PlayStation VR2 Review – Tweakers

It’s smaller than I thought. Of all the things I already knew about Aloy, all the things I’d experienced over the past few years in the wonderful world of Horizon, this was something I could only experience in VR: standing up for myself, coming face to face with the heroine from Horizon: Zero Dawn and Horizon: Forbidden West and conclude that this woman of enormous stature is actually quite petite. No, of course my height isn’t necessarily displayed correctly in the game and so it’s not possible to determine Aloy’s relative height, but it says it all about the experience. With PlayStation VR2, you literally see the world of Horizon in a different way.

PlayStation VR2 is of course the successor to PlayStation VR, the virtual reality device that debuted for the PlayStation 4 at the end of 2016. Here’s an open door: the new is better. Very logical. Sony has spent more than six years improving the first version in all sorts of ways and can also count on the PlayStation 5’s hardware, which is of course superior to its predecessor. We’ll be doing comparisons between the two glasses, but it’s interesting to see how the PS VR2 compares to the current level in the broader VR market. Of course we can’t really make this comparison, if only because we don’t have or haven’t been able to try all the glasses on, but at least we can give an idea of ​​how the PS VR2 performs overall.

PS VR2 improvements over the original start right out of the box. It turns out that this is not only packaging, but also a useful storage box for the headset and controllers: putting it back and taking it with you is very simple. Maybe not the most important, but useful. What you get out of the box is limited to the headset with a long USB-C cable, the controllers and a USB-C cable to connect the controllers. There are no crazy extra cables or boxes to put between the console and the headset: one of the biggest drawbacks of the first PS VR. This new version only needs a cable to be connected to the PlayStation 5. The cable is of course more than no cable, but the cord hardly gets in the way while you play. The length is sufficient to move about freely, but not the freedom you have with Meta Quest 2, for example. I could barely bother with the wire, but Woot felt constrained by it and in Horizon he felt like turning less quickly and using the thumbstick more, because he felt attached to a cable.

Excellent for modification

Connecting the PS VR2 is a piece of cake. You connect the included Sense controllers with a USB-C cable and the headset works as soon as you turn it on and off. That’s very simple. The headset comes with a strap that you can easily remove and pull over your head. Then you tighten the strap with a disc and you can change the position of the glasses by pressing a button and pushing the glasses towards your eyes. Then you can use another dial to adjust the position of the lenses to the position of your pupils. Thanks to the rubber frame around the glasses, it’s entirely possible to find a comfortable position that works well, as hardly any outside light reaches your eyes. What is noticeable with the PS VR2 system is that the headset can feel a little cramped. We achieved the best picture quality by properly tensioning the strap, which puts too much pressure on your head and leaves a nice imprint on your forehead.

The follow-up question on this point, which we’ve also seen a lot in the comments under the CES preview, is: How’s that for eyeglasses wearers? If the best image quality is achieved with a snug fit, can you do that with glasses? Answer: It is certainly possible, but you will lose out in terms of light leakage. The headset should be placed slightly away from your head. The good news is that this can make for a great result for eyeglasses wearers, but the rubber will seal a little less tightly than if you could put the PS VR2 firmly on your head without wearing the glasses yourself.