PlayStation VR2: Review

Simplicity is the key to 2023's much-anticipated PSVR2 release.

The first headset which released back in 2016 was something of a bulky beast that was all wires and required multiple connections to ensure you were tuned in to the next wave of gaming.

The 2023 PlayStation Virtual Reality experience has thankfully learned from all the wired chaos that became an impediment to even taking the set out of the box and connecting it.

This time, though, PlayStation has made it infinitely simple to set up and start, which may leave you somewhat frothing at the mouth, given the $1000 outlay you have to stump up to get the box itself.

With just a headset, some wired earphones and a pair of Sense ring-like controllers, as well as a couple of cables, you've every right to feel shortchanged when you open up the box - as well as for one particular reason which will become clearer later.

However, whereas the previous slightly heavier set caused nausea and also sweats in the VR world, this latest is a sleeker, slightly lighter and infinitely smoother experience that is more about getting you plugged in and getting going.

With the use of buttons on the headset itself to power up, and dials to adjust the inner screens and headband, the hardware is more about ensuring you've no need to mess around while you get ready to game.

It still has a similar look to the first PlayStation VR headset, and still requires you to put it on via loosening and tightening a headband, but the PSVR2 fits more snugly on the head and doesn't feel as hefty as the prior unit did.

Once you've connected the set to the front of the PlayStation, there's a satisfying rumble once the helmet's switched on to signify you have power and it's into the set up and pairing of the controllers. It's easy stuff and by keeping it simple and practical - and accessible - anyone can dive in. There's mapping of game areas to be done, and as the initial set up is carried out, the set lets you see externally what's happening as it creates a gaming area - something ensuring you're not quite fully cut off from the rest of the world.

Pairing the controllers is easy too, with the ring-like controllers easy to use, easy to adapt to (once you've got over the fact they're split) and feel very natural sat in your hands.

With two OLED panels, the vision is crystal clear and sharp (2000 x2040 per eye) and with the use of foveated rendering, which blurs the edges of the screen to provide the power to what your eyes are focussed on, there's more of an emphasis on ensuring what's in front of you is what matters most in this latest headset.

And what plays out with some of the games in terms of visuals is utterly mind-blowing. (Though PSVR games don't work with the new headset as they're not technically upgraded for the latest specs.)

Perhaps nowhere more so than in Horizon VR: Call of the Mountain, where you're whisked into Aloy's world and given the chance to marvel at what's around and above you, rather than just what's in front of you.

Taking on the role of a disgraced Carja warrior Ryas, the game begins with you captured and being led downstream in a boat. As you scan around the jungle, Horizon: Zero Dawn's robot dinosaur machines spring vividly to life; a little less than a few moments into the game, and a Tallneck towers above you, its skyscraper-like edges forcing you to lift your eyes to the sky in wonder.

It's stirring stuff that shows the capability of what PSVR2 can achieve. From scaling vertiginous heights to using the Sense controllers and its adaptive triggers to power your bow when you're battling the machines, this is a game that feels worthy of the awe it induces and brings a world to life. For an AAA launch title, it's compelling stuff that makes an obvious argument for the capability of the hardware.

As is usual with the games Virtual Reality offers up, others concentrate more on the experience than a gaming narrative. One such of these is Kayak VR: Mirage, a game which will give you a workout and also lets you simply sit back and glide through some of the finest imagined waters. While there is a competitive element for powering through zones, Kayak VR Mirage's truest power comes from simply sitting back and watching the world around you, as creatures dart around clear aquatic vistas. Don't be surprised though if your arms hurt a little after playing - after all, this relies on the mechanics of using a paddle to get from A to B - but it's the perfect virtual escape from the daily grind.

It's not all perfect with the PSVR2 though.

The lack of real battery power in the Sense controllers is frustrating, with the controllers lasting only four or five hours. Granted, it's probably enough for a single session, but given the frequency with which you're likely to play the games, it's a bit of a pain. 

And it's a pain that's exacerbated by the fact the controllers essentially need a docking device to charge both at the same time, which is a separate $100 purchase on top of the $1000 set. It's almost insulting it wasn't included in the box, given how vital it is. Once one controller loses power, you can't simply play on with one controller. You'll need to charge before you go - something that can't be done with just one wire into the console.

While the headphones attach securely to the inner top of the helmet, they feel flimsy, attached as they are to just a plastic bar - and they lack the quality of a Pulse headset or a decent pair of wired headphones. Again, these have been done to prevent bulkiness in the sets, but it does feel like sound, which is so vital to the immersive nature of the set, hasn't quite got the treatment it deserves.

These flaws feel more like niggles than crippling disasters for the launch of PlayStation VR2 but in truth, laying down nearly $1000 for the set and discovering there's more needed does leave a slightly sour taste in the mouth.

But lined up with the likes of Horizon VR, there feels like plenty of promise than this is the VR headset that will make a gaming difference - as long as games come, and not just cheap carnival-like thrills that prove fleeting and gimmicky as were part of PSVR1's reign, the future of gaming could be a very interesting and involving one.

A PlayStation VR2 helmet and access to various gaming titles were provided to this outlet for the purposes of this review.