As one of the resident VR experts on IGN, I got handed a big drink of water, a PS VR2, and was asked to whip up A Heads On Guide to the PlayStation VR2 Games to Consider First. Now that we've exited the launch phase of that device and are entering the exosphere of PS VR2's second year of life, it's time I updated you with a living and constantly expanding list of especially memorable and/or outright must-owns for this device.
Armed with my iron stomach and veteran "VR sea legs," I'm going to quantify things for you a little differently this time. Whereas the original article was an exhaustive, alphabetical checklist of 35+ bangers, I'm going to corral my picks into clusters of rough genre class and use case. [Note: I'll also be concocting a separate list that will explore our options for cross-play multiplayer with Quest 2/3 and PCVR.]
And so, without further ado, let's highlight the best second year (and beyond) PS VR2 experiences that really ought to be in your collection...
The New Hotness
A spotlight on what I'm currently playing (and digging)
Madison VR
When it comes to horror in VR, it takes a lot to make the hairs on the back of my neck stick up. I've endured some stuff—like Resident Evil 7 on Madhouse difficulty and the current Everest, which is Alien Isolation modded for PCVR—and I just seem to know how to mentally compartmentalise it all. That being said, and much to my delight, Madison VR put me on edge quickly and kept me there for about 6 hours.
Chalk that result to superb audio design, an intense "combat" system reliant on a disempowering Polaroid camera, and the choice to nudge this mind-bending escape house towards the supernatural. Zombies and xenos are material and logic bound; the threat of having people, places, or things do the freakishly impossible (often just beyond one's peripheral vision) triggers the ol' P.T. PTSD. Don't sleep on this one. And then, after a purchase and a play, maybe don't plan on doing much sleeping soon after.
Contents
- Best 2024 PS VR2 Shooters
- Best 2024 PS VR2 Cockpit Sitdowns
- Best 2024 PS VR2 Tensionfests
- Best 2024 PS VR2 Chill Out Games
- Best 2024 PS VR2 Silly Shenanigans
- Best 2024 PS VR2 Sizeable Experiences
Best 2024 PS VR2 Shooters
For when your Sense Controllers need to become six-guns (or the odd sword).
Vertigo 2
Even in the face of those free, bolt-in VR updates for Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Village, I still think you'll be thoroughly impressed by the first-person shooter stylings of Vertigo 2. Clever and original, though clearly inspired by the cross-dimensional shenanigans of Half-Life 2, Vertigo 2 casts you as an alien exterminator in a secret base gone to shazbot. Cue: a shoulder full of sci-fi boomsticks, multiple boss fights, and insane production values for a one-person dev team.
Though the narrative is reasonably engaging and skews towards Rick and Morty weirdness, it's the unique weaponry and challenging firefights that made me fall for this 10 hour shooter. I couldn't resist the urge to push further in to find (or puzzle acquire) yet another attitude-adjuster or a one-use upgrade station to enhance an older favourite. Better yet, there are a bunch of reasons to NG+ this, thanks to unlockable characters with unique abilities that really shift the way you play. Truly, a surprise gem (for PS gamers at least) that ought to be at the top of your wishlist.
Tiger Blade
This one came out mere days away from the close of 2023, so I'm bending the rules to include it anyway. A more unique proposition when compared to the free movement FPSes mentioned in this article, Tiger Blade cuts its own Korean neo-noir path with a very stylish take on VR violence. The gist: almost like Time Crisis reborn, zip through a locale chock full of baddies and dispense with them via swordplay or a good old fashioned bullet to the bonce.
To be clear, it's all less on-rails and more point-to-point, thanks to the ability to choose when to grapple hook platform to fixed spots or applicable enemy types. And the power fantasy only gets better as Tiger Blade folds in the odd highway duel upon the back of Akira-esque motorcyles, speed running, and the thrill of nailing parry-happy boss encounters. I'd mark this to be roughly as intense and as satisfying as a whip through Pistol Whip, thanks to the finite health aspect. Mind you, Tiger Blade is not as essential, nor does its speedrun mode make it anywhere near as replayable.
Best 2024 PS VR2 Cockpit Sitdowns
Sometimes it's all about the cockpit (and maybe a stick or a wheel)
Gran Turismo 7
Yes, technically, this incredible experience launched in 2022, but I feel a massive amount of updating and overhauls have tuned GT7 into a beefier beast. Also, anecdotally, the fact that it allows the game-wide use of a DualSense controller still makes it my go-to VR game when my Sense Controllers are dead and/or on the charge dock.
So, what's changed since launch? A bunch of track bolt-ins (including an ice race and my beloved Grand Valley) and a whopping 67 cars added. Most importantly, however, are some meaningful changes to the solo experience in the form of Master licenses/rewards, Weekly challenges, and an Event Directory. For the deep pocketed, there's also a great new way to experience GT7 using the new official Fanatec Gran Turismo DD Extreme wheel. Personally, I prefer the Logitech approach, however.
Best 2024 PS VR2 Tensionfests
Step out of your comfort zone (and make sure your pets are clear)
Propagation: Paradise Hotel
If your ideal holiday is staying at a ScareBNB—or a Dead & Breakfast where you're the one who's toast come sunrise—you'd probably also enjoy a booking with Propagation: Paradise Hotel. The itinerary you can expect during your slay: a supremely unnerving soundscape, desperate gun defense via piddling torchlight, dwindling ammo reserve management, and almost ceaseless tension for a 3-to-4-hour runtime. Oh, and absolute best-in-class hand dryer haptics. Bar none.
Other highlights include some surprisingly great visuals that shriek along at 120 fps, rock solid puzzling, and the odd heart-in-your-mouth stealth section and/or boss battle. Honestly, that's pretty much all I can say about this unexpected gem without venturing down a hallway marked "spoilers." Resist the urge to safe space this; definitely go in on the hardest difficulty possible to savour the high-quality experience that is here.
Kill It With Fire VR
To be perfectly honest, this one could be at home in the Silly Shenanigans category of this article, because the call comes down to how you feel about creepy crawlies who jack-in-the-box. I gotta say, and this could be the Australian in me talking, arachanids are pretty low on my phobias (pole position belongs to sock puppets). However, when I handed the headset to my mild-mannered partner for a go of Kill It With Fire VR, she swore her way out of that headset in seconds. Feels like a pretty good tension indicator to me.
The concept here is as simple as it is addictive: snoop around a cartoony room with increasingly outlandish / overkill weaponry, murder eight-legged threats, and do the odd chore on your checklist. Once again, though: these creepies don't kill, nor can you nuke yourself with an RPG launcher you've just brought into the living room, the "challenge" here is wholly dependent on one's thoughts on being stalked by spideys. So yeah, horrifying or hilarious—Choose Your Own Adventure!
Best 2024 PS VR2 Chill Out Games
All of the next-level escapism with way less of the incidental exhaustion.
Puzzling Places
Here's another 2023 title that I'm giving an 'Honorary 2024 Title' pass to, thanks to it receiving some sort of game-changing feature addition. In this instance, that's a free two-player mode patch (and a 1.45x render resolution increase). Now you and a fellow VR-owning mate (PS VR2, Pico or Quest) can exist in the same virtual space and bicker about how to put exploded 3D objects back together again.
Honestly, whether or not you do play this solo or with a friend, the Puzzling Places experience is much more enthralling in practice than it sounds on paper. I've already gleefully invested double digit hours into the 20ish boxed in puzzles. I'm now looking to expand out into the hundreds of reasonably priced DLC ones.
Toy Trains
No matter which VR platform you own, you should have something sedate sitting in your library. Something shallow end. Something that can wow the oldies, or any other non-gamer who, up until this point, has never even conceived of how cool this medium is. For my money, I recommend Toy Trains. It's the gateway drug that I pushed onto my anti-gaming octogenarian father, and he became utterly consumed with solving train-based conundrums in no time flat.
Imagine my surprise then, when he left for the day and I took over to become equally lost in the low-stakes, LEGO-ing together of a little locomotive world. Utterly zen and delightful, but a bit on the short side, Toy Trains is the perfect proposition if you wish to relax, regress a little, and bust out your best Ringo Starr impression to narrate impromptu tales about your trains. (That could just be a me thing, though.)
Best 2024 PS VR2 Silly Shenanigans
For when it's time to unwind, amuse visitors, or accidentally break furniture.
Border Bots VR
Think: a "pretty genius, peanut butter and chocolate smash-together of Papers, Please and Job Simulator" and you're most of the way there. After some short on-the-job training (where you'll compare your emotional state to a picture of a dog or a cat), Border Bots VR becomes all about maning a checkpoint and scrutinising a bunch of polite but potentially terroristic droids.
The general idea is to do a "spot the difference" on a revolving door of robos against your list of accepted SKUs and physical 3D representations of "factory fresh" robo frames. What starts as menial busywork blooms into a bizarrely comedic experience that weighs in at roughly six hours in length and offers some good and bad endings. I'd still go Tentacular or Job Simulator over this first, but this bot-tastic jaunt gets my big green stamp as a worthy chaser.
Epic Roller Coasters
Allow me to skip the queue of Reasons To Recommend by getting to the most obvious positive—Epic Roller Coasters is free, thanks to the ol' try before you buy approach. Once you do get hooked on the cheap endorphins of riding these rails, you can then ante up for one of 4 DLCs (i.e. Amusement Park Bundle, Real Places, Super Roller Coasters, or SpongeBob SquarePants). I think that will be a highly likely scenario...
If you can't be bothered to dedicate the time or SSD space to testing this yourself, let's fill in the blanks for you. Epic Roller Coasters does what it says on the tin, plus a little bit more—like zipping along at reasonable speeds with a pistol in your hand, targets all around you, a T-Rex behind you, and an enthusiatically vocal skeleton (or Santa) riding shotgun, just because. Better yet, there's an actual Race mode where you can control the speed of your coaster to push it beyond all reasonable OH&S limits, and derail yourself (or set a new rail speed record). Beyond you having some serious vertigo issues, there's simply no reason not to buckle up and take the plunge on this one.
Best 2024 PS VR2 Sizeable Experiences
No glorified tech demos, just long-haul escapism in more 'full meal' games.
No Man's Sky
Uh oh. I'm doing it again—including older games that have been radically improved and enhanced since they first landed on PS VR2. No Man's Sky—modern gaming's greatest comeback story—has been studiously updated since VR support was bolted in. Most notably on the tech side: an impressive visuals boost due to fancy Foveated Rendering.
Content-wise, Hello Games has since injected this endless planet-mining, spacefaring, base-builder with two major updates, entitled Omega and Orbital. The former added a complete overhaul of expeditions, new on-planet missions, claimable pirate freighters, and much more. Orbital is all about getting your Millennium Falcon on by constructing brand new starships from salvaged parts and docking them into a variety of fandangle new space stations. Basically, this is now the ultimate time-waster and ludicrous value for your money / nanites.
Adam Mathew played all of the above. He now has shocking "headset hair" and needs a really big drink of water.
