PS VR2 is the first time I have ever owned a VR headset. I've played them before, at a friend's house, at gaming conventions, at game stores, and always found VR to be enjoyable only in unique and energised experiences. I love beer pong (I play with rose wine because I have a lot of class), but I would never pour myself a glass of wine for relaxing on an evening then launch ping pong balls at it to grant myself permission to drink it. VR, I always thought, was to be enjoyed in crowds, something for the audience as much as for the player. It's a very expensive version of Jackbox that you slap on your head. I've grown to see the worth in its solitude, but this weekend I introduced two friends to it, and realised that no matter how many single-player experiences it puts out, VR is still beer pong, and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Beat Saber is still the only 🦂game consistently landing balls in b♊rews.
I was amazed by VR at first as a tool, but the actual experience of playing it always left me lukewarm. It was too fiddly, too precise, too obviously-this-would-be-better-if-I-could-sit-down-and-not-have-a-heavy-thing-on-my-head. We need a word for that last one. The Germans probably already do, but it'll be even longer than mine, so what's the point? In any case, with 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Horizon: Call of the Mountain, my overriding thought was that it just wasn't as good as 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Horizon: Zero Dawn or 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Forbidden West. With 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Walkin🍰g Dead: Saints & Sinners, it just wasn't as good as 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Telltale's The Walking Dead.
Most VR games just aren't as good as the non-VR worlds they inhabit. Creed: Rise to Glory is better in VR, but that's a specialised case of a sports title - the only genre that frequently excels in movement-based mediums while others seem to be chasing gimmicks. They're getting better, and I think it's fascinating to watch the medium evolve, but ultimately VR is still a party piece, and the king of the swingers is Beat Saber. Because you swing your arms, right?
I took my PS VR2 to a friend's house at the weekend, and their road into the world of VR was a bumpy one. First off, they tried out 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Jurassic World Aftermath, owing to their love of the movies. But a stealth game with very few actual dinosaurs of note doesn't really scratch that itch, even if you can physically press buttons and grab doors. It's the perfect example of 'just make a normal game instead'. Next was Tetris Effect, which was beset by technical issues and even when it worked it was just like wearing a TV on your head.
Finally, I turned to Beat Saber. I downloaded the game when I first got my PS VR2, but back then it was only compatible with PS VR, so no luck. I'd never played my version of it, only at a gaming convention a few years previously. Armed with the default tracks and the add-ons for Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish, we got to work. Beat Saber was a revelation for VR. Its ease of use, variety to approach (and with all the downloads, variety to its music library), competitive edge, and relatively short playtime compared to the exhaustingly long single-player sequences make it approachable and moreish in the way the best party games are.
Everyone will be different, and some players will be more lured in by a rotoscoped stealth adventure around Isla Nublar than by waving their arms around to Happier Than Ever. But Beat Saber feels head and shoulders above the competition for showing the fun and frivolity of VR. It might not have the technical power of Call of the Mountain, but no game better shows why strapping a set of goofy goggles to your head and standing up is better than sitting on the sofa. Beat Saber is a must have VR game - it's impossible to advertise the experience without it.
Obviously given how expensive VR headsets are, they need to offer something more. I respect people who are pushing the boundaries of the medium and if we ever want it to stand on par with regular games, we will need more than just more packs for Beat Saber (on the other hand, add a Taylor Swift pack please), and VR still has a lot of room to grow. At the same time, PS VR2 is rumoured to have sold fewer than PlayStation projected, and there aren't enough 'must-play' experiences in VR. If more games looked at what Beat Saber is doing, utilising the unique movement abilities of VR rather than trying to condense the triple-A experience into a headset, we might get there faster. In the meantime, cue up Rain On Me. I think I can beat my high score.