PSVR2 review: Sony nailed the hardware this time

The present is made of virtual madness.

The obvious Jamiroquai mentions aside, it’s one of the takeaways of the tech landscape in 2023. meta To valve (and reportedly applesoon) has all jumped on the high-tech headset bandwagon with VR- and AR-enabled devices in the past few years.

More than six years after Sony entered the battle with PlayStation VR, we now have the aptly named PlayStation VR 2 as the true successor to the PlayStation 5.

This $550 headset combines impressive specs with a much more affordable price tag than other high-end VR setups, but the need to own a PS5 is clearly a significant hidden fee. That said, with its built-in camera, eye tracking and new Sense controller, the PSVR2 mostly delivers its goods on the hardware front, even if the software suite at launch feels a bit lacking.

handsome headset

If you’ve been following Sony’s “futuristic white plastic” aesthetic during the PS5 era, you won’t be surprised to see the PSVR2 headset keeping pace with it.

Most of the exterior is white, with the exception of black rubber in spots to aid user comfort. A plate on the front of the headset houses his four cameras for tracking, eliminating the need for another camera peripheral that hindered movement on his original PSVR headset. The area where the lens is housed also has some handy device controls on the outside. At the top are scope adjustment buttons and lens adjustment dials, power button, function button (more on that later), and an on-board microphone. bottom.

At the very back of the headset is a button (otherwise locked in place) to release the headband, set inside a dial to tighten once the PSVR2 is on your head. I’m here. The underside of the headband hides some very interesting PSVR2 features. First, there’s no built-in audio output, so there’s his 3.5 mm audio jack for the pair of wired earbuds that come with the device. Second, there is a large power wire sticking out of this part of the device.

Let me bring out one very important thing right now. The PSVR2 is comfortable enough by VR headset standards. I personally hate being in VR for more than 30 minutes, but comfort had nothing to do with this situation. If you can tolerate VR longer, you’ll be fine doing it here.

That doesn’t mean it’s a perfect experience.wired earphones are you OKbut onboard speakers like the Quest 2 would have been preferred as an alternative. Sony’s Pulse 3D wireless headset(opens in new tab) It fits your PSVR2 like a glove, so you can theoretically use it while playing.

The physical biggest gripe I have with the PSVR2 is the wires. This is arguably a necessary evil, as wireless VR introduces nasty inconveniences like “battery life” that you don’t have to worry about here. That said, the VR experience was mostly done in a wireless setup, so I still struggled to deal with the presence of wires. I don’t like being tethered to the console, and I don’t like being able to feel the wires (which stick out of the left side of the headset) all the time. I fully understand that this may have been the only reasonable way for Sony to design his PSVR2, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

luscious lens

Things start picking up once you find your way around the headset, presumably via the short and easy setup process that takes place on the PS5 itself. Excellent.

You can check a friend’s website for a spec comparison with other popular headsets. IGN(opens in new tab)but the main thing to know is that its 2000×2040 lens resolution is higher than that of the PSVR1, Quest 2, and Valve Index. visible and incredibly smooth with a 120Hz refresh rate.

Probably my favorite aspect of the PSVR2 is the eye tracking, though it had limited launch use (at least in the software I tested). The headset is amazing at tracking where your eyes are looking no matter what direction your head is facing.launch title Horizon: Call of the Mountain You can navigate the menu this way. This is effective and absolutely amazing.

Seriously, much faster than manually moving the cursor.i was able to get through horizonI use the settings menu to tune the game exactly to my desires and needs, almost entirely with my eyes. It’s fluid and responsive and I couldn’t find a way to fool it or glitch it. Hopefully it will get more use over time.

Remember that feature button I mentioned earlier? Pressing it in VR switches the headset to a black and white passthrough view. Despite the lack of color, the image quality is sharp enough to make it easy to navigate the space (whether you’re playing sitting or standing).

This is used for another nifty trick: automatically set up the play area. During initial setup, the PSVR2 needs time to scan the surrounding room. Once that’s done, you’ll have the ability to dictate the play area without intervention when the game starts, much faster than Quest 2 where you have to draw (and redraw) his area by hand.

My only complaint is that I like to play sitting down, so the default play area is a bit small. Hands frequently crossed invisible boundaries, grid his interface popped up, and immersion was lost for a moment.

there is teeth Unfortunately, I can’t say much about the headset’s other standout new feature, as I haven’t seen any notable use of it in software. The headset itself has haptic feedback, creating a cool opportunity for immersive vibrations. .

sensory controller

The original PSVR was hampered by two things: the camera and the controller. Sony modded an old set of PS3-era camera peripherals and an even older PlayStation Move controller to work with PSVR. While effective, it always seemed slapped together, and I’m happy to report that PSVR2 is much more cohesive.

Introducing the PSVR2 Sense Controller. It comes with a headset (which may have contributed to the price tag) and works great. Each is shaped like one half of a PS5 controller, lacking a large touchpad and a large white circle to hold your hand through to hold the controller in place. It has triggers and the R1 and L1 buttons are roughly at the middle finger position.

The Sense Controller tracks your hand movements beautifully and feels great in your hand. The two analog sticks are slightly undersized, and the face buttons suffer from an awkward layout that I’ve grown accustomed to as a longtime PlayStation fan. Each controller has his two buttons, arranged vertically side by side. Triangle and square on the left, circle and cross on the right.

When games asked me to press certain buttons, I was often temporarily confused because I no longer had the muscle memory of the positions I had when holding a traditional PlayStation controller. Of course, this is something that will be worked out over time, but it’s kind of an odd choice nonetheless.

Oh, and the face buttons are a little too clicky for my taste.

Like headsets and regular PS5 controllers, there are haptics inside each Sense controller.Apart from small vibrations when climbing horizonthe games I tested didn’t have many examples of cool haptic feedback.

Still, despite some gripes, the Sense controller has been a huge success for Sony. Abandoning PlayStation Move for something newer and better is one of the great aspects of PSVR2.

PSVR2 Gaming: Looking for the Killer App

This is first and foremost a hardware review. The PSVR2 headset and controllers look great and feel great to use. All of this is great, and while the PSVR2 might sell itself well enough, if you buy it at launch, you might find yourself missing the amount of truly new VR experiences.

You can see the entire launch line-up playstation blog(opens in new tab), and it is never substantive. There are about 30 titles supported by the headset at launch. The numbers are impressive, but your enthusiasm might cool down a bit when you realize that almost all of them are VR experiences already available elsewhere, such as PC, Quest, or the original PSVR.

beat saber, moss, Lesbian Infiniteand No Man’s Sky Just a few of the VR retreads on display. To be clear, these are all great games worth experiencing in and out of VR. It’s just that we’ve seen it before. Also, the PSVR2 headset isn’t backwards compatible with the original PSVR, so you may have to buy some of these games again.

Horizon: Call of the Mountain seems like a big new killer app, but in the first few hours it wasn’t amazing enough to sell me a $550 headset just to play it. It’s a cool little action-adventure game with climbing and archery (both of which tire my arms quickly) and very impressive visuals, but if you’re like me and horizon It doesn’t seem like a must-play game.

In that sense, I think PSVR2 is probably suitable for people who have no VR experience and have a PS5. It has significantly more graphics than the Quest 2 and costs about half the Index. Eye tracking, device haptics, and a great Sense controller make it a joy to use. And if you’re not a VR veteran, you can try out some of the aforementioned games and have a great time.

if you that is However, VR veterans be prepared to play a game that has more limited editions waiting.