I owned the Oculus Quest 2 (Meta Quest 2) for over a year or two and had a lot of fun experiencing VR. This was the first VR headset I owned, and I was pleased with all the games I purchased and played. But recently, I was interested in buying the PSVR2, a new VR headset from PlayStation that came out earlier in 2023. If I bought this headset, it would be my second VR headset.
I researched, read/watched reviews for it and I eventually bought it. I’ve played the PSVR2 and have been having a lot of fun playing the VR games that are available on PlayStation, such as Resident Evil Village VR, The Walking Dead Saints & Sinners, and Horizon Call of the Mountain. I will talk about some things you will need to know if you are planning on buying a PSVR2.
Some features of the PSVR2 are: a 120hz OLED Display, VR controllers that have haptic feedback and trigger resistance, eye tracking, 110-degree field of view, 4k resolution, HDR, Lens adjustment, vibration feedback on the headset, connection to the PS5 with a USB Type-C, built-in microphone, headset comes with earbuds, adjustable head strap, and weighs 560g. The headset itself costs $550 plus tax, and if you want the bundle that comes with Horizon Call of the Mountain it will cost around $600.
The PSVR2 is great but there are some problems with it. The first thing is that the headset has to be connected to a PS5 with a USB Type-C cord/cable. The cable is 4.5 meters long, which doesn’t give you too much freedom if you are used to another VR headset without cables. Playing the PSVR with the cord takes some time to get used to, but it won’t be a big problem. You can also buy an extension cable for the headset, but only some of the cords on the market work without any problems. So make sure you research extension cables that work with the PSVR2.
Another thing to mention is the screen door effect on the OLED screen. If you see this, it’s normal, it’s not a glitch, that is how the OLED display is. You will see this effect while you are playing, it’s not super noticeable but it takes some time to get used to. Another thing to point out is that in RE Village VR, there is this motion blur effect while you are moving around in the game or while moving your arms, this is called ghosting. Ghosting occurs because of reprojection, reprojection is a way to increase the framerate of a game from 60 to 120hz without the loss of performance, but it creates these ugly double images that are noticeable in Resident Evil Village. While playing Horizon Call of the Mountain and The Walking Dead Saints & Sinners, the Ghosting effect is barely noticeable or not even there. This has to be a software problem that the game developers or Sony will have to fix. To reduce ghosting, turning your brightness down on the headset reduces ghosting slightly.
You may also experience motion sickness since there is reprojection in some games. There should be settings in the games to reduce motion sickness, make sure you check these settings if you get motion sickness easily. Another downside is that this VR headset can only be used on the PS5 and not a PC to play PC VR games. If you own games from the first PlayStation VR it is not compatible with the new PSVR2.
There are some problems with the headset, but there are also positives. One good thing is the controllers, the controllers look weird, but they are cool. They use the same haptics that are in the PlayStation 5 Dualsense controller such as the adaptive triggers and vibrations. Some sensors track your fingers and make your hands in the game feel more natural. Another thing is that the headset isn’t too heavy and is comfortable. Compared to the Meta Quest 2, the Quest 2 is a bit more uncomfortable than the PSVR2.
On the headset, there is a light shield that blocks out light and helps immerse players into the game. You won’t see light from the surrounding area and will only see the screen of the game. If you want to check your surroundings, on the headset you can press a button or go into the PlayStation menu and toggle see surroundings. With this, you will be able to see your surroundings and check if you are about to hit something or run into something. Before playing, you will have to set up a play area. When setting a play area, you will have to set the floor level, (touching the floor with the controller) Scan the area, (look around your soundings with the headset) and draw lines around the room you’re playing in to set boundaries for yourself. You can also set a play area for when you are sitting if you wish to sit and play.
Another positive is that there is a great game selection. Some popular games for the PSVR2 are Gran Turismo 7, Resident Evil Village VR, Beat Saber, No Man’s Sky, Creed Rise to Glory, Pavlov, and Horizon Call of the Mountain. I would also recommend playing: The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners and its sequel The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners-Chapter 2 Retribution. There are many other games on the PSVR2 and many that are coming out. Such as Vertigo 2, Arizona Sunshine 2, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2, Behemoth, Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate, Bulletstorm VR, and many more. Recently the release date for the Resident Evil 4 Remake VR mode was announced and the free update came out on December 8, of this year.
Now I would recommend the Meta Quest 2 or Meta Quest 3 if you are new to VR or are interested since it’s cheaper and it doesn’t require a PC to play. But if you own a PS5 or are experienced with VR and know what games you will play that are available for the system, then I would recommend the PSVR2. The PSVR2 is a great VR headset that is a big improvement then the first one, with great controllers, a 4k HDR OLED display, eye tracking, easy lens adjustment, and many games that are available or coming soon.
If you do buy a PSVR2 I would highly recommend the official PSVR2 charging station. The headset comes with one charging cable for the PSVR2 controllers but it’s annoying or inconvenient since you will have to charge the PSVR2 controllers.
