Thank you PSVR - 2016-2023

This week saw the launch of the PSVR 2, a wholly acclaimed VR system by all accounts and it highlights that thing that Sony has always done well when it comes to gaming - push the technological boundaries as far as it can within the limit of affordability and ease of use.

The PSVR 1 (which I'm guessing we have to use as a number system now) is still one of the last generation's greatest achievements. The Nintendo Switch reignited the handheld landscape after Sony's own standout device was unceremoniously hung out to dry. The PS4 Pro changed the landscape of gaming consoles in general with a mid generation refresh gaining more power as opposed to the historical slimming of existing technology. The PS4 family also ushered in the change in television technology, embracing High Dynamic Range.

The PSVR is quite honestly a marvel of gaming technology, and that goes for both iterations. A mid-range price point that always sought to tackle one of VR's greatest issues - comfort. Fully aware that its audience were either hardcore gamers looking for the next best thing, or casual players looking to see what the fuss was all about, it did one great thing thing above all other VR hardware and has repeated it in its latest iteration - not strapping it to your head.

Not enough is made about the biggest selling point that both PSVR headsets have and that is that it is incredibly comfortable. I've personally used every headset outside of Valve's own hardware. So Oculus Rift and Quest, and a HTC Vive. I've even tried a few of Microsoft's ill-fated Mixed Reality Headsets. Nothing was or is as comfortable as PSVR 1 (with all nods to reviewers own remarks on PSVR 2).

Instead of having some kind of elastic band that sucked the headset to your face that made it utterly impossible to wear with any kind of glasses and felt like a lead weight on the front of your face, PSVR felt like a cap. It wasn't too tight, gave you plenty of space around your eyes so it didn't feel claustrophobic and because of the way the hard band worked, it felt correctly weighted.

It was however a pain in the backside to control with the move controllers. Something that PSVR 2 seems to have solved, but regardless of how long it took to get used to them, it was clear that everything else in Sony's accessories locker was cannibalized to make it happen. Camera, controllers, headsets - anything that could get you to buy the rest of the PS ecosystem was utilised.

But whilst it felt like it was all a bit of a hodge podge of stuff, the main event - the headset itself, absolutely felt like a game changer... as long as it had the games.

Prepare to Launch

One of the things that the PSVR got right was its launch line up - 28 titles that were a great mix of new games, converted titles and experience based games. Many good games followed but I want to concentrate on the five that absolutely nailed it for me personally.

Batman Arkham VR

Nothing sold me on VR as an immersive story telling experience like Batman: Arkham VR. At the time the franchise was much maligned. Hot off the heels of the success of Arkham City, Arkham Knight was considered to be too focused on vehicular combat, weird controls and its PC release is still not completely fixed. And in fairness, everyone thought Arkham was done and Rocksteady was finished with The Bat.

But out of nowhere, this appeared. To quote/paraphrase Gamespot's Tamoor Hussain - it felt like I was Batman. But you weren't swinging around beating up gangsters and free falling from tallest heights. Instead, this game focused on Batman's detective nouse, investigating areas and persons in full VR. But what made it was its ending. I won't spoil it but as you progress, you've likely guessed what the plot and conclusion will be.

But the way the game fully immerses you in that, completely breaks its own virtual reality and presents you with what you know is its end goal - it's a wonder of visual storytelling that I'm surprised video games haven't used with more regularity

Playstation VR Worlds

Every new console has to have its stand out experiential game. PSVR Worlds was the one for the new headset and, yes, it is quite passive. But because it's passive and because it's done by Sony themselves, it has pulled every trick in the book to present something visually outstanding, and accidentally highlight VR's greatest weakness - motion sickness

In VR, your brain receives a sensory input via your eyes that tells your body it is moving. However the rest of your body does not receive those signals. Your body, the clever organic machine that it is, immediately jumps to the conclusion that you've been poisoned and so tries to purposefully make you sick in order to regurgitate said non-existent poison.

Scavenger's Odyssey was the culprit for that with big, in-space asteroid hopping. However, the game had two standout titles. The experiential Shark Cage in Ocean Descent allowed you to experience one of VR's greatest joys and one that hasn't been utilised nearly enough - close up virtual wildlife experiences in game (as opposed to 360 video) and The London Heist dropped us veteran games into one of our first on rail shooter experiences and it was well acted, executed and a whole lot of fun.

Until Dawn: Rush of Blood

However, it was bettered by another launch title. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood was an entirely different take on the previously released PS Exclusive. Not exactly a story driven game, it took a very pastiche approach to horror and stuck it on a roller-coaster (so quite literally on rails) as part of a chaotic asylum theme park. It then gave you some guns to shoot everything about to kill you.

It's as if Rob Zombie directed a video game. It was comical, absolutely terrifying and incredibly immersive. If you weren't used to VR then you did get a little motion sickness but with practice that passed and what you were left with was an immensely replayable game. It's great to see that the developer, Supermassive Games is returning to the PSVR with a similar game based in The Dark Pictures universe.

Job Simulator

What both of the previous games highlighted is that humour is very key to a good VR experience. Because one of the first things you want to do when you get into a virtual reality is just be an absolute arsehole and commit as much shithousery as possible.

Job Simulator is one of those games that made that happen, albeit within its own level specific confines. Taking on the role of various jobs, you slowly unwind the status quo by being, to all intents and purposes, an absolute dick. In an almost comical, Falling Down movie level rebellion of what work life can be like, this game lets you separate from reality and wise cracks its way throughout.

EVE: Valkyrie

This is probably the most contentious on this list given that Rez Infinite was also a launch title. However everything that Scavenger's Odyssey did wrong in PSVR Worlds, EVE: Valkyrie got right.

A space flight combat simulator is the absolute perfect match for virtual reality and CCP's EVE universe wouldn't necessarily seem the most obvious of licenses to hit that niche. An MMO, EVE Online is well known for being an incredibly hard to enter economic simulator come space combat strategy game with a massive learning curve. EVE: Valkyrie is something much more necessarily basic.

CCP was very quick into the VR space and they knew that a game would need to stand out on its own, even within its own universe and it provided a good and simple combat simulation that would only be bettered by the king of space combat licenses - Star Wars Squadrons. Sadly, you can't play it anymore now the servers are turned off and it's reliance on Online play made it hard to enjoy after the initial PSVR Launch.

Many more great games were to come including for me Skyrim VR, Beat Saber, Moss, Blood and Truth, Firewall, Farpoint, Tetris Effect, No Man's Sky, Hitman, Superhot... So many. And it looks like many more are coming with PSVR 2. Gran Turismo 7 looks to have built on the PSVR's previous racing outings in an incredible way. Horizon Call of the Mountain looks to hit that big AAA experience.

My hope is that because of the price (and the cutting of stock and sales expectations) and the price of service entry (PS5 purchase alongside the PSVR 2 makes this a near £1000 outlay), that this doesn't end up like the PS Vita. And hopefully it won't. According to VGC's Andy Robinson in their new podcast (check it out on your podcast app), VR is a profitable industry. It makes money and that's exactly what business brains need to keep the money and development flowing.

It does need a bit more support from Sony and its studios/franchises that the PSVR 1 didn't get. It probably needs more bespoke game design and clever integrations around its virtual reality base. But this signals the end for PSVR 1. 2016-2023 is a heck of a run for a peripheral that needs bespoke games and I'm glad itstill here, refreshed and ready to start a new.