive really enjoyed it so far, played most launch titles, havnt got sick from it which is great and thats with the comfort stuff turned off, really looking forward to robinson and the boost from pro
PSVR has confirmed what I long suspected … I AM Batman!
I’m loving it! Out of 15 demos and the VR Worlds game only two have made my nauseous Odyssey and Rigs! But movies and other apps are really immersive. And the shooters are really immersive to be able to bump the move controllers and see your guns bump together is awesome. And shooting is so fun!
Scavengers Odyssey was the first one that made me stop playing for a while. I’m fine with Eve Valkyrie, but I couldn’t handle Odyssey
I got a little ill playing this one but keen to get back into it. Looking at my weird alien hands was too much fun.
After playing it for an hour, I felt incredibly sick for the rest of the day. Haven’t touched it since. Kind of wondering whether to trade it in, or form a lynch mob and have it burned for witch craft
Or just sell it to me 🙂
What were you playing? I know everyone’s different but I expected to get a lot of nausea from this but I played rush of blood and RIGS all night last night with no issues
I’ve tried Batman, Eve, Battlezone, Rez and DriveClub. DriveClub was sickening, but it was actually Rez that left me the worst off.
I want to try Playstation worlds, apparently there’s some sections in there where you just stand there and look around, but I seriously can’t bring myself to put the damn thing back on
There’s a couple of good things in Worlds but its not worth the price tag imo
I thought my wife might like Ocean decent but she freaked out when the cage started taking her deeper underwater. That was enough for her – fair play to her shes never tried anything like it so i can understand! haha she just didnt like movement at all!
It is brilliant!
The new options it has created and a range of experiences is so much fun. Sitting in a tank or starship with a very real feel of a 3D space around you is truly new and exciting.
For anyone who does get one do not limit yourself to games.
Check in the TV section (near netflix etc) on your PS4 to find many more channels and options (I recommend ‘Invasion!’ and littlstar.
I was dubious, but jumped on board anyway and am very happy with my decision.
As stated before, the quality of some games graphics suffers more than others, but this seems to be more an indictment of the game rather than the hardware, as the very next game may be a graphical wonderland. True 3D gaming…. Hoorah!
I have both. No comparison really between them in terms of tracking. Vive leaves it for dead so don’t get the ps VR hoping to compare the two.
That said, the headset is mega comfy and the software line up is certainly more intriguing than the hundreds of crappy unity games available on steam.
Vive = hardcore /awesome
PS VR = casual / fun
Great so far, the immesion just adds so much. It wont replace playing off tv, it add a completly new exeriance. Cant wait for more horror games! Loved Until dawn rush of blood.
No problems with motion sickness. At least for me.
PlayStation VR Review: Games, Price, Bundle and Everything You Need To Know
http://www.themobileupdates.com/news/playstation-vr-review-games-price-bundle-and-everything-you-need-to-know/
I’ve been having an absolute blast playing with my PSVR. Probably got about 15 – 20 hours in so far.
I own Thumper, Rez, EVE Valkyrie, RIGS, Job Simulator, Tumble, Until Dawn, Super Stardust, Bound and all the PSN freebies and demos. I’m one of those people that can’t even think about reading in a car without getting motion sick… Thankfully, everything has been fine so far aside from RIGS. I felt REALLY unwell the first time I played, but after trying 15 minutes or so a day since then, I seem to have adjusted. Still makes me feel a bit woozy, but its more of a ‘space cadet’ feeling after I take the headset off, rather than actually feeling sick while playing.
As an owner of the original Oculus Rift DK1, its amazing to see how far things have come in the last few years with regards to positional tracking and screen resolution etc.
I’ve never had any notable issues with the tracking on PSVR. Sure, there has been the odd moment, but im talking a handful of moments throughout my entire play time. I’ve found that having the lights on in the house rather than dimming the lights has all but eliminated the issue (presumably as it assists the camera with focusing). I also recommend doing the proper setup for eye distance in the PlayStation device menu – it cleared up some minor blurring at the far edges of the viewing angle.
All in all, I think its a fantastic system. Its not perfect (are any of the current options perfect?), but If you can happily accept being an early adopter, then I feel that the system is more than capable and provides an excellent VR experience.
With RIGS do you control with the head tracking or right stick? I found that the head tracking was not doing it for me but the stick made me feel a bit ill because it just wasnt keeping up.
I increased the turn speed almost all the way up and now it just feels AWESOME! Give it a crack playing with the settings as i am useless with reading in cars etc but was so surprised I was able to play RIGS all night. Lost two games online too… Cracking fun though!
How’s the full game of Eve Valkyrie? Is it just dog fight after dog fight? I dont get into space shooters without much variety but the demo was soo much fun!!!
Honestly, this is one of the best tech purchases I have ever made. Articles like this are a tad strange, like they are setting you up for the worst case scenario. Favorite games so far are anything in Play Room VR, Until Dawn Rush of Blood, and Battle Zone. The immersion is incredible. People keep harping on the graphics but honestly they are pretty great. I also keep hearing how the move controllers are garbage, but my experience with them has been on point. Using them as guns in Rush of Blood is awesome. We need to use them as lightsabers! Point is, VR is the next big thing in gaming and with PlayStation you get to experience a pretty great version. The future looks bright,
I agree 100% with the summary on the Move controllers. Given their age and all the complaints leading up to launch by the press I was expecting sub-par shaky bad tracking, but they are really quite good and they are on point in Until Dawn Rush of Blood, I can shoot exactly where I intend to without any tracking issues at all.
We were lucky enough to get one through Amazon at midnight release. My kids are enthralled with it. I don’t let them play more than 30 minutes at a time as they did get headaches because they weren’t use to it.
I also tried it and loved it!! My kids just went though to demos and we’re freaking out over the game play and the “in your face” graphics! I would definitely recommend and give it to out of 5 stars!
Am I just living in the wrong suburb then? No one is showcasing these anywhere where I live apart from broken gearVR’s at the Optus store lol
PSVR is awesome! Bound, Thumper, Battlezone, Wayward Sky are great in VR. I am enjoying Job Simulator but did get some shacking when moving the Move controllers to the edges of the cameras vision. I am going to tweak the camera’s position tonight to try and get a better FOV. Looking forward to Robinson the Journey. If you have a bit of money to blow it’s a great purchase. VR is definitely going to be a huge part of gaming in the next few years especially when the VR systems improve.
Absolutely loving my PSVR. Only game that has made me feel a bit sick (and that was after extensive play) was the Scavenger’s Odyssey game on PS VR Worlds. The rest have been absolutely amazing. Created a US PSN account to download their version of the demo disc – but I believe this is now on the AUS store too?
Only issue I’ve noticed with mine so far is that when I peer down towards the floor, the headset seems to make an ever so slight creaking noise – has anyone else noticed this? Obviously with a headset or earphones in you wouldn’t hear this at all – but we were playing without a headset because there were a few of us in the room and we were talking while playing.
Top experiences for me so far – Ocean Descent, Luge, RIGS, Battlezone.
Not experienced any creaking no
Damn. Maybe I’ve over-exaggerated the noise it makes. It’s just a faint squeak/creak when I look towards the floor and the visor moves slightly away from my face (due to its weight)… I probably haven’t explained that very well 😀
hahaha – I’m not sure i have experienced it but then again have always been wearing headphones.
Do you tighten the headband right up? I started to really find the sweet spot in getting it on last night – shuffle it around so the text is clear when the facemask is extended, tighten the headband then slide that mask on your face and bang! Crystal clear text!
Anyone else playing RIGS lean out the plane window?! Holy shit…
Those are the moments I have been loving – i didn’t expect to hear the wind and actually pop my head out the window lmao! Just be nicer if they had some land instead of a clouded vortex directly underneath which did not help my sense of vertigo!
Haven’t been too impressed with this so far, but then I’ve got a Vive to play (I’m a teacher and it’s part of the class inventory) with so I’m comparing it against that. Definitely feels like the lesser of the systems, although it’s better than the DK2. Having said that, I haven’t got the Touch controllers yet, so I’ll hold off verdict until getting those, although I doubt it will be able to compare to the beauty of the Vive controllers.
As this is my first VR experience, I love it, I absolutely love it. I know that after a few months the novelty will wear off, but for the time being, it’s been nothing but excellent. It’s very comfortable and surprisingly I’ve had very limited tracking issues; To a point I feel that some of the reviewers don’t have the right room set up to play it correctly.
The Cords are kind of hassle for me though but, I understand the need for them. My biggest complaint is a small one; having to dedicate a USB port for it is a headache. I usually have my USB cable for my controller plugged in and my cell phone charging while I’m playing, but it’s not a huge deal.
The launch games are great so far. And having demo discs are an absolute must for the future of VR games.
I can say this, my wife was very very skeptical of this purchase; being over $500.00. To the point we got into an hours long argument about this “Silly game thing”. Once she eventually agreed, I brought it home, let her play first and haven’t heard a negative peep from her since. She even invited the neighbors over to laugh as they danced around the living room being attacked by a hungry great white.
In closing, this is the future of gaming. There will always be a place for flat screen Triple A’s on the big screen TV. But playing Robot Rescue had the same effect as playing Mario 64, it’s that surreal. It truly is magical and worth every penny of the money. If you’re torn on buying this and can afford the bank account gut punch; absolutely get it, you’ll be glad you did.
Got it yesterday, PSVR lives up to the hype! (for me anyway)
The demo games are a great introduction to different aspects of VR gaming and will help you find what is more suited to you.
Played DriveClub first, after I picked up my jaw from the ground I took a lap and was grinning ear from ear. Sure the graphics are not compatible with normal PS4 1080p viewing but they are good enough to trick your brain into thinking you are there.
Next played PSVR EVE: Valkyrie, OMG it was like the space mountain ride at Disney land, felt awesome, a real roller coaster buzz. The demo game goes for about 5 minutes only but it is enough to hook you. Replayed this about 10 times straight cause it just felt sooo good doing rolls, looking around the cockpit and flying up close to those larger ships.
I don’t suffer from motion sickness and haven’t felt sick at all but I do feel the butterflies in my stomach when you are doing some gravity maneuver, (mind thinks you are rolling,jumping,falling).
I’m hooked. Will be getting “Eagle Flight” and Eve as for me the flight sims is my VR thing.
If these are early release games then cant wait to see what is coming out. Also hope they remix some of the older first person shooter games for PSVR, even if at PS3 graphics quality they will still rock!
And no, PSVR does not need a “5 nights at Freddies” version. That would be too much for my senses
10/10 Sony, money well spent