Sony’s jump into virtual reality with the PlayStation VR has proved more successful than many of us anticipated, including Sony. In less than a year on the market, players have bought more than one million headsets, and it comes as no surprise to us because in our review of the VR headset, we found the hardware to be very impressive.
As with all video game platforms, the hardware can’t win over and maintain loyal fans on its own. It takes a steady lineup of great games and luckily for the PlayStation VR, there’s been plenty of that to keep us busy since launch. Here’s our list of the best PSVR games available today.
‘Astro Bot Rescue Mission’
Remember the little robots that populate The Playroom, the pre-loaded game that comes with every PS4? Astro Bot Rescue Mission takes those little guys on a grand platforming adventure across five worlds and more than 50 levels. Astro Bot does for PSVR what Super Mario 64 did for Nintendo 64.
As a third person platformer, Astro Bot excels in a similar way as Moss before it, but its level design and a unique smattering of gadgets bring it to a level we haven’t experienced before on PSVR. Astro Bot does a stellar job of making you feel as if you are in the game, despite the perceived limitations of a third person vantage point in VR.
It’s a wholesome, endlessly fun platformer that will more than likely go down as one of the all-time 3D platformer greats. An argument can be made that Astro Bot is the first game on PSVR worthy to be referred to as a system seller.
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‘Tetris Effect’
Tetris Effect improbably makes the classic puzzle game feel new again. From the studio behind the Rez and the Lumines series’, Tetris Effect injects the studio’s alluring music and environmental effects to make a hypnotizing new take on what is arguably the greatest video game of all time. Blocks change gradients and morph into entirely new colors and compositions as the synthesized soundtrack alters with each move you make.
All around the board, calming backgrounds shift as you play. Tetris Effect essentially turns you into a composer of your own rhythm-puzzle game. Once you get in a groove, it’s hard to put the controller down. In PSVR, the experience is enhanced to make Tetris feel startling alive. You’ve played this game many times before, but you’ve never played it in such an enchanting format.
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‘The Exorcist: Legion’
An episodic game based on the popular movie of the same name, The Exorcist: Legion places you in the shoes of a Boston homicide detective who investigates a disturbing murder of an area priest. Each episode tells a new part of the terrifying story, expanding its scope throughout, introducing you to new and terrifying horrors each step of the way. So far, three of the five episodes have been released for PSVR.
Beware, this is probably the most frightening experience available on the platform. Filled with jump scares and nerve-wracking creepiness, you may have to take a few breaks before finishing each episode. The Exorcist: Legion is one of the more admirable video games based off of a movie franchise in recent years. Horror fans should pick this one up immediately.
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‘The Persistence’
The Persistence combines two genres that we rarely see together: horror and rogue-likes. The eponymous spaceship is on a mission to colonize a planet far from Earth, but it goes off course and enters a black hole. Everyone on board dies, but as a science fiction game, you have the opportunity to regain life by getting the ship back to Earth. The main problem is the ship is now crawling with mutants that block your path to the ship’s controls.
The Persistence plays like a stealth game in that you have to sneak your way past ruthless enemies. If you get caught, you’re probably gonna die (again). What makes The Persistence so great besides its chilling atmosphere and brutal enemy design is that each time you boot it up, a new ship layout is born. The ship’s floors and rooms are randomly generated, meaning that no matter how many times you play it, there is room for new frights.
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‘Firewall Zero Hour’
With the exception of the excellent Rigs: Mechanized Combat League, there aren’t very many competitive multiplayer shooters on PlayStation VR. First Contact Entertainment Firewall Zero Hour not only fills this void but does it with brilliant tactical gameplay that fans of Rainbow Six Siege will instantly love.
With multiple playable characters and customizable weapons, you can outfit yourself with the exact gear you want to take into battle, and everyone in your squad must play a role in order to succeed. With the excellent PlayStation VR Aim Controller in your hands, you feel even closer to the action.
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‘Until Dawn: Rush of Blood’
At its best, a VR game can feel like the most intense thrill ride you’ve ever been on, and Until Dawn: Rush of Blood understands this. The horror-shooter sends you onto a terrifying rollercoaster filled with monsters, and you must make quick use of your pistols, shotguns, and other weapons in order to survive.
The game includes multiple pathways, so you can continue to replay it as you work your way up the leaderboards, and around the Halloween season, it’s the perfect game to show to friends who aren’t familiar with PlayStation VR. Just don’t play it too close to bedtime.
Read our full Until Dawn: Rush of Blood review
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‘I Expect You to Die’
It doesn’t technically have anything to do with 007 or the James Bond franchise, but I Expect You to Die delivers the white-knuckled and tense spy action you’d expect from the series. Armed with special telekinetic abilities, you must escape certain death using only your wits – and whatever tools you can find in the environment.
Defuse bombs and stop rooms from flooding before they kill you, and prove your handler wrong. I Expect You to Die’s retro aesthetic feels like it was pulled directly out of a ‘60s spy film, all with a healthy dose of humor to make each death feel a little less painful.
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‘Batman: Arkham VR’
Sure, Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham trilogy and Batman: Arkham Origins made you feel like Batman, but what if you could actually become Batman? Batman: Arkham VR switches the action to first-person view as you thwart the efforts of Gotham’s most nefarious criminals, solving puzzles along the way and taking out enemies with a variety of famous gadgets.
Though much shorter than Rocksteady’s other titles, the opportunity to step into the Dark Knight’s suit and dawn his cowl is worth the price of admission, and it even expands on some characters’ stories from the other Arkham games.
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‘Star Trek: Bridge Crew’
Star Trek has an incredibly loyal and dedicated fanbase, and with Star Trek: Bridge Crew, they can jump into the chair of a Federation ship and help explore parts unknown. With the Vulcan population in search of a new home, it’s up to the crew of the U.S.S. Aegis to travel to The Trench in hopes of finding a replacement.
Played with a group of friends, the game supports real-time lip sync to make it appear that the characters are actually speaking to each other, and a recent update now also allows those without PlayStation VR to experience Star Trek: Bridge Crew, as well.
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‘Doom VFR’
We’ve several AAA first-person games enable virtual reality support, but Doom VFR breaks the mold. Rather than simply remaking 2016’s Doom for PlayStation VR, developer Id created an entirely new game set a short time after the UAC Martian facility was overrun by demons.
As a recently-deceased human who has had their consciousness transferred into an artificial brain matrix, it’s up to you to foil the demons’ plans and restore security to the facility. Like with the 2016 game, there are plenty of different ways to blow demons to smithereens, and a teleportation system lets you zip around the battlefield and lay down the pain in a hurry.
Read our full Doom VFR review
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