How is the overall experience of playing with one of the best virtual reality headsets in the world? We answer this question in our PlayStation VR 2 review.
In the past years, Sony’s entry into the field of virtual reality was noticed by many people thanks to the presence of the PlayStation brand. After the release of PlayStation VR for PlayStation 4, many expected the appearance of a new version of PlayStation VR for 9th generation consoles. With the step-by-step unveiling of various parts of PlayStation VR2, Sony had a not-so-glorious unveiling without holding big conferences, despite the expectation. Now PlayStation VR2 has reached Zoomji for $550 so that we can have a detailed review of the features of this virtual reality headset.
PlayStation VR2 virtual reality headset by the store Palm Market Provided by Zoomji. By purchasing VR2 from Nakhel Market, you will get one month of free subscription to Nakhel Plus to experience VR2 games.
Watch the VR2 review on YouTube
PlayStation VR2 has been launched with all the changes. Among the features of PlayStation VR 2, we can mention VR Sense 2 handles, eye movement tracking sensor, 4KHDR display for each eye, the presence of haptic feedback on the headset and a price tag of $550. Sony has tried to launch a quality product for PlayStation 5 owners.
PlayStation VR 2 review
The generational change between VR and VR2 is very noticeable at the first use of the headset. No more cables, separate devices to connect and outdated PlayStation Move controllers. Now you can connect the PlayStation VR2 headset to the console with only one USB Type-C cable and start playing games without worrying about hanging too many cables.
Of course, the way the cable is placed sometimes becomes a bit annoying when playing games that require a lot of physical activity, but you get used to it over time.
The easy setup of PlayStation VR2 makes this virtual reality headset even more enjoyable. By holding a tour and with the help of animations, Sony tells the user all the tips and warnings necessary to use the headset. With VR2 connection, you have to scan your surroundings, the environment scanning animation makes the process of environment detection interesting for the user by recognizing the surrounding objects.
However, VR2 cameras have problems in bright environments. This problem also arises in detecting walls with a fixed color, including studios, in the way that we had problems when recording programs in the environment scanning phase. Now, unlike PlayStation VR, VR2 no longer needs a separate camera to detect the surrounding environment. Sony has made it easy to work with PlayStation VR2 by placing four cameras on the headset.
But what are the uses of these cameras? First, you need to scan the environment, after scanning, you can determine the range of your room with the VR2 Sense controllers. Now, thanks to the cameras that are scanning the environment every second, if you enter the danger zone, PlayStation VR 2 will notify you of the danger of hitting objects or leaving the safe zone by displaying the safe margin. Now a function button is also placed under the headset, by pressing it, the image of the cameras is displayed.
Of course, you can also experience the games while sitting. In the sitting position, a circular border is considered to maintain the safety of the user. The presence of this technology helps a lot to maintain the health of the player, after a long experience of the games, I can say that even in large environments, it is possible to leave the safe margin.
VR2 virtual reality headsets have made significant progress in terms of technology. Now two other OLED displays with a resolution of 2000 x 2040 in the headset show the image to the user, which are ironically 4K HDR. Thanks to the monitors supporting 120 Hz, now you can have an experience with this frame rate if the games support the rate of 120 frames per second. This is almost a fourfold improvement compared to the previous generation. On the other hand, the 110-degree field of view completely immerses you in the game environment. In the game Horizon: Call of the Mountain, you will be completely immersed in the surrounding environment, landscapes and the beauty of the Elvi lady and exciting battles.
On the other hand, Sony has also brought the eye tracking sensor to VR2. At the time of launch, a section is dedicated to the eye tracker, now by looking at different points in the game, the built-in tracker will notice where your eyes are looking and increase the resolution of the point so that you have an experience similar to reality with more impact.
Sony has also thought about the comfort of placing the headset on your head. Although the VR2 headset is 560 grams and it seems lighter compared to the VR2 headset by 40 grams, the weight distribution of the VR2 has caused it to put a lot of pressure on the user’s neck and especially the nose. This gives the user a heavy feeling of weight. The VR 2 is about 55 grams heavier than the MetaQuest 2, which seems to be mainly due to the use of separate parts to create haptic feedback. However, compared to Velo Index, we see a much lighter headset. Velo Index with a higher price has a weight of about 800 grams.
Personally, I had two serious problems with the VR2 headset. First, if you have a bony nose, you will experience significant pain on your nose after an hour of playing games. On the other hand, if you put your nose lower, you will see the closing of your airway. Sony has placed a physical wheel on the headset that you can move to change the distance between the two cameras. Opening this distance makes it easier to place the headset on the nose, but during the experiments, you will see the headset falling down.
Sony has also placed a physical button on the back of the headset so that by pressing it you can put the headset on your head more easily. Around the button, you can tighten the headset on your head by turning the gear wheel. On the other hand, there is a physical button on the display section to adjust the front part of the headset. This button also helps a lot to position the headset. Unfortunately, if you place the headset a little higher or lower, you will see the image blurring and the texts becoming illegible.
Adjusting the headset to the face is a bit difficult anyway. With more than 30 minutes of experience, your face will sweat a lot, so we suggest placing a fan in front of you. The sweat on your face also causes the headset to slip.
Sony has put the sound work in charge of a headphone with a 3.5 mm jack. The headphones are placed well and there is a suitable place to put them on the headset, but the quality of the headphones is extremely low. Due to the quality of the headphones and the unique appearance, you will probably have a problem in getting the headphones for the VR2 again. Sony has always included low-quality headphones in the box of its PlayStation 4 and VR headsets. This is while we are all aware of the ability of this company to produce high-quality headset and headphone products.
In addition, the vibration inside the Playstation VR 2 virtual reality headset conveys the feeling of impact to the player, especially under the waterfall and battles. I had this experience in Song in the Smoke while going under the waterfall. It was a unique and beautiful experience.
After the success and acclaim of the Dual Sense controller, now Sony has brought the attractive features of this controller to VR 2 Sense. The spherical design of the handles and their excellent placement in the hand play a very important role in improving the experience of playing with VR2. Sony has used the same materials as PlayStation 5 and Dual Sense in VR2 Sense and VR2. As a result, yes, they get dirty in the long run, and if the handles hit the headset hard in the middle of playing, they get stained. Is it possible for groups to collide with each other? Yes, this possibility occurs many times in different games. This issue exists in all virtual reality headsets according to the type of game.
All Dual Sense features such as haptic feedback and adaptive trigger are present in VR2 Sense. Sony has also brought a much-needed feature to VR2Sense that was missing from DualSense. Finger touch detection sensor, the presence of these sensors on the buttons has made the main character’s hand to be punched in the game when you punch your hands. Of course, note that the sensors detect collisions when touched, and naturally there is no need to press the buttons for the sensors to react.
The VR2 Sense grips are the best of their kind on the market and Sony has made another good design in its grips.
Answer to a question: Can we use VR2 as a display for non-VR games? Yes you can. Unfortunately, the VR2 Sense handles don’t work during normal gaming experiences, but by removing the Dual Sense, you can use the VR2 like a TV.
The first and biggest problem you will face to experience games on VR2 is the lack of support for VR games in VR2. VR2 is not compatible with VR games, so all those free games that are available on Plus are of no use to you. The reason for this is the difference in technology. VR games used to require a separate camera, but VR2 games work with the camera on the headset. So apart from $550, you have to spend $20 to $60 or more for each game. Before buying, pay attention to the VR2 icon so that you don’t buy the wrong game.
The experience of games with the VR2 headset is related to two different conditions, if you do not have motion sickness or motion sequence, then congratulations, you are really a lucky person and you can play easily. You only need to take off the headset every half hour to relax your brain and eyes. But if you have motion sickness like me, you will face a problem. After playing Horizon Call of the Mountain for an hour and a half, I slept for three hours to let my brain go back to factory settings.
Unfortunately, people who have this disease, when they walk in the game, due to the lack of movement of the legs, the brain cannot understand this contradiction, and as a result, they feel the feeling of falling, confusion, and nausea.
However, in the three games Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, Song in the Smoke and Cosmonious High, there is a possibility called teleport, which was also available in some virtual reality games before. In these games, instead of moving with the buttons, you teleport simply by specifying the desired location. In these three games, after playing for three hours in a row, I did not feel nauseous and I felt completely fine.
However, in Horizon Call of the Mountain, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, Kayak VR, and Gran Turismo 7 VR, I had to lay down for several hours. Therefore, if you have motion sickness and you insist on buying a headset, go for the games that have the ability to teleport. I advise you to try VR2 in a store or at a friend’s house before buying it. Because you won’t notice motion sickness until you have half an hour of playing with a headset.
All in all, the VR2 virtual reality headset gives you very interesting features at a price of $550, which is more than the console itself. The truth is that the price of the headset is very expensive, especially for Iranian players. But let’s make a comparison. When we compare the $550 price of the VR2 with the $1,000 Velo Index or the $600 HP Reverb G2, in the virtual reality headset market, with the features that the VR2 has, it cannot be said that the price of the headset is too high; I emphasize in the market of virtual reality headsets.
However, products like Meta Quest 2 are now sold in the market at a price of $400; MetaQuest 2 not only has the ability to play standalone games without the need for a separate system, but by connecting it to a PC, you get a large collection of games. However, on PlayStation 5, only two VR and VR2 headsets are available to experience virtual reality games. PlayStation VR2 does not currently connect to PC at the time of writing this reviewHowever, in the future, there is a possibility of releasing VR2 games on PC according to Sony’s new policies.
Should we buy VR2 or not? If you have extra money and don’t have motion sickness, you can enjoy the world of virtual reality by buying a headset. If you have motion sickness and have extra money, I recommend you only try games that have the ability to teleport.
But if you don’t have the money, VR2 is more like a device that you play for a month and then it ends up in the corner of the house. You can spend the money of this virtual reality headset on more important parts of your life or your gaming life and maybe have more fun.
