Update: Resident Evil 7 has joined our list as one of the best PlayStation VR games.
After a long wait that's involved multiple names, Sony's PlayStation VR headset is finally here, and its arrival has been announced with the release of a number of highly anticipated games (see: RIGS, pictured above).
We've seen the ultimate fantasy come to life with Batman: Arkham VR, a classic game remastered in VR with Rez: Infinite, and others built from the ground up for the new medium.
Better yet, now that we've actually had a chance to try out these games in the comfort of our own homes we've been able to weed out the experiences that don't hold up over long play sessions.
For a launch line-up, Sony has really done an amazing job trying to put out something for everyone: there’s a horror title in the form of Until Dawn: Rush of Blood; a trippy psychedelic music title from Harmonix and a shmorgishborg of content in one place with PlayStation VR Worlds. But those games are just the tip of the iceberg. Sony’s promised us 50 games in 2016 and early 2017. Plus, considering the publisher’s extensive relationships with third-party developers, we're excited to see what it and its partners have to bring to the VR table.
Without further ado, here’s our roster of the best games on PlayStation VR.
Developer: Capcom
Price: $60/£50
Does it require Move controllers? No
Resident Evil 7 is a bit of an anomaly on this list. The next entry in the long-running horror series takes the experience into first person for the first time, but, more impressively, can be played in its 18 hour entirety in VR.
This means that the game is one of the longest VR experiences available right now, but you'll need a lot of courage to make it through the game this way, since by all accounts Resident Evil 7 is one scary game - especially in virtual reality.
But if you're able to stomach the scares you'll be rewarded with one of the finest horror games of this generation, and a true return to form for the Resident Evil series.
Developer: Criterion / DICE
Price: Free (if you own Battlefront)
Does it require Move controllers? No
It may only last 20 minutes, but what a fantastic third of an hour it is. Star Wars Battlefront's X-Wing VR mission, even as an extended tech demo, is a perfect example of what VR is capable of. Putting you right in the cockpit of a lovingly modelled X-Wing fighter, it transports you directly into a key element of the Star Wars universe.
Handling like a dream as you dart between asteroids and take on a fleet of Tie Fighters, you'll get all the feels when John Williams' iconic score begins to swell.
Developer: Monstars + Enhance Games
Price: $30/£25
Does it require Move controllers? No
Who’d have guessed that a 15 year old Dreamcast game would turn out to be one of the killer apps for Sony’s PlayStation VR headset? The second time that the classic shooter has been updated, Rez Infinite adds VR head tracking into the mix, putting you at the center of its Tron-like wireframe soundscapes.
It’s always been a game that lets you “get in the zone”, but with VR head tracking, Rez Infinite becomes almost hypnotic. With an ace, pulsing trance soundtrack that builds to a thumping crescendo as you shoot down polygonal enemies, you find yourself fully immersed in the futuristic landscape as it zips past your floating avatar.
With an insane sense of speed and spot on head-tracking enemy targeting, it’s easy to completely lose track of reality whilst playing Rez Infinite, and it’ll be hard to stop yourself dancing along to the grooves your shots produce. Packing in all the additional content of the earlier HD re-release of Rez, it’s still a relatively short VR experience at just around an hour long.
But, like a good album, it’s something you’ll want to dive into again and again. Just be careful that you don’t do a “Jeff Bridges in Tron” and find yourself so hooked that you’ll never want to leave.
Developer: Rocksteady Studios
Price: $20/£16
Does it require Move controllers? Yes
Batman: Arkham VR is probably the best introduction to PlayStation VR as a platform. While there isn’t a ton of gameplay in the traditional sense, it’s an amazing visual showcase that demonstrates the power of the platform.
The opening sequence of the game draws you into in by leading you from the top floor of Wayne Manor down to the basement wherein you suit up as the Batman for the first time.
What you’re paying for here are the vistas and the incredible level of immersion as you solve crimes throughout Gotham and come face-to-horrifying-face with Batman’s greatest adversaries.
There’s few things scarier than looking the Joker in his beady bright green eyes or standing mere inches away from Killer Croc, and Batman: Arkham VR is one of the only experiences in the world that offer just that.
Developer: London Studio
Price: $40/£30
Does it require Move controllers? Yes
There’s a vast majority of gamers out there who are going to get PlayStation VR Worlds without ever heading to the store to pick it up. Sony’s decision to include it in the PlayStation VR Launch Day Bundle was, in many ways, one of the most brilliant decisions the company made with its VR headset. On the disc you’ll find a number of short, self-contained experiences that demo polished game ideas that could one day be expanded into full titles. The standout titles include Danger Ball, The London Heist and Scavengers Odyssey, but the remaining games – Ocean Descent and VR Luge – aren’t all that bad, either.
There’s a reason Sony picked PlayStation VR Worlds to be packaged with every Launch Day bundle – it’s probably the best title to use to ease friends and family into virtual reality rather than tossing them into the deep-end with a game like Thumper. The demos here can be a bit overwhelming at times – I’m looking in your direction, VR Luge – but if they’re feeling the motion sickness you can always bring them back to something like Danger Ball or Ocean Descent to get them back on their feet.
Developer: Rebellion
Price: $50/£50
Does it require Move controllers? No
Chances are, the original Battlezone might have passed you by if you're under 40 – Atari's 1980 arcade game doesn't quite hold the same iconic status as Pong. However, it's generally considered to be the very first VR game, which is why British developer Rebellion bought the rights from Atari so that it could remake it for modern VR headsets.
The result is one of the best VR experiences we've had to date. The gameplay is fun (think a futuristic take on World of Tanks), but it's the striking-but-simple graphics that are the key to the overall enjoyment. There’s two main modes here – offline campaign and online multiplayer. While we didn’t have time to try it with a bunch of buddies online, the offline campaign mode feels pretty well fleshed out. There’s quite a number of tanks to pick from and unlock and while gameplay can err on the repetitive side, it’s enough to lock you in for a few hours at a time.
While a lot of VR games try to go as realistic as possible, Battlezone's Tron-like game world is incredibly absorbing, and better yet it’s one of the few titles on the platform you'll be able to enjoy alongside your friends thanks to the game's inclusion of co-operative play.
Developer: Sony
Price: Free
Does it require Move controllers? No
Even the coldest of hearts will be melted by The Playroom. The game’s cast is comprised of little robots who are tossed into peculiar, fun and even Mario-esque situations for your amusement. If I’m being totally honest, the whole game looks and plays like a Mario Party game and is perfect for larger crowds.
In one mini-game, the player with the VR headset is a monster, while four players using a TV and DualShock 4 controllers try to avoid the debris he throws at them. In another, one player wearing the headset is tasked with sucking up ghosts from a haunted house while players outside of virtual reality locate the spectres and shout directions on where to shoot. There are also toybox demos where you just look into a miniature house and observe the droids as they go to the gym, go swimming, watch TV and so forth.
But honestly the best part of Sony’s The Playroom VR is its price – it’s free to download, which makes it one of the best bargains anywhere on the PlayStation Store.
Developer: kokoromi
Price: $30
Does it require Move controllers? No
SUPERHYPERCUBE is a legitimately fun game, like not “by VR’s standard’s” fun, but real honest fun. The goal here is to rotate blocks to get them to fit through an opening of a certain size and shape. Sneak the piece through and you’re rewarded with another block that will then create the next puzzle a bit harder. If you can’t, the blocks that can’t fit through the opening jettison off your cube and you start from square one.
Where SUPERHYPERCUBE went right is that it didn’t try to do anything complex – like Tetris, Candy Crush and Breakout! the idea here is simple: don’t mess up. But the simple idea is enhanced by the perspective provided by VR – by allowing you to look at your floating cube from every angle you appreciate the times you solve the puzzle and simply laugh when it doesn’t work out.
The only things SUPERHYPERCUBE is missing are a killer soundtrack and a few more modes to pad out the solve-it-or-start-over gameplay. A mode where you start with a cube comprised of 40 blocks or shaped like various mundane objects would’ve gone a long way to making it feel like a more complete, robust experience. Still, all that aside, it’s worth picking up.
Developer: Uber Entertainment
Price: $20/£15
Does it require Move controllers? Yes
If you’ve been looking for PlayStation VR’s sleeper hit, Wayward Sky is it. An isometric puzzle game that’s aimed at younger gamers, Wayward Sky has you solving puzzles to reunite a young female pilot with her father. At times heartfelt and funny, other times heart-achingly sad, Wayward Sky is a rather emotional journey.
Setting emotions aside for a minute, the game may not do the best of jobs leveraging virtual reality’s new perspective, but the few times it does – usually when operating a piece of machinery – are effective at making you feel more immersed.
That said, it can be tough to tell who the game is targeting. While kids would make the most sense given the game’s lighter atmosphere and sometimes overly simple puzzle mechanics, Sony doesn’t recommend children under the age of 12 use its virtual reality headset. So unless you’re willing to fly in the face of Sony’s warning – or embark on the journey yourself while a little one watches along on the TV – you might need to skip past this patch of sky.
Developer: Steel Crate Games
Price: $15/£12
Does it require Move controllers? No
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes doesn’t sound like much fun on paper. While one person puts on a headset to look at an overly detailed bomb in a nondescript room, the other player uses the TV screen to read a dense direction manual on how which wires to cut and buttons to push to make sure you get to the next level. But underneath its seemingly boring exterior lies a tremendously fun exercise in teamwork, communication and sometimes sheer dumb luck as you make last-minute decisions to stop a bomb from going off.
Levels that start off easy – usually with two or three puzzles to solve and a few minutes to solve them – but escalate quickly. Part of the game’s charm is that whenever you start feeling good about your skills as either a decoder or disarmer, something else comes up that ruins your day. In that way it’s fun trying to stay calm under pressure and getting a laugh when it all, inevitably, blows up in your face.
Developer: Drool
Price: $20/£16
Does it require Move controllers? No
Never have the words “Rhythm Hell” been a more apt description for a game. Thumper pushes you by sending wave after wave of obstacles your way that require button combinations set to a certain beat. If the flashing lightshow isn’t enough, the game’s aesthetics and boss battles are like something set out of Dante’s Inferno: hellish visages of what life in the afterlife for all the naughtiest gamers.
While the music in Thumper is never totally recognizable, it’s instantly catchy causing you to bob your head to the beat and curse loudly when the game sets aside all care for your emotions and just throws everything and the kitchen sink at you all at once.
Thumper is, admittedly, a bit on the intense side visually – so it’s probably not the best thing to show off to mom and dad or little ones. But if you’ve gone through Rez Infinite and you’re looking for a musically inspired hellscape, Thumper should be the game on your list.
Developer: Supermassive Games
Price: $20/£15
Does it require Move controllers? Yes
One of our favorite aspects of PlayStation VR is just how many different genres of games it has. DriveClub in VR will satiate racing game fans' need for speed, while GNOG will put fans of puzzle games face-to-face with a dozens of colorful enigmas to solve.
Unlike either of those, Until Dawn: Rush of Blood will join Resident Evil 7 in being PlayStation VR's first foray into the horror genre that will strap you into a carnival-esque rollercoaster and send you hurtling through of funhouse of horrors.
While the controls are fairly limited – basically shoot anything and everything that moves – the real "fun" to be had in Rush of Blood comes from tumbling from one jump scare to the next with a deathgrip on both the controller and your bladder.
Trust me kids, nothing is scarier than almost peeing your pants in a room full of your friends.
