The best PSVR 2 games on PS5
PSVR 2 is here and it’s the best premium virtual reality set on the market. Featuring an HDR screen with pin-sharp image quality, see-through cameras, eye tracking, and haptic feedback, it’s a forward-thinking bit of kit that cements Sony’s commitment to the VR space, as we said in our PSVR 2 review.
The only thing that’s lacking right now is the breadth of its library. However, what’s already there is unmistakably excellent. If you’ve picked one up, here are the best PSVR 2 games that are most worth your time.
Horizon Call of the Mountain
Sony’s flagship launch title and a PSVR 2 exclusive, Horizon Call of the Mountain is a graphical showcase. It’s also a very good game, so that’s nice. Placing you in the shoes of a Carja tribe member, you’re thrust into a world filled with mechanical dinosaurs to shoot with a bow and massive mountains to climb. You haven’t experienced VR properly until you’ve seen a Tallneck stride over your head.
No Man's Sky
Hello Games can’t stop updating No Man’s Sky and the experience is better than ever now. Playing this spacefaring survival game in VR really highlights its strengths. Really, it’s a game about vibes, and those vibes are immaculate in PSVR 2. Breaking through the atmosphere of a planet as the headset vibrates and the cockpit shakes, with your actual hand on the joystick, controlling your descent, is worth the price of admission alone.
Gran Turismo 7
This is another one you’ll want to stick on to show your pals how cool VR is. It can be a little nauseating because your brain is doing zoomies and your body is perfectly still, but it’s genuinely convincing otherwise. Driving through the Tokyo track at night is a particular highlight, watching the road as neon lights flash by in your periphery.
Resident Evil Village
I didn’t find Resident Evil Village all that scary at launch, but VR changes that. Wandering through darkened woods as werewolves skitter in the dark is enough to get your blood pumping, and my god, wait until you see all of Lady Dimitrescu up close. Mommy.
Ragnarock
If you like Beatsaber, this Viking-themed rhythm game takes that concept, plonks you on a longboat, and tasks you with banging the drums to make your ship go faster. The music is a bit hit or miss, but there are some real bangers in the thematically relevant original soundtrack. It’s one of those ‘just one more go’ games.
Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge
Another VR game that’s more than just an experience, Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge casts you as an engineer who’s caught up in the illicit side of the Star Wars universe when some bad guys attempt to steal your cargo. Combat is built around blasters and droids, and there’s some cool puzzle-solving involving your engineering gadgets as well.
After the Fall
If you’ve always fancied playing Left 4 Dead in VR, After the Fall is about as close as you can get. Teaming up with three other players, you take on waves of zombies as you make your way through varied levels and upgrade your gear. Harder difficulties require solid cooperation, and there’s some real fun to be found in the way other players like to mess about, too.
Pavlov
My first game of Pavlov – a CS:GO-style multiplayer shooter – started with a teammate shouting “crap, run” because he accidentally dropped a grenade on the floor at the spawn location. Imagine playing Call of Duty, but you can drop your guns if you’re clumsy. It’s a laugh a minute, and you feel extremely cool when you successfully flank another team and mow them all down with an LMG. You just have to figure out how to reload the thing first, because each gun has its own quirks. Good job there’s a shooting range where you can hone your skills.
Tetris Effect
Tetris in VR probably doesn’t sound all that exciting, but give it a chance and you’ll love it. It’s like being dunked into a vat of hallucinogens, where you’ll be seeing spectral dolphins swimming around you as every Tetris block pulsates to the music and your movements add to the cacophony. It’s a synesthesia delight.
Townsmen VR
Townsmen is the closest thing to Lionhead’s Black & White that I’ve played since Black & White. The tutorial levels are a bit laborious, but it’s worth sticking at it for this excellent village-building game. You’re a godlike figure overlooking islands full of villagers, who you can pick up and fling about, or plonk next to buildings to give them new tasks. It takes some getting used to the movement controls, but Townsmen shows the potential of the god game genre in VR.
Unplugged
Another rhythm VR game, Unplugged hands you a guitar and asks you to strum away to a bunch of licensed tracks. It’s like Guitar Hero, but without the need for another peripheral, and you actually have to hold proper chords. It probably won’t teach you to play in real life, but it’s nice to pretend to be a rockstar, eh?
Zombieland: Headshot Fever Reloaded
If Pavlov and After the Fall feel a bit too hardcore for you, Zombieland harkens back to the lightgun games of old. You don’t move manually, instead working your way through levels ‘on-rails’, popping zombie heads as you go. Pull off two headshots in quick succession and time slows to a crawl, allowing you to chain even more together. It’s all about a quick trigger finger, accurate shots, and high scores.