VR Games

[Neon Ignition]

VR Games - Bordersdown Reviews




GAMES / FORMAT / RECOMMENDATIONS

Arizona Sunshine - 3 out of 3
Ultrawings - 3 out of 3
Superhot VR - 3 out of 3

Resident Evil VII - 2 out of 2
Wipeout: Omega Collection - 2 out of 2
Astrobot - 2 out of 2
Batman: Arkham VR - 2 out of 2
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood - 2 out of 2
Beat Sabre - 2 out of 2
Pistol Whip - 2 out of 3

Farpoint - 1 out of 1
Alien: Isolation - 1 out of 1
Minecraft - 1 out of 1
Lone Echo - 1 out of 1
No Man's Sky - 1 out of 1
Driveclub - 1 out of 1
Catlateral Damage - 1 out of 1
Catch and Release - 1 out of 1
Tetris Effect - 1 out of 1
VR Worlds - 1 out of 1
Here They Lie - 1 out of 1
Budget Cuts - 1 out of 1
Thumper - 1 out of 1
BallisticNG - 1 out of 1
Doctor Who: Edge of Time - 1 out of 1
Doctor Who: The Runaway - 1 out of 1

Robinson: The Journey - 0 out of 1
Subnautica - 0 out of 1
Psychonauts: The Rhombus of Ruin - 0 out of 1
Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son - 0 out of 1

[Neon Ignition]

As I've been revisiting the world of VR gaming I've been reminded at how the various experiences on offer are both unique but also quite often fairly shallow. Some titles see you play around for a very short spell and are done forever whereas others make more of an impression either due to the effect of the visuals or the way in which the tech is utilised in the gameplay. For these latter titles the normal next step would be to make a First Play thread but VR remains incredibly niche and even within that bubble not many play the same titles as each other making a run of seperate threads something of a waste of time.

Instead I figured an all encompassing thread would be a good measure. Somewhere where we can have the usual sharing of opinions of the VR games we're playing and how well they work with the particular VR set up your using to play the game.

Rather than the usual Out of 10 system, because this would cover multiple titles, once you've wrapped up your play of a VR game simply state if you recommend it or not and I'll update the OP with the details meaning that over time we'll build a Bordersdown recommended list for anyone just getting into VR.

[Brad]

Robinson: no
Farpoint: yes!
Resi 7: yes!
Wipeout: yes!
Astro bot: yes!
Arizona sunshine (2 player): yes!

[Neon Ignition]

So, I've been tinkering around with:

Psychonauts and the Rhombus of Ruin

It definitely leans on the 'experience' side of VR rather than being a game in the tradional manner. One thing I can't stand in VR is 'teleportation' as a means of movement, it feels like nothing but a clunky admittal of defeat by the developer so for me it's either full movement or nothing at all and this opts for nothing. You can look around yourself and objects you look at highlight with different buttons activating actions like psychic powers, possession etc so you can explore the environments. So far there's only been two small locations I've seen and a nice Bond style opening titles sequence. Playing on the Cosmos, the controls take some getting used to as the game wasn't designed with the controllers in mind but they do the job. The whole thing is largely a narrative experience which is supposed to be quite short so it will all rest on how that side of things pan out.

[Adam]

Alien Isolation - OR: Yes!
Not officially a VR title, but support for it is in the game and can be activated with the MOTHER mod, very easily. It's great being in an Alien movie of your own.

Minecraft - OR: Yes!
Same great game, but now everything can be seen to scale.

Lone Echo - OR: Yes!
This game put the fear of empty space into me, don't let go! and stop touching up Olivia.

Resident Evil 7: PSVR: Yes!
Best VR game I've played. VR enhances everything this game offers, it's an amazing adventure.

Subnautica: OR: No!
Seemed a very buggy and half assed VR implementation. Don't buy this for VR, although the normal game is cool.

Ultrawings - OR: Yes!
Super relaxing, lightweight flying game. Lot's of activities and upgrades to go for. Put some music on, turn the ingame engine sound volume down a bit and chill out!

[Cassius_Smoke]

Alien Isolation - OR: Yes!
Not officially a VR title, but support for it is in the game and can be activated with the MOTHER mod, very easily. It's great being in an Alien movie of your own.

Minecraft - OR: Yes!
Same great game, but now everything can be seen to scale.

Lone Echo - OR: Yes!
This game put the fear of empty space into me, don't let go! and stop touching up Olivia.

Resident Evil 7: PSVR: Yes!
Best VR game I've played. VR enhances everything this game offers, it's an amazing adventure.

Subnautica: OR: No!
Seemed a very buggy and half assed VR implementation. Don't buy this for VR, although the normal game is cool.

Ultrawings - OR: Yes!
Super relaxing, lightweight flying game. Lot's of activities and upgrades to go for. Put some music on, turn the ingame engine sound volume down a bit and chill out!

I'd love to play Alien Isolation in VR but Jesus christ I'd need new pants often.

[kryss]

No Man's Sky PSVR: Yes
Driveclub VR PSVR: Yes (but only available physically now)
Catlateral Damage PSVR: No(t worth it for the VR mode)
SuperHot VR PSVR: YESY

[importaku]

With VR i'm happy at full games but i'm also happy with smaller games too not every game would work as some huge VR epic so my collection is a mix of both.

Catch & release: Yes
Fantastic fishing game where you can just hide out for hours at a time listening to the radio as you go row around the lake just fishing and aborbing in the atmosphere. They keep adding more and more new stuff to this game free of charge now there's variable weather, the physics of the rod are really pleasing too, i'm not super into fishing but i love this one.

Ultrawings PSVR: Yes
Basically feels like pilotwings in VR, the sun soaked visuals give it a none realistic look that i find cozy. The flying sensation is amazingly real my stomach can't tell the difference lol. The flying challenges are satisfying especially when you have to add in the balloon shooting while juggling everything else. There's quite a bit to do to see it all so you'll be going at it for a while but i now just go in there to mess about and enjoy the feeling of been in the air.

Wipeout omega collection PSVR: hell yes
I'm not a racing person, i rarely buy any form of car racing games hell the only other racing games in my collection is mario kart 8 & fzero. Wipeout omega collection is insane in VR the higher speed tracks really are intense especially when you are sat inside the cockpit of your car. It really does feel like you are there, one of the few games to make my jaw hit the floor. Super polished rock solid framerate makes this one a blast to race in, funnily enough i'm crap at racing games yet in this one i seem to be able to do pretty well as been inside the car makes it easier to control.

Tetris effect PSVR: totally Yes
Probably my most played & favourite version of tetris i have ever played, inside VR it's pretty special. Never thought a puzzle game would actually make me cry but there we are, i have no shame in saying so. There are some stages in that where the graphics & music come together that unlocks something inside my brain that's so amazing that my headset has fogged up from tears. Be aware though this version is strictly a single player affair theres no VS mode however is a multiplayer component with scoreboards and the weekly challenge stuff.

There's loads more i can recommend but that's it for now, i'll post more later

[Atticus]

Love your words on Tetris Effect @importaku ... that game hold the magic formula for sure

[Neon Ignition]

Didn't rate Psychonauts in the end, it's short and like a very basic point n click in four locations. You'd have to be nuts for more content to get much out of it. Next up:

Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son
Mixed so far, some sections ramble too long so it could become irritating quickly. Motions seem fine but so far it's mostly listening to people talk so headed down the same issue as Psychonaut of not having enough to it. I'll say it a thousand times as well - I hate teleporting!

[Neon Ignition]

One thing with VR is you can really notch up your completed list thanks to how short form most of the titles are. Groundhog Day was a case of not being being that good whilst also being better than it had any right to be. It's more a narrative experience than a game and it's got some good points but really you might as well just watch the film and get a better experience.

[QualityChimp]

I love arcades like Quick & Crash or G-Loc (R360), but I wouldn't want to play them all day.
I've found VR is a great experience that doesn't need to be months long.
I could probably live inside No Man's Sky, but had to stop as I knew I'd play nothing else.

So, my recommendations are:

VR Playroom
VR Worlds - this is the one I show everyone. Must be up to double figures on Shark Encounter and London Heist.
Here They Lie - PS+ freebie, but it was brilliant.
Batman: Arkham VR - good, but get it in a sale.
Rush Of Blood - good, but not for everyone!
Superhot VR - YES!
Ultrawings - Yes, but it's not easy on the stomach.
Arizona Sunshine - YES! Especially in co-op.
Astrobot - Hell to the YES!

[Neon Ignition]

Doctor Who: The Edge of Time
On to the next game with this recent BBC Vr effort just before they closed down their VR studio. Based on the current incarnation you play an unnamed character as the game opens in a laundromat. After a brief moment the Doctor starts to speak to you through a TV before a rip in space time transforms the laundromat to a black goop covered hell version. You're tasked with a simple puzzle to retrieve the Sonic Screwdriver and escape the building before seeing the Dalek ships arrive as you call the Tardis. There is locomotion control but it's incredibly clunky and standing play doesn't require you to move about so seated play may be a better option. Visually it's actually pretty strong with very good sense of space and scale which works well when stepping into the Tardis. Despite being based on the current light and fluffy toned incarnation it's surprisingly dark with a number of jump scares and I already know one old enemy will pop up that's absolutely perfect for the VR experience. There are 5 chapters and halfway through the first off world planet puts me mid-Chapter 2 so it's probably about 2 hours over all to go through. Another narrative based experience rather than really using the tech for gameplay but thanks to the license use it's a decent one so far.

[Lebowski]

I love arcades like Quick & Crash or G-Loc (R360), but I wouldn't want to play them all day.
I've found VR is a great experience that doesn't need to be months long.
I could probably live inside No Man's Sky, but had to stop as I knew I'd play nothing else.

I played quick and crash recently at Arcade club in Leeds and got no 1 on the score board i played it that much, its such a simple game but so fun. I'd love to see a Namco VR arcade game brought out that was full of there shooting game, They could have it so you stand at the machine or are part of the game being inside a game of Time crisis would be awesome ducking behind boxes and poping up to shoot would give you a proper workout.

Been playing qute a bit of Pistol Whip recently and its got that old school light gun vibe to it and really shows the potential for lightgun propertys to be revived in VR

[QualityChimp]

Great little game! It must cots them a fortune in broken mugs, though...

There are a few VR target ranges. Gun Club VR looks alright, but I'm not sure if it'd get boring, when's there's Rush of Blood and the London Heist target range to play with.