As one of the resident VR experts on IGN, I got handed a big drink of water, a PS VR2, and was asked to whip up A Heads On Guide to the PlayStation VR2 Games to Consider First. Now that we've exited the launch phase of that device and are entering the exosphere of PS VR2's second year of life, it's time I updated you with a living and constantly expanding list of especially memorable and/or outright must-owns for this device.
Armed with my iron stomach and veteran "VR sea legs," I'm going to quantify things for you a little differently this time. Whereas the original article was an exhaustive, alphabetical checklist of 35+ bangers, I'm going to corral my picks into clusters of rough genre class and use case. [Note: I'll also be concocting a separate list that will explore our options for cross-play multiplayer with Quest 2/3 and PCVR.]
And so, without further ado, let's highlight the best second year (and beyond) PS VR2 experiences that really ought to be in your collection...
PS VR2 + Horizon: Call of the Mountain
If you've been considering a purchase of a PS VR2, I'd definitely advise you get this Horizon pack. It's not the longest game in the world, but it's an absolutely brilliant (and as yet unmatched) showcase of what your headset and Sense controllers can do.
A spotlight on what I'm currently playing (and digging)
Alien: Rogue Incursion
Let me whip out the plasma torch and cut to the chase right here. Is Alien: Rogue Incursion an equal to the best in franchise, bunghole-puckering Alien Isolation? That’s an imperfect comparison as they’re very different species. Isolation (which I adored) was primarily a stealth affair against one belligerent bug with incredibly reactive AI and T-1000 levels of toughness. The pistol and incinerator unit provided were largely red herrings; a nearby storage locker to hide and poop your pants in was needed more.
In stark contrast, developer Survios should have slapped an extra S into today’s subject and called it Aliens Rogue Incursion. Whereas Isolation held to the Ridley Scott ethos of “In Space No One Can Hear You Scream and/or Soil Yourself,” Incursion stans Jim Cameron’s “This Time It’s War with Pulse Rifles” approach.
Forget the slow-burn xeno reveal that typically occurs. When you snap into the shin armour of today’s Vasquez understudy, you’ll be shaking hands with an M41A pulse rifle, pistol, ‘nades and shottie (and a "hold for use" tracker) to go bug huntin’ inside of 10 minutes. For my run, this translated into a five-to-six-hour stint (as this is an episodic affair) where my stress levels were more Hudson than Hicks, even with an ammo counter at 99.
Expect a surprisingly great balance of action, "crap-tech" hacking, and horror that’s only marred by late-game backtracks and this inaudible, two-minute dinner bell that rings and repeatedly spawns xenos on your 20. Regardless and despite my heavy scepticism going in, this is one express elevator to hell worth hoppin' a dropship for.
Contents
- Best 2024 PS VR2 Shooters
- Best 2024 PS VR2 Cockpit Sitdowns
- Best 2024 PS VR2 Tensionfests
- Best 2024 PS VR2 Chill Out Games
- Best 2024 PS VR2 Silliness and Workouts
- Best 2024 PS VR2 Sizeable Experiences
- Best 2024 PS VR2 Wish Fulfilment Games
For when your Sense Controllers need to become six-guns (or the odd sword).
Metro Awakening
Excuse the train puns, but Metro Awakening takes ages to pick up steam as its freighting in tons of exposition. But that's actually a compliment—if you want to mindlessly mow down mobs of post-apoc freaks, the current VR landscape overfloweth with those sorts of romps. Awakening is more about hitching a fist-class, 10-hour-long carriage to a beloved multi-book franchise. Also bringing some horrifically good-looking dank, the survival of which requires a mastery of mainline Metro mechanics. (Think: headlamps must be recharged, googles wiped, gas masks maintained, and bullets—the currency of this world—must be scavenged like pearls.)
Couple all of the above with frequently intense paranormal moments and butt-clenching fights against wall-lurkers with decent pack AI, and Awakening feels special. It's the first VR shooter in a long while to close some distance between Half-life: Alyx and everything else.
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Vertigo 2
Even in the face of those free, bolt-in VR updates for Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Village, I still think you'll be thoroughly impressed by the first-person shooter stylings of Vertigo 2. Clever and original, though clearly inspired by the cross-dimensional shenanigans of Half-Life 2, Vertigo 2 casts you as an alien exterminator in a secret base gone to shazbot. Cue: a shoulder full of sci-fi boomsticks, multiple boss fights, and insane production values for a one-person dev team.
Though the narrative is reasonably engaging and skews towards Rick and Morty weirdness, it's the unique weaponry and challenging firefights that made me fall for this 10 hour shooter. I couldn't resist the urge to push further in to find (or puzzle acquire) yet another attitude-adjuster or a one-use upgrade station to enhance an older favourite. Better yet, there are a bunch of reasons to NG+ this, thanks to unlockable characters with unique abilities that really shift the way you play. Truly, a surprise gem (for PS gamers at least) that ought to be at the top of your wishlist.
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Vendetta Forever
At a glance, Vendetta Forever looks like an amalgam of SUPERHOT microfights (sans the movement=time tethering) and Pistol Whip (minus a blast-to-the-beat rollercoaster ride). That said, and through very fogged-up eyepieces, I watched VF become its own thing—a 61-puzzle, 50-weapon "John Wick-ipedia" of the sickest action setpieces in films.
The key differences here are: enemy-dropped “green” weapons that (barely) rearm you versus “blue” dropped weapons that teleport you to your victim's position (the only means of locomotion). Expect a robust core workout as every lurch forward triggers another hornet’s nest of incoming slow-mo bullets and kitchenware to be limboed around. Also expect to be utterly delighted by a near constant layering in of clever new puzzle elements (i.e., using stealth/echolocation to evade/Daredevil fools to death) or just another endorphin-inducing The Matrix moment.
Vendetta Forever may only last a few hours, but its gun kata-ing is tough to truly master, and I’ve not wasted this much time in a practice range of delights since the venerable Perfect Dark. Basically, I challenge you to not grin like a goon as you fan-fire out headshots to save multiple hostages or intercept three shurikens and return them all to sender(s) in one triple-kill flick of your wrist. You’ll be John Woo’d in no time.
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Resident Evil 4 VR
Patched in freely after release, Resident Evil 4 VR represents a 5,000 Ptas jewel in PS VR2's crown, and as such, you should buy it at a high price. I found it to be immediately superior to Capcom's previous efforts on Resident Evil Village VR, purely on the virtue of it recognising every bonus from my “flat version” playthrough. Capcom's decision in Village to make us all start VR with a fresh save was 'zombie victim' levels of brainlessness.
The degree of care and effort put into this VR mode is astounding for a free bolt-on, with particular praise reserved for the sensible balancing that makes Village VR look like a slapped on afterthought. My personal highlights include dual-weilding a pistol and kinfe like MGS3-era Naked Snake, using the dedicated “stabbing grip” function for stealth-shank finishers, and figuring out one can “Arnie” reload the Skull Shaker shotgun with the semi-hidden gun twirl mechanic. Basically, the only thing preventing this from completely trouncing the exclusive Meta Quest 2 version is the lack of Mercenaries Mode functionality. Beyond that, this is a bloody great must-own that deserves a spot in every PS VR2 owner's suitcase.
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Hellsweeper VR
I firmly believe that performing janitorial tasks will constitute purgatory in the hereafter. Having said that, I would definitely be interested in attending if it’s similar to Hellsweeper VR, a power fantasy about dissecting demons and blasting abominations. With a smart-arse beetle stuck in your ear to guide you across The Infernal Lands in Twain, Hellsweeper rapidly becomes a satisfying, gravity-defying combination of high mobility gunplay, swashbuckling swordplay and showy magic.
Making your own solutions is the best part of fighting. Do you need to cut someone down? Use the designated hand gesture to summon a lovely broadsword, or simply rip a defeated opponent's Wolverine-clawed forearm off. Similarly, cartridges for your six-cylinder attitude-adjusters can be plucked out of the air, and while we’re on bullet time, you can slow it to execute graceful Sariento-esque somersaults over mobs of monsters. When you take into account the cross-play multi and clever mechanics interactions (such as using your telekinesis to gunsling your pistol a metre beyond your grasp), Hellsweeper VR is one heck of a great time.
Arizona Sunshine Remake
Though you may have already seen Arizona Sunshine praised in my OG 2023 article, this Remake edition totally earns a secondary mention. Vertigo Games basically gives us the sizable leap in tech and interactivity that occurred with Arizona Sunshine 2 (minus its inclusion of a command-able attack dog mechanic, obviously). Incidentally, I still feel that the follow-up is the superior game—so if you're on a tight budget, get it first.
Not only do the lighting, physics, and models look a helluva lot purtier than the PSVR1 mess I once squinted through, Remake is also content-laden with a decent stash of included DLC. Methodically popping Zs with modern controls—and getting beefier guns in my hands quicker, thanks to a tweaked campaign—elevated this to a new level of fundead. Much like a walker who’s taken a shotgun blast to the bonce, the small upgrade fee for this is a no-brainer.
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Sometimes it's all about the cockpit (and maybe a stick or a wheel)
Gran Turismo 7
Yes, technically, this incredible experience launched in 2022, but I feel a massive amount of updating and overhauls have tuned GT7 into a beefier beast. Also, anecdotally, the fact that it allows the game-wide use of a DualSense controller still makes it my go-to VR game when my Sense Controllers are dead and/or on the charge dock.
So, what's changed since launch? A bunch of track bolt-ins (including an ice race and my beloved Grand Valley) and a whopping 67 cars added. Most importantly, however, are some meaningful changes to the solo experience in the form of Master licenses/rewards, Weekly challenges, and an Event Directory. For the deep pocketed, there's also a great new way to experience GT7 using the new official Fanatec Gran Turismo DD Extreme wheel. Personally, I prefer the Logitech approach, however.
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Step out of your comfort zone (and make sure your pets are clear)
Madison VR
When it comes to horror in VR, it takes a lot to make the hairs on the back of my neck stick up. I've endured some stuff—like Resident Evil 7 on Madhouse difficulty and the current Everest, which is Alien Isolation modded for PCVR—and I just seem to know how to mentally compartmentalise it all. That being said, and much to my delight, Madison VR put me on edge quickly and kept me there for about 6 hours.
Chalk that result to superb audio design, an intense "combat" system reliant on a disempowering Polaroid camera, and the choice to nudge this mind-bending escape house towards the supernatural. Zombies and xenos are material and logic bound; the threat of having people, places, or things do the freakishly impossible (often just beyond one's peripheral vision) triggers the ol' P.T. PTSD. Don't sleep on this one. And then, after a purchase and a play, maybe don't plan on doing much sleeping soon after.
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Propagation: Paradise Hotel
If your ideal holiday is staying at a ScareBNB—or a Dead & Breakfast where you're the one who's toast come sunrise—you'd probably also enjoy a booking with Propagation: Paradise Hotel. The itinerary you can expect during your slay: a supremely unnerving soundscape, desperate gun defense via piddling torchlight, dwindling ammo reserve management, and almost ceaseless tension for a 3-to-4-hour runtime. Oh, and absolute best-in-class hand dryer haptics. Bar none.
Other highlights include some surprisingly great visuals that shriek along at 120 fps, rock solid puzzling, and the odd heart-in-your-mouth stealth section and/or boss battle. Honestly, that's pretty much all I can say about this unexpected gem without venturing down a hallway marked "spoilers." Resist the urge to safe space this; definitely go in on the hardest difficulty possible to savour the high-quality experience that is here.
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Kill It With Fire VR
To be perfectly honest, this one could be at home in the Silly Shenanigans category of this article, because the call comes down to how you feel about creepy crawlies who jack-in-the-box. This could be the Australian in me talking, but arachanids are pretty low on my phobias (pole position belongs to sock puppets). However, when I handed the headset to my mild-mannered partner for a go of Kill It With Fire VR, she swore her way out of that headset in seconds. Feels like a pretty good tension indicator to me.
The concept here is as simple as it is addictive: snoop around a cartoony room with increasingly outlandish / overkill weaponry, murder eight-legged threats, and do the odd chore on your checklist. Once again, though: these creepies don't kill, nor can you nuke yourself with an RPG launcher you've just brought into the living room, the "challenge" here is wholly dependent on one's thoughts on being stalked by spideys. So yeah, horrifying or hilarious—Choose Your Own Adventure!
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All of the next-level escapism with way less of the incidental exhaustion.
Puzzling Places
Here's another 2023 title that I'm giving an 'Honorary 2024 Title' pass to, thanks to it receiving some sort of game-changing feature addition. In this instance, that's a free two-player mode patch (and a 1.45x render resolution increase). Now you and a fellow VR-owning mate (PS VR2, Pico or Quest) can exist in the same virtual space and bicker about how to put exploded 3D objects back together again.
Honestly, whether or not you do play this solo or with a friend, the Puzzling Places experience is much more enthralling in practice than it sounds on paper. I've already gleefully invested double digit hours into the 20ish boxed in puzzles. I'm now looking to expand out into the hundreds of reasonably priced DLC ones.
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Toy Trains
No matter which VR platform you own, you should have something sedate sitting in your library. Something shallow end. Something that can wow the oldies, or any other non-gamer who, up until this point, has never even conceived of how cool this medium is. For my money, I recommend Toy Trains. It's the gateway drug that I pushed onto my anti-gaming octogenarian father, and he became utterly consumed with solving train-based conundrums in no time flat.
Imagine my surprise then, when he left for the day and I took over to become equally lost in the low-stakes, LEGO-ing together of a little locomotive world. Utterly zen and delightful, but a bit on the short side, Toy Trains is the perfect proposition if you wish to relax, regress a little, and bust out your best Ringo Starr impression to narrate impromptu tales about your trains. (That could just be a me thing, though.)
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Walkabout Mini Golf
I like big putts, and I cannot lie. That's especially true if I'm in a virtual space with seven other mates (who look like tastefully decapitated Miis) and we're all happily talking trash and chipping away at our own pace. Not only does Walkabout Mini Golf impress as the coolest 'Skype party call + sports' package around, it's also a brilliant solo experience. I've happily lost hours and hours on this. Some of those were standing affairs, other times I'm playing in a lazy-man seated position, thanks to the self-adjusting telescopic putter.
It's also worth knowing that these endearingly low-poly courses are actually vast sandboxes that hide 10 lost balls. Collect 'em all—or just Tiger Woods your way into a low score—and you'll earn 'fox hunts' around these cleverly designed holes. Lastly, I'm a huge fan of the robust physics that allow for ludicrous power shots, ricochet airtime, and speaker-shredding victory cheers when you albatross the crap out of some fiendishly designed deathtrap.
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For when it's time to amuse visitors, or accidentally break furniture.
Ragnarock
Who'd a thunk that a game where you thwack drums to hasten a Viking ship into the end-times could be this...oarsome? For my part, I went into this one largely already catered to, thanks to the demon slaying antics of Drums Rock. That said, Ragnarock boasts higher production values, more unlockable content to chase, and a toe-tapping 30 song soundtrack of unique, non-mainstream...er, bangers.
Whereas a turn on Drums Rock often felt like I was playing a pedal-less, band-less, mate-less VR Rock Band 4, Ragnarock is an odyssey into a setlist packed with badass sea shanties, power metal, and Celtic rock that I might otherwise never have listened to and loved. The clincher: It offers a pretty mad workout on Expert, six-player cross-platform multi, and leaderboards to keep you combo-chasing for hours. Try the demo if you don't believe me.
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Border Bots VR
Think: a "pretty genius, peanut butter and chocolate smash-together of Papers, Please and Job Simulator" and you're most of the way there. After some short on-the-job training (where you'll compare your emotional state to a picture of a dog or a cat), Border Bots VR becomes all about maning a checkpoint and scrutinising a bunch of polite but potentially terroristic droids.
The general idea is to do a "spot the difference" on a revolving door of robos against your list of accepted SKUs and physical 3D representations of "factory fresh" robo frames. What starts as menial busywork blooms into a bizarrely comedic experience that weighs in at roughly six hours in length and offers some good and bad endings. I'd still go Tentacular or Job Simulator over this first, but this bot-tastic jaunt gets my big green stamp as a worthy chaser.
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Epic Roller Coasters
Allow me to skip the queue of Reasons To Recommend by getting to the most obvious positive—Epic Roller Coasters is free, thanks to the ol' try before you buy approach. Once you do get hooked on the cheap endorphins of riding these rails, you can then ante up for one of 4 DLCs (i.e. Amusement Park Bundle, Real Places, Super Roller Coasters, or SpongeBob SquarePants). I think that will be a highly likely scenario...
If you can't be bothered to dedicate the time or SSD space to testing this yourself, let's fill in the blanks for you. Epic Roller Coasters does what it says on the tin, plus a little bit more—like zipping along at reasonable speeds with a pistol in your hand, targets all around you, a T-Rex behind you, and an enthusiatically vocal skeleton (or Santa) riding shotgun, just because. Better yet, there's an actual Race mode where you can control the speed of your coaster to push it beyond all reasonable OH&S limits, and derail yourself (or set a new rail speed record). Beyond you having some serious vertigo issues, there's simply no reason not to buckle up and take the plunge on this one.
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No glorified tech demos, just long-haul escapism in more 'full meal' games.
Legendary Tales
Let's address the cave troll in the room early: price. Is Legendary Tales of a quality to justify a AAA-level admission fee? I sure was skeptical going in, but now I stand convinced on the other side of a 20-hour playthrough that's bound to be the first of many. Because in the absence of any PS VR upgrade for Skyrim VR, this is the premiere PS VR2 dungeon-crawler—despite its Legendary Tales moniker being a misnomer. (Economically-Told By Text Tales is more spot on.)
But I digress. Though the small overworld + dungeon-floor-clearing antics make this more akin to a VR Diablo meets Soulslike penalties, you can also expect sharp visuals, sweat-inducing challenge, and the latitude to sculpt your own class and combat style. There's also surprisingly deep magic, blacksmithing, and perk trees to grow, though I leaned harder into the physics-based brawling that permits dual wielding, a ton of weapon types assignable to 11 (!!!) quick-slots, and some gratifying spellcasting. Flavour this Swordsman VR-style action with four-person co-op and epic weaponry to chase in NG+, and Legendary Tales is within striking distance of essential.
No Man's Sky
Uh oh. I'm doing it again—including older games that have been radically improved and enhanced since they first landed on PS VR2. No Man's Sky—modern gaming's greatest comeback story—has been studiously updated since VR support was bolted in. Most notably on the tech side: an impressive visuals boost due to fancy Foveated Rendering.
Content-wise, Hello Games has since injected this endless planet-mining, spacefaring, base-builder with two major updates, entitled Omega and Orbital. The former added a complete overhaul of expeditions, new on-planet missions, claimable pirate freighters, and much more. Orbital is all about getting your Millennium Falcon on by constructing brand new starships from salvaged parts and docking them into a variety of fandangle new space stations. Basically, this is now the ultimate time-waster and ludicrous value for your money / nanites.
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The never-gonna-happens that VR magic makes possible.
Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord
Using a positron collider, a PKE meter, and a ghost trap were absolute bucket list entries for '84-era me. You know—stuff I needed to do before I died (at which point I also wanted to come back and slime somebody as a disgusting green blob). Imagine my delight, then, when Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord achieved the aforementioned trifecta via a decent solo campaign plus 4P co-op experience.
All that being said, this ain't your father's Ghostbusters—more a modern homage that features a new crew, a San Fran setting, and this needlessly colourful "Real Ghostbusters" aesthetic going on. That's not really a dealbreaker once you power up a pack and get bustin' in a series of surprisingly decent...well, fishing boss battles. Because, at its core, that's what 'bustin is and why it feels good—track your prey, hook 'em, then reel that sucker down into a snap-trap basket. Sounds simple on paper. Kind of is in practice. But, with a crew of like-minded fans in your posse, the comradery and universe authenticity goes a long way to making one think (if only for a while) that there are no downsides, only Zuul.
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Adam Mathew played all of the above. He now has shocking "headset hair" and needs a really big drink of water.
