It’s exciting to say this about a new piece of gaming hardware: PlayStation VR 2 is a true generational leap that makes the previous one look like a piece of junk. It’s not exactly cheap, but for $599.99 you get a high-end headset with a 4K OLED display with HDR, a 110-degree field of view, integrated tracking cameras and eye tracking, plus two of its fancy Sense controllers with the excellent adaptive triggers and haptic feedback that Sony introduced with the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller. The downside is that it requires a single USB-C cable to connect to a PS5, but that means it’s much, much more powerful when it comes to deliver fantastic graphics than a standalone headset like the Meta Quest 2. With all that, including some features not seen in even more expensive PC VR headsets like Valve’s Index and HP’s Reverb G2, PlayStation VR2 has catapulted VR. from console to the lead in almost every category… except for available games.
PlayStation VR2 – Design and features
PlayStation VR2 is an immediate improvement on its predecessor in every way, but the physical design is quite similar. Like its predecessor, it has a clean black-and-white look that’s PS5-matching, and it’s built around an adjustable head strap that’s separate from the VR screen itself, which does a great job of comfortably accommodating a wide range of people. range of head shapes and allows the weight of the shield to rest on the top of the head instead of the face. The adjustment mechanism at the back of the head strap is still a great way to get the perfect fit.
It’s nice to see that PS VR2 has a slider on the top left of the lens housing to quickly adjust the interpupillary distance of the helmet, and it is especially useful that the internal camera quickly measures the distance between the eyes during setup. Other than that, Sony has kept the device simple, with just two buttons at the bottom of the screen. The center button turns the headset on and off, and the other instantly activates passthrough mode, allowing you to see the real world in black and white without removing the headset. This is great if you need to adjust the controls or greet someone who has entered your play area. That said, it’s a bit disappointing that there are no physical buttons to adjust the volume.
Sony has kept the device simple
Everything else about PS VR2 seems a quantum leap over any other helmet in its price category, except for the HP Reverb G2 which, until now, offered a level of fidelity only accessible to PC gamers. This is no longer the case, and PlayStation VR2 is now the most affordable way to play PC-quality VR games in 4K resolution. Unlike the Reverb G2, however, the PS VR2’s display uses two HDR-compatible 2000 x 2040-per-eye OLED panels running at 120Hz and offering a 110-degree field of view, instead of the two 12-inch LCD panels. The slightly less glamorous 2,160 x 2,160 of the G2, running at 90Hz and offering a 98-degree field of view without HDR support. As a result, PlayStation VR2 displays a smoother, richer, and deeper image than anything else on the market today, save perhaps the Meta Quest Pro, which costs three times as much.
PlayStation VR2 – Setup and Drivers
Compared to the original PSVR, setup is a piece of cake. Instead of a bunch of cables and an HDMI switch that was a real hassle with (not to mention the tracking camera), PS VR2 has a single USB-C cable that you plug into PS5 and… voila! Then you’ll have to install a firmware update and quickly calibrate the controllers, eye tracking and distance between lenses, and the four tracking cameras will capture a scan of your room. It’s great to see how he accurately traces the geometry of a room and everything in it, including furniture, pets, and even coffee table leftovers. Once the play area is defined, the protective walls of PS VR2 emerge from the floor, clearly marking which parts of the room are safe.
It’s easy to recalibrate or adjust settings at any time from the PlayStation 5 main menu, and anyone familiar with the PS5 control center will have no problem navigating seamlessly between the VR experience and the PS5 main menu. Even so, it’s great that someone can stand outside the PS VR2 headset and control the experience from a distance with a DualSense controller. This can make setup a lot easier if you’re trying to show PS VR2 to someone who doesn’t often spend time in VR or isn’t familiar with the PS5 interface.
If you’ve only used PSVR Move controllers, the moment you get hold of the included pair of Sense controllers is a revelation. The button layout and analog sticks will look familiar to anyone who has played room-scale VR in recent years, but they’ve been enhanced with the addition of tactile feedback and adaptive triggers. The analog sticks are half the size of those on the DualSense, but are still tactile, allowing for almost the same degree of precision as a D-Pad when playing a game of Tetris Effect: Connected, which is notoriously difficult to play on the Quest 2’s default touch controls. Additionally, each button features a capacitive touch function that detects whether or not you have your fingers on it, allowing you to make reasonably precise hand gestures. However, it’s not as sophisticated as the finger tracking on Valve’s Index knobs, so you’re limited to specific gestures like raising your thumb or pointing your index finger.
En juegos como Horizon Call of the Mountain y Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, you can feel the force of drawing a virtual bowstring or firing a virtual blaster through the resistance of the adaptive triggers. Haptic feedback enhances this effect by simulating certain forces, textures, and noises through dynamic vibrations. This can be felt in everything from crushing a large shipping container with your Godzilla-sized tentacles in Tentacular to tackling an opponent in 2MD: VR Football Unleashed, but it’s most impressive when producing subtle but precise vibrations for smoother interactions, like sliding your paddle against the flow of water in Kayak VR Mirage, where you can almost feel the resistance of the water through the haptic vibrations of the Sense controller.
You can feel the power of drawing a bowstring or firing a virtual blaster.
Of course, as with the DualSense, battery life is an issue: with so much vibration and resistance, a full charge only lasts four to five hours. That’s a long time for a VR gaming session, but the fact that you can’t swap out the batteries with a fresh pair means you could run out of juice if you forget to plug it in. Similarly, the ring-shaped layout of the Sense Knobs can take some getting used to, as it can be hard to figure out where your hands are supposed to go by touch, adding a bit of annoyance to the joy of introducing a someone new to VR. But they are comfortable to hold once you get the hang of them.
PlayStation VR2 – Gaming Performance
Unlike the OLED panel included in the original PSVR, PS VR2’s 4K HDR OLED panel offers richer colors and up to 120Hz refresh rate, bringing even the least visually detailed games to life. Screen door effect was never an issue with PSVR, and it’s not here either, but with proper IPD calibration you can now tactically remove reflections as well. Being surrounded by 110 degrees of scenery at all times makes VR even more realistic. It’s 10 degrees higher than in the original PSVR, and it makes a significant difference in terms of visibility to the world around you. It’s still like wearing a diving mask, only bigger and less claustrophobic.
PS VR2’s access to the graphical power of PS5 allows its games to have huge draw distances, very similar to their flat screen counterparts, and there is no better demonstration of this than Horizon Call of the Mountain. Fully simulated mechanical creatures can be seen running across the map, contrasted with waterfalls and picturesque mountaintops reflecting light in the distance. Similarly, Cities VR: Enhanced Edition lets you build urban agglomerations that come to life from a distance, and now you can see it all at once.
Also, PS VR2 has a new cheat that makes its integrated infrared camera tracks the movement of your eyes and uses that information to improve efficiency. Since it knows exactly what you’re focused on, it can devote all of its processing power to making that area super detailed, while everything else can be reduced to save resources. It’s also interesting that some games allow you to select menu options with your eyes or toggle interactions just by looking at a character. The only devices that can do this are the Meta Quest Pro, which costs 1,800 euros.
Another nice detail not seen in other popular VR games is Vibration built into the helmet, which adds a new layer of immersion to gameplay when applied at the right times. For example, the roaming dinosaurs in Jurassic World Aftermath and the explosions in Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge generate tactile vibrations that propagate through the helmet and match the distance, position, and intensity of the sounds they produce. It can bring cinematic detail to the sound design of games that skillfully implement it, but getting the full experience requires proper 3D audio in addition to haptic technology, which means the disappointing bundled headset isn’t quite as good as the original. Sony Pulse 3D wireless headphones.
The disappointing bundled headphones aren’t quite as good as Sony’s Pulse 3D wireless headphones.
Unfortunately, you’re out of luck if you expect all of this to work with your PSVR catalog of games. Due to the great improvement it represents, PS VR2 represents a clean slate for the entire PlayStation VR library, so even if you’ve spent hundreds of dollars on PSVR games that were on the list of PS VR2 games at the launch window, you’ll still have to buy them again (although some publishers have announced free PS VR2 upgrades for the games). of existing PSVR). And considering that not many new games have been announced yet, it may be a while before PS VR2 catches up with other platforms in terms of selection. But hey, it has Beat Saber, what else do you need?
PlayStation VR2
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599,99 €
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PlayStation VR2 can seem expensive, as it costs more than the console you’ll need to use it. Still, it’s such a huge leap from the original PSVR in terms of ease of use, visual quality, and immersion that any PlayStation owner who loves virtual reality should upgrade ASAP. Its 4K HDR OLED display and super-touch Sense controllers are the most obvious upgrade, but PS5’s plentiful changes to quality of life and raw power set the tone. a new standard for how console VR games should play and feel. The downside is that, like any new platform, its short launch range makes the lack of backwards compatibility with original PSVR games a major issue, but one that will only improve as Sony and other developers release new games that take advantage of the features. unique to PSVR2.
