PlayStation VR Catch-All

I tried the Wayward Sky demo. I had two moments; a good sense of scale and a bad case of swimming motions. Also, the game makes me want to get Move controllers.

Yeah the move controllers add a ton to Wayward Sky. You can pick up and throw the objects there at the beginning. I was waving the radio around my head listening to the 3D audio, picking up the ball and throwing it at the chickens who play fetch with it. Throwing those blocks in the case at the signs and watching them swing around after being hit. All so satisfying.

Then the feeling of playing an adventure where it feels like you hover over a world, sort of like you are moving miniatures around a table top. Just so different and a unique twist on the way adventure games have been played. It really is one of the most memorable games for me so far with what I've played.

So aside from the good, there is some bad.

I've never been prone to motion sickness so I thought "vr sickness" wouldn't be an issue. But it's definitely cropped up. The last game I played last night was Scavenger's Odyssey from PSVR Worlds. As soon as you get the point where you start hopping from place to place, ugh, bad feeling. I figure it's late, been on vr a couple hours, time for bed. This morning I tried Driveclub and it seemed cool at first, but very soon it became quite yucky and forced me to take a vr break. Unfortunately the feeling lingers too, it was a good 45 minutes before it fully dissipated.

However, EVE and Battlezone only made me feel a tad uncomfortable, not enough to stop playing. I do wonder though, these were both very short demos, if extended play would induce more vr sickness to the point I'd have to stop playing.

At any rate, it's kinda hard to tell which titles will make me feel this way. I can see playable demos being really important in the future for PSVR games.

Second bad is just the inconvenience of cords/charging. Now with two move controllers to charge - which of course take a different charging cable - and now only one available port for it since the processing unit takes up one - charging has become a bit of a logistical challenge. May have to invest in a charging station at some point.

How does everyone find the fit? I found that I couldn't bring the rear band as far down on my head as the pictures showed because it would tilt the lower part of the mask up and let light through. I think the rear band was about at the biggest part of my head. It was also easier for me to get it focused that way because I have to have the mask at the closest setting to get decent focus. A plus with having the band a bit higher is it helps make a little extra room for my headphone ear cups that go all the way around my ear.

It's comfortable, but I do wonder if I'm doing it wrong.

Im finding the fit fine. It was a bit awkward at first, the head strap was pretty stiff to adjust, but now it feels good and accomodates my glasses nicely.

Just checked out the Wayward Sky demo, really fun! Love just being inside these kind of gameworlds. Makes me look forward to Tethered.

So, I didn't say a lot about Harmonix Music VR last night. Easel mode works quite well. The other stuff wasn't all that interesting to me. I imagine it's basically a taste of what you get with Tilt Brush. It's not perfectly accurate, but you do get to paint 3D sculptures and manipulate them with the move controllers. I wish the objects could be manipulated separately. Unfortunately, it seems like they're all part of one big object, so when you grab it and throw it, everything moves.

They recommend playing it standing up, but I don't have a lot of room, and sitting down made more sense to me. Last thing I want to do after a long day is stand.

The main plus about the game is you can bring in your own music via a USB stick, so I tried it out with some Tame Impala, Washed Out, Beach House, etc. Dream pop style songs work great.

If you want a tilt brush style experience that doesn't cost too much and you really like listening to music, Harmonix VR, is a pretty good deal. It could be better. I imagine a version of it coming out 3 years from now being amazing. The only thing keeping it from being a "demo" is the fact that you can bring in your own music library.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

How does everyone find the fit? I found that I couldn't bring the rear band as far down on my head as the pictures showed because it would tilt the lower part of the mask up and let light through. I think the rear band was about at the biggest part of my head. It was also easier for me to get it focused that way because I have to have the mask at the closest setting to get decent focus. A plus with having the band a bit higher is it helps make a little extra room for my headphone ear cups that go all the way around my ear.

It's comfortable, but I do wonder if I'm doing it wrong.

I need to have it tilted up slightly to be in focus, which lets a little light in the bottom. It's really only noticeable when I'm not playing, though. Once I'm in game it doesn't seem to matter.

I finished up the Giant Bomb stream from yesterday. I didn't see anything shown I would buy. They're still having severe tracking issues. I hope Sony can make some improvements to the firmware that help keep the tracking from going out of whack every once in awhile.

So, I'm just going to stick with Superhypercube, Rez, Thumper, and Harmonix VR Music. I wouldn't be surprised if I pass anything that's remotely going for a realistic look for PSVR over the next few months.

I can't wait to play Rez, Superhypercube, and Thumper tonight. I don't think I'll even bother with any more demos and just start digging deep into those games.

Just finished Arkham, friggin intense! Short but so immersive, a must play for anyone whos ever been a Batman fan. And no tracking issues, jittery hands or anything. Only one tracking issue so far the first time I played job simulator, view kept abruptly moving slightly, was yucky feeling, restarted ps4 and it was then fine.

I checked my friend's list and zero people are playing PSVR games. Given that, my guess is this whole VR thing is gonna fizzle out. At any rate, I wouldn't be surprised.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I checked my friend's list and zero people are playing PSVR games. Given that, my guess is this whole VR thing is gonna fizzle out. At any rate, I wouldn't be surprised.

There's still a decent barrier to entry. I was really skeptical going into VR but after trying the Vive and PS VR I think it's totally legit and could likely be the future of entertainment... the experience really is that compelling. Once a system comes out with VR as the core gameplay experience, the headsets are wireless and more slim I think it could become common in households.

This is early days though. My only concern is that companies tried to take VR to the masses before the technology was quite there.

Don't DriveClub.

20 minutes playing, still queasy after more than two hours.

1Dgaf wrote:

Don't DriveClub.

20 minutes playing, still queasy after more than two hours.

Yeah, that always sounded like an awful game for VR. Did you try the good games like Superhypercube, Rez, and Thumper?

1Dgaf wrote:

Don't DriveClub.

20 minutes playing, still queasy after more than two hours.

Yup, this was the worst one for me as well by far, now having done almost all the demos. Thankfully the queasiness lasted a little under an hour for me, but yeah, for whatever reason Driveclub just messes with you bigtime.

Buffalo your experiences seem really opposite of mine - and I think that's a good thing as it shows the breadth of different experiences available - tried Rez and was bored after like three minutes, just not my style of game. Thumper was a bit more interesting but still kinda meh. These games are too abstract to really engage my sensibilities. Wayward Sky is still my "surprise hit" of the demo disc, Job Simulator was cool too - though $30 for the full game seems way overpriced. Really looking forward to some future sales on some of these titles. EVE, RIGS, and Battlezone I would all buy in a heartbeat if they were $ 20, but for now after dropping hundreds on the PSVR itself, these are just too expensive for what they offer.

There is a special place in hell for whomever at Double Fine thought starting the Gnog demo with a bunch of hypnotic circles was a good idea.

I'm really enjoying PS VR (it's my first time experiencing VR outside of a short Oculus Rift DP 1 demo a few years ago at PAX). Robot Rescue from Playroom VR is surprisingly charming!

I can only play for about 30 minutes total before I have to take a break: even then I have a slight headache and dizziness afterwards. I'm prone to motion sickness, so that's pretty good for me. I'm hoping eventually I can train myself up to go longer. It's frustrating to have this new toy and have to limit my time.

JustJosh wrote:

There is a special place in hell for whomever at Double Fine thought starting the Gnog demo with a bunch of hypnotic circles was a good idea.

I'm really enjoying PS VR (it's my first time experiencing VR outside of a short Oculus Rift DP 1 demo a few years ago at PAX). Robot Rescue from Playroom VR is surprisingly charming!

I can only play for about 30 minutes total before I have to take a break: even then I have a slight headache and dizziness afterwards. I'm prone to motion sickness, so that's pretty good for me. I'm hoping eventually I can train myself up to go longer. It's frustrating to have this new toy and have to limit my time.

I haven't seen anything about the Gnog demo. What interest is making you slog through what sounds like a bad game?

Has anyone played 'Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes' for the PS VR? I want to give it a try this weekend.

So, uh...So that Kitchen demo is something if you have absolutely no previous knowledge of what that is supposed to be, huh?

I've not tried Rez, SHC or Thumper. The physical demo disk in the UK had nine fewer games than the US one, so I had to download the US demo disc last night. I'll try one of those games tomorrow. I want to give myself a day to recover.

Here's my video of DriveClub. I describe what's happening to my body as I play and I talk about how where I'm looking seems to help alleviate a bit of the nausea, but not much. After playing I was burping constantly.

EDIT

ChrisLTD wrote:

Has anyone played 'Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes' for the PS VR? I want to give it a try this weekend.

I tried it out with a couple of friends and it was pretty darn fun! The person defusing the bomb has a really easy to use interface where they can rotate the bomb and interact with the various modules on it, all using the Dualshock controller. Everyone else is looking through the bomb manual asking the defuser to describe what they are seeing and then walking them through the defuse processes. If you have a second Dualshock controller they can look at the manual on the TV, otherwise you can go to a website with the manual.

You can set the difficulty with number of modules and amount of time. Each module is pretty complex and it's really easy to describe things incorrectly which is fun. My only possible complaint is that it seems like the manual is always the same so at some point if you play enough you might become a little familiar with the modules and how to talk through things. Likewise the bomb defuser might get really good at describing the modules.

Still, as a casual game it seems super fun! Also a really cool experience that is pretty unique to VR.

Played some EVE: Valkyrie last night. In a lot of ways this is the VR experience I was hoping for. It literally made me feel like I was in Battlestar Galactica (which someone please make that game). Looking around the inside of your ship cockpit is so cool, and I love that you can fire the machine guns forward while visually looking at a target to lock on for missiles. Dogfighting in space is just such an awesome VR experience. A remake of TIE Fighter in VR would be sweet...

It was a little headache-inducing at times, especially if I was looking in one direction while turning in another. I think part of the key for this - and other VR games - is to make sure you pick a point of reference while turning and stick with it, similar to how a figure skater would while doing turns. So long as I had an enemy in my sights stay focused on them I could turn pretty much however and not get a strange feeling. If I just kept looking straight ahead, though, I'd sometimes feel a little uneasy. After playing for about an hour I needed to take a break but I had a ton of fun.

As for the game itself, as someone else mentioned it's primarily online multiplayer PvP with a bunch of unlocks as you progress. Seems like it should be fun but it's a much more focused experience than I was initially expecting.

Woohoo! I finally got a score in Superhypercube I'm not embarrassed about (1269). I think the key early on is to get a bit lucky with getting a key shaped block blob. It's a lot easier to get the rotation correct when there's an extension going on.

I love the amount of randomness that happens. It kind of gives you a gambling fix. I went 8 or so runs getting 100 something and then got my high score of 1269. It's so satisfying. There's also an element of straight up getting better at the game with practice and repetition, too.

I don't know how many hours I'll get out of the game ultimately, but in my 90 minutes of play or so, it's been worth every penny. I need more GWJers to fill up the friends leaderboard. I only made it into level 3 and there are 10 levels I believe according to the trophies.

Played some more Thumper. It's just great. I'm at the level 3 final boss. One thing I'm really happy about that I feel like I don't want to play these games not in VR. I didn't know if that was going to be the case. Obviously, you can play Thumper without VR and theoretically you could play Superhypercube not in VR if you modified it a bit. To me, it would just not be the same thing. So, that's cool. Taking the time to get the headset on is more than worth it, and it doesn't feel like a novelty when the game is actually good and designed for VR from ground zero. I don't think I'll ever even try Thumper without the VR.

I put it down and got stuck on Superhypercube again. I tied my high score somehow. Levels 1 and 2 are more or less methodical and relaxing to me now even though you can still bungle them. When you get to level 3, though. All bets are off and I go into Oh shiiiiiiiiiiit mode (think Rick's voice from Rick & Morty). It's just the best.

Dreaded Gazebo wrote:

Played some EVE: Valkyrie last night...

It was a little headache-inducing at times, especially if I was looking in one direction while turning in another. I think part of the key for this - and other VR games - is to make sure you pick a point of reference while turning and stick with it, similar to how a figure skater would while doing turns. So long as I had an enemy in my sights stay focused on them I could turn pretty much however and not get a strange feeling. If I just kept looking straight ahead, though, I'd sometimes feel a little uneasy. After playing for about an hour I needed to take a break but I had a ton of fun.

Now that VR is more widely available, I'd love to hear the reactions of a figure skater, combat pilot, or someone else who deals with these types of situations in reality,

My box quote for Thumper: They made a video game version of Mad Max Fury Road.

Level 4 is so good.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I love the amount of randomness that happens. It kind of gives you a gambling fix. I went 8 or so runs getting 100 something and then got my high score of 1269. It's so satisfying.

Oh good, that 1269 was not your first try. I was freaking out after I fired this up and found myself on the bottom of the friend leaderboard with my 150.

THE CHALLENGE HAS BEGUN!

I also gave the Driveclub demo a go. I think a lot of the queasiness comes from your initial view set up. I had myself a bit closer and above the wheel than I would in a normal car and was not feeling anything. I adjusted myself on the couch and ended up with a view a bit farther back and instantly felt off. It could have been that I was used to my default set up, but the moment I leaned forward the feeling went away.

Finally, I played the first couple minutes of Here They Lie. I need to get myself in the right mindset to play that, because I definitely did not want another Kitchen experience just yet

Dreaded Gazebo wrote:

Played some EVE: Valkyrie last night. In a lot of ways this is the VR experience I was hoping for. It literally made me feel like I was in Battlestar Galactica (which someone please make that game). Looking around the inside of your ship cockpit is so cool, and I love that you can fire the machine guns forward while visually looking at a target to lock on for missiles. Dogfighting in space is just such an awesome VR experience. A remake of TIE Fighter in VR would be sweet...

If you find yourself in possession of a Rift or Vive, definitely check out House if the Dying Sun.

Has the player base been decent for Eve multiplayer? There's still a surprising number playing on PC.

Dreaded Gazebo wrote:

Played some EVE: Valkyrie last night. In a lot of ways this is the VR experience I was hoping for. It literally made me feel like I was in Battlestar Galactica (which someone please make that game). Looking around the inside of your ship cockpit is so cool, and I love that you can fire the machine guns forward while visually looking at a target to lock on for missiles. Dogfighting in space is just such an awesome VR experience. A remake of TIE Fighter in VR would be sweet...

It was a little headache-inducing at times, especially if I was looking in one direction while turning in another. I think part of the key for this - and other VR games - is to make sure you pick a point of reference while turning and stick with it, similar to how a figure skater would while doing turns. So long as I had an enemy in my sights stay focused on them I could turn pretty much however and not get a strange feeling. If I just kept looking straight ahead, though, I'd sometimes feel a little uneasy. After playing for about an hour I needed to take a break but I had a ton of fun.

As for the game itself, as someone else mentioned it's primarily online multiplayer PvP with a bunch of unlocks as you progress. Seems like it should be fun but it's a much more focused experience than I was initially expecting.

Pretty much my experience with it as well. Had a lot of fun in the heavy ship with no missiles, but had more powerful guns that tracked where you looked. For me I really felt the nausea in rolls, or when pushing forward on the stick and going down (I guess my stomach anticipated negative g's and wanted to give them to me)

I'm glad I got the full game (on the cheap) but it is frustrating that the game really seems set up to be free to play. After each mission it wants you to look at all the things you can buy, but you can't afford yet. This weekend is double XP, but that's another boost you can buy, days, weeks, months of XP boosts. The fact that that is baked into a $60 game is really really annoying.

Also, I found that if you go into your PS4 settings, and select PSVR settings, there are a lot more options for setting up and calibrating the headset. One has you hold the headset close to the camera (not wearing it) and turn it to different angles to get the calibration right. Another option has you stick your face close to the PS Camera and it measures the distance between your eyes, and adjusts the headset display accordingly. I struggle a bit with getting the right fit with binoculars and such, so getting this measurement helped make everything MUCH clearer to me.

Additionally there is the ability to turn down the brightness (starts at 100%) inside the headset, and turning it down to 60 or so really helped with eye strain for my long playtime of Eve Valkyrie

Dreaded Gazebo wrote:
ChrisLTD wrote:

Has anyone played 'Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes' for the PS VR? I want to give it a try this weekend.

I tried it out with a couple of friends and it was pretty darn fun! The person defusing the bomb has a really easy to use interface where they can rotate the bomb and interact with the various modules on it, all using the Dualshock controller. Everyone else is looking through the bomb manual asking the defuser to describe what they are seeing and then walking them through the defuse processes. If you have a second Dualshock controller they can look at the manual on the TV, otherwise you can go to a website with the manual.

You can set the difficulty with number of modules and amount of time. Each module is pretty complex and it's really easy to describe things incorrectly which is fun. My only possible complaint is that it seems like the manual is always the same so at some point if you play enough you might become a little familiar with the modules and how to talk through things. Likewise the bomb defuser might get really good at describing the modules.

Still, as a casual game it seems super fun! Also a really cool experience that is pretty unique to VR.

Thanks for the review!