A New World Awaits: A Short Review Of The Commercial Success, Called PlayStation Virtual Reality (or PSVR)
As many as you know, Virtual Reality (or VR in short) had it’s hayday in the middle of the 90’s of the previous century. It was tried out by many companies, but it failed very miserable - I’m talking about you, Virtual Boy! It gave you serious headaches and nausea when you were using your VR for a longer time. Hence, therefore came the saying “Don’t play too long or you will strain your eyes!” Yeah, right ...
It took us almost more than two decades to wait before companies tried it for a second time with VR. Occulus, Microsoft and Sony. These three companies are the first that come to my mind when I’m talking about something that is not real. The Sony PS VR came out in 2016 and was sold for about 400 $. It wasn’t cheap for the time, nor it is today, in 2021, but in the store where I got mine (it’s the same store I’ve got my Nintendo Switch in 2017!) it was selled for roughly 300 €. That’s almost as much as my PS4 Pro costed me in 2020. I’m going to tell you how I got this device and review it for you, so you get a feeling of if it’s worth it or not.
So on Saturday, the 24th of April 2021, my and my GF @aquamoon33 went from here living place in southern part of Slovenia to our capital, Ljubljana or specifacally the industrial zone, near BTC. First, we went to IKEA, were there was a lot of things to see, and then we went further to the Big Bang store.
We first got our eyes on the new PlayStation 5. It looked absolutely massive! But unfortunately, we had no clue on how to use this kind of device. We were playing the new Astro Robot game on it, and after almost 10 minutes found out, that you have use your motion skills to actually move your character! Can you believe it?! I felt so ashamed, almost like a boomer or such. But after that, we went further to the PS4 stand, where there was a VR machine on it.
My gf was brave enough to use it first. There was a game, called Drive Club VR and the game was quite fast. You have to make fast turns from left to right. Before there was a huge right turn, she did not only used here hands, BUT also her body, which would’ve meant she would have to fall directly down, on the floor - if it wasn’t for me, who stood directly by her side, so I could block her fall before she even touched the ground.
She looks like a movie prop from a music spot, where Daft Punk is playing xD
After she was finished, I’ve put the glasses on. And OH MY GOD - WHAT A RELIEF! First, I was a bit “woody” while playing Drive Club VR, but after a while, when I got the hang of it, I was quite good. Indeed good! Okay, I wasn’t first, but still, I felt WIDELY awake from that moment on. In contrast to my girlfriend @aquamoon33 , I had no headaches, nausea or other akward feelings. Keep in mind that a night before our trip, I had a hard time falling asleep, just because the matress had a big hole in it (her brother, who was quite fat for thath time period, made it’s tool I guess). Because of that sensation, I was immidiately so impressed, that I just had to buy it! I know, It was an impulse buy, which doesn’t happen often in my life, but still, it was definetely worth it!
Fast forward to two/three days later, and I’m telling you, how this system looks like. I’ve bought it in separated cash, costed me almost as much as my PS4 Pro, but still, every cent was definitely worth it. When I got home at the end of the weekend, I wanted to connect it to my PS4 Pro and TV. And that was the time I wasn’t thinking so much about. There are exactly 12 cables around my devices. That’s is A LOT! But on the other hand you have to understand that this device was made in 2016, when cables were something more common than by todays standards. Here’s what I got:
The whole package
Picture taken from top (it was from a dusty warehouse, therefor don’t mind the scuffs and dust)
What the headset looked like
And how it looked like from the front.
This is how I managed to stick that little device for the VR set onto my PS4 Pro. Great, isn’t it?
And this is the bill I had to make - luckily I’ve bought it in times of Spring Sale - in order to get the 6 games for this device (Superhot VR, Gran Turismo VR, Dirt Rally VR, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Tetris Effect and Job Simulator). I’ve also got a PlayStation VR Worlds digital bundle included, but apart from the game London Heist, there is really nothing special to it. That’s how less of a price I’ve paid:
This is all I had to pay. Quite cheap, ain’t it?
The first game I started on my PS4 Pro was Farpoint, which I got for free on a Playstation Now subscription service and - OH MY GOD, IT BLEW ME AWAY!! It didn’t take that long, but after about 5 minutes while I was playing, my hands started to sweat. Really sweat! Now I know exactly how @aquamoon33 must’ve felt when she’s nervous while gaming. The graphics are really impressive. And the planet you are onto is just gorgeous!
“Sooooo beatiful!!! :OOO #PS4share #PS4VR #VR #Farpoint https://t.co/WdOp4tZNIu https://t.co/AzZz5fKS8A”
In fact, I got a bit carried away - and inspectively ANALysed too much! xD
“Internal ANALysment done wrong! xD #PSVR #Farpoint #Ass #LOL #PS4share https://t.co/WdOp4tZNIu https://t.co/ByjxfFgVCy”
But when it came to combat, there was no time for having fun! In fact, I shrieked a bit when the first “headcrab” got onto me! :S
“First close combat! #PSVR #Combat #Farpoint #PS4share https://t.co/WdOp4tZNIu https://t.co/h3dHEZx3R4”
And then I’ve played some London Heist and had some fun with my brothers, who are not gay or they just don’t like my cigarrette! xD
“You no like me, bro? xD #PSVR #LondonHeist VRWorlds #PS4share https://t.co/4p3jYmDaSq https://t.co/Asbifs8q76”
I’ve also played with some Dirt Rally VR, which is BY MY FAVOURITE GAME OF THIS YEAR SO FAR!
“My first playthrough! #DirtRallyVR #Rally #Driver #PSVR #PS4share https://t.co/Dt0QRTy2Qk https://t.co/5dTzX322Rc”
Here is a glimpse of my second, more serious playthrough:
“My 2nd playthrough - Like a boss! 8-) #PSVR #DirtRallyVR #Driver #Rally #PS4share https://t.co/Dt0QRTy2Qk https://t.co/usPiSNU9aA”
Overall, I’m quite happy with the PS VR that I’ve bought. Nevertheless, the PS4 (Pro’s) aren’t current gen anymore, so to find peripherals that’s aren’t as common as they were in the time when this system was current gen (this is the PS5 by now). I was literally over-the-roof- excited to try this thing out. And my expectations were met. Some, at least. Okay, the graphics aren’s as sharp as they are with the Occulus Rift, there are quite a bit of cables laying around, the headset could be tirring at time. But the fact that you feel like you are directly in the game, the quite reasonable price and the ammount of fun you get by playing a huge selection of games you have on offer (they’re still making games for this system, today!) are worth IMO.
Virtual Reality is a good thing to get to know better. It’s a gateway of finding your true inner feelings and conceptions. And for a long time, I’m just really greatful to be a part of it.
9.0 / 10
The Good:
- Reasonable price
- A huge selection of games to play
- Some exclusives (Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Astro Bot, etc.)
- If you are like me and don’t feel any nausea, headaches, etc.
- A new way of playing your favourite games
- A good device to expand and forfill your driving skills
The Bad:
- Quite a lot (twelve, to be exactly!) of cables laying around your PS4 (Pro)
- Isn’t that cheap as it could be
- Not so great graphics
- Get’s kind of sweaty after some playing time
