Though the Sony PlayStation ‘PSVR 2’ headset is still without a concrete release date beyond a nebulous ‘early 2023’, Sony has started to hold a few hands-on sessions given us our first impression for the next-gen VR goggles.
Having remained fairly tight-lipped on the virtual reality headset, Sony eventually gave fans a thorough run-through of what to expect as part of a keynote at CES 2022 in January.
So now, we know the PlayStation 5 VR headset will support 4K HDR, 110-degree field of view visuals and an OLED display that offers 2000×2040 resolution per eye and frame rates of 90/120hz. It’s a serious step up on the existing PSVR headset that launched back in 2016. The question is, how much of an impact do these advancements offer? Well, a handful of press and content creators have been lucky enough to get a good few hours with the new headset.
On this page, we’re not going to go into the specifics about the nitty-gritty like foveated rendering. We’re just curious to know what people’s first impressions were of this new hardware. So if you’re wondering how the new headset is shaping up, here’s a quick roundup of the coverage that’s out there.
The Verge
Even after just a little bit of time with the device, it seems like the new headset will be a major upgrade from the original PSVR in nearly every way… Sony’s new Sense controllers were a marked improvement. The haptics were excellent, which may not be too surprising if you’ve felt Sony’s excellent haptics in the DualSense. The touch detection was a really handy way to interact with VR worlds. Sure, you can pick up weapons, but it also allows you to flex your fingers and interact with objects in a more natural way. It wasn’t perfect, nor was it available in every game we tried, but when it worked, it added an extra layer of immersion.
The full review is available here.
Eurogamer
Wow. Wow, wow, wow. That’s the word that keeps springing to mind when I try to sum up my time with PlayStation VR 2. As a fervent fan of VR for many years now, it’s safe to say that my first hands-on experience with Sony’s upcoming headset wowed my VR-loving socks off… Hopefully you can tell that I was supremely impressed with the PSVR2 though. I was already excited for Sony’s new headset but having experienced it for myself, I fully expect it to breathe a new lease of life into the slightly stagnating world of virtual reality gaming. It really is a huge step forward for PSVR in general, but as a simple to use, easy to wear piece of hardware, I can see it being a huge hit with VR fans new and old.
The full review is available here.
IGN
PlayStation VR2 thankfully feels like a modern entry into the VR landscape, with top-notch visual fidelity and comfortable ergonomics. Its haptics and adaptive triggers, if implemented well, will be a welcome addition to the immersive experience. As with all new pieces of hardware, the question now falls to whether there will be enough games to make the investment worth it. First-party games like Horizon Call of the Mountain certainly help assuage those fears, and while nothing has been announced yet, I would be shocked if the outstanding Half-Life: Alyx didn’t make its way to the platform.
The other key question is price. The original PSVR launched at $399, and considering the hardware on offer here, I wouldn’t be surprised to see PSVR2 launch at $499 – especially considering the inflation-related price increases that recently hit both the Meta Quest 2 and the PS5 itself in many territories. Still, for PS5 owners who want an easy (read: non-PC based) way to access a high-end VR experience, PSVR2 is very promising.
The full review is available here.
Polygon
Overwhelmingly, the thing that jumped out is that the hardware feels like the original PSVR brought up to date. Sony’s not rocking the boat or shifting plans around like others have been known to do; it’s continuing on the same path it began six years ago… As with any new piece of game hardware, the software support will matter more than the hardware itself ever will. And thus far, it seems like Sony’s on the right track there, with a good mix of genres and licenses, though it’s still early. Horizon looks much more substantial than most of the big license spinoff games we saw for PSVR1, and while these four games are all tied to big brands, Sony announced yesterday that Quest favorite dungeon crawler Demeo is coming to PSVR2 as well.
The full review is available here.
