PSVR – First Impressions

As a life long video gamer, having started with an Atari 2600 when I was nine, and my family’s Magnavox Odyssey II (pong, ping pong) a couple of years earlier, many of us could imagine and dream that the pinnacle of a video gaming experience would one day come. For me, that experience happened this past weekend with the arrival of Sony’s Playstation VR (PSVR) headset.

This wasn’t my first experience with VR. I’ve had the chance this past year to get comfortable with the MergeVR headset which uses your mobile phone for displaying the VR experience. And I’ve had a few hours of game time with HTC’s Vive. It actually does help in evaluating where the PSVR technology and gameplay experience is in comparison to the other platforms. Sadly, I haven’t had the chance yet to try an Oculus Rift, and can’t integrate that into my comparison.

First, be prepared to devote at least an hour to reconfiguring the cables behind your TV and Playstation 4. It’s not complicated, just tedious. As I’ve read in other reviews, setting up the camera and positioning it correctly is the most frustrating of the entire PSVR experience. I’ll concur with this, as calibrating and resetting the camera seems to be a necessary step after playing a few games even over a short period. I haven’t had enough time yet to perfect the setup and routine of this part of my gameplay experience.

[Tweet “”It delivered. I was transferred and immersed in an experience that made me jump.””]

So, speaking of experience, what was it like? I’ve read consistently good reviews about “Until Dawn: Rush of Blood”, and decided to play that first off the demo disc. It delivered. I was transferred and immersed in an experience that made me jump, look around at awe, and had a great game play experience. There was very little learning curve involved in picking this game up and getting going, and the demo convinced me this had to be an initial part of my game library.

Now the downside. I was geared up to give the “Drive Club” demo a spin after also reading a majority of good reviews and satisfaction from other players. The graphics were fantastic, and the immersion is great, but for me, I couldn’t handle the driving for more than a minute before motion sickness really kicked in and kicked in hard. It forced me to take the headset off before losing my lunch, and also required me to sit still and try to relax for a good 30 minutes before my equilibrium came back. I’m anxious now to put the HTC Vive back on and try the same or equivalent driving game and see if it causes the same motion sickness.

[Tweet “”I couldn’t handle the driving for more than a minute before motion sickness really kicked in.””]

This brings me to an important point. I think many purchasers are going to be extremely frustrated to purchase a game that may be as high as sixty dollars only to realize within minutes of playing it the first time that their inner ear can’t handle the experience. If the industry is going to build a loyal following of gamers to drive the early sales, I think it’s paramount that a demo, even a short demo, be provided for every game so a player can beforehand make a reasonable assumption whether it’s going to be a game they physically can tolerate to play or not.

I’d highly recommend not purchasing digital downloads of games, as it’s next to impossible to resell these on a secondary market. Stick to buying it on a physical disc if available, and if you do get stuck with something your stomach won’t allow you to play, at least you have an opportunity to recoup some of your dollars on eBay.