Tag: PSVR2

PS Plus Game Catalogue May 2023

After a slightly lacking April, May returns with a strong selection of titles. This month has given us more great PS1 titles, a PSVR2 title, as well as a stack of great games. These games are in addition to the PlayStation Plus Essentials you can find HERE.

All titles are available Tuesday May 16, 2023.

PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium

  • Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart – PS5
  • Humanity – PS4, PS5
  • Watch Dogs: Legion – PS4, PS5
  • Dishonored 2 – PS4
  • Dishonored: Death of the Outsider – PS4
  • Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin – PS4
  • Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition – PS4
  • Rise of the Tomb Raider – PS4
  • Shadow of the Tomb Raider – PS4
  • Bus Simulator 21: Next Stop – PS4, PS5
  • The Evil Within 2 – PS4
  • Wolfenstein: Youngblood – PS4
  • Thymesia – PS5
  • Rain World – PS4
  • Lake – PS4, PS5
  • Conan Exiles – PS4
  • Rune Factory 4 Special – PS4
  • Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town – PS4
  • Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town – PS4

PlayStation Premium Classics

  • Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow – PS4, PS5
  • Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light – PS4, PS5
  • Pursuit Force – PS4, PS5

Ratchet and Clank is a franchise that has stayed relevant for almost twenty years now. The games are fundamentally unchanged from the original core systems and mechanics of the original game. However, it’s the way in which this franchise has managed to tweak itself with modern systems and a new coat of paint with each generation of consoles that keep us coming back. Insomniac Games has a good feel for the PlayStation 5. Previously launching Spider-man Miles Morales with the console, and now with a PS5 exclusive that gives us a glimpse of what to expect when this new generation of gaming leaves the last generation behind. For now there are too many cross-platform games that are still trying to appeal to the owners of last gen, until then games like this will stand out. This game is a must play.

Humanity is a great get for PlayStation. It plays like a modern day Lemmings game where you need to lead people to what is perhaps the afterlife. Each stage is a puzzle so you can take on a stage or two at a time so you don’t get burned out. It is also worth noting that this is the first game in the catalogue that is also a PSVR2 title.

The modern Tomb Raider trilogy is now available. It’s a fantastic series. Now is a great time to get into them before the next title comes out. It would be great to see the original PS1 games enter the Classics Catalogue in the future.

This is a great month for everyone. It’s hard to tell for how long PlayStation can keep stacking great games to the game catalogue before we are relegated to lower tier titles.

Are you happy with this month’s picks from PlayStation?

Robert Ring

Before Your Eyes

…is a deceptively dark game that will take you on an experience from charming to devastating.

PlayStation VR2 is really beginning to feel natural the more and more I use it. The motion sickness I would find with every session of the original PlayStation VR is not present here. Now without any sickness VR experiences are immersive, and the distractions of the outside world fade out. Before Your Eyes will take you on an immersive and emotional experience using only your eyes.

The game starts off with you as a soul on a ferry. The ferryman of the boat is a wolf who is taking you to be judged on the life you lived. On the way the ferryman wants to hear your story, all of it, from birth to death. Starting from a baby you experience some monumental moments, maybe too many, at first they are of birthdays, your first pet, learning the piano. As you age the weight of the world gets deeper, and more sorrowful. The ferryman brings you back from time to time and it’s here that you understand some unexpected events that reinterprets the whole story you’ve experienced. To say more would spoil a story that is one of the best narrative experiences I’ve played in a game.

Before Your Eyes is just that, every moment passes with the blink of your eye. The eye tracking never misses a beat, showing how well it works when the whole game is reliant on using it to function. When the narrative ramps up into adulthood I was blinking much more as my eyes tired and I would have scenes skipped faster than I wanted. Sometimes you blink forgetting that you shouldn’t and you are onto the next scene. When I was blinking more I enjoyed the pacing of the story better. Personally a downfall of the game is there is too much context to the story at times. One of my favourite games is Virginia and it cuts to the next scene before you are given all the context allowing for me to fill in the blanks and give my own interpretation to the story.

There was a bug that crashed the game for me when I was three-quarters through. When I booted it back up I had to start again, so I waited till the next day and finished it without any problems in one sitting. The game is so good that it didn’t even annoy me that I had to replay most of the game again. The second time I sat in a chair more relaxed and didn’t hold the Sense controllers. Towards the visuals, I think the screenshots in this post reflect an accurate look of how good the game looks in PlayStation VR2.

Before Your Eyes is a beautifully woven narrative that will leave you feeling very empathic by the end. This game is worth getting a PlayStation VR2 for.

Robert Ring

Kayak VR: Mirage

The promise of VR to me is having the chance to explore new worlds. Kayak VR: Mirage lets you do just that with real places, from Antartica to Australia. This was the first game I fired up on the PlayStation VR2, not to Kayak, but to relax in.

I’ve never gone kayaking, however I do believe this title lets you experience a glimpse of what it feels like. If you paddle like you’re meant to your arms will experience the burning pain from using those muscles. Originally I was using the oar right until I found I could twirl my wrists in circular motions to give the same feedback as if I was kayaking properly. I didn’t purchase the game to race against others, which is I’m glad it feels secondary to exploring the wonderful sights.

There is an optional quest that can be found in each area that has you take an inflatable toy to another area. To do so you need to manoeuvre it with your Kayak and Oar. This sort of thing is fun. You also find areas that seem to be a trick on the eyes from afar until you paddle up to them and find it was real. This could be where the title Mirage comes into the game. You can choose to experience each map by day, night, and even stormy weather. The variety is great and keeps the maps feeling new and unique.

My favourite thing I did was chased a whale that I saw from one side of the map going above water. It was gone by the time I got there. So I stuck my head underwater and sure enough was able to see the whale still under the water moving. Every time I thought I was catching up to him I would stick my head back under the water and course correct. If you are right above him you can see him from above your Kayak too. Whenever I was close I was met with a bit of fear in sticking my head underwater in fear I would meet him face on. The beauty of VR in a game like this is sensing the size of things. After chasing the whale for some time I ended up feeling like Ahab. Ironically once the whale came up from the water at the front of my Kayak I achieved the trophy Moby Dick for spotting a whale.

If Kayaking is not your thing and you would just like to float about in open water on different maps this game will still be a treat for you. The price point is good and I feel like I have had my money’s worth without even pursuing the racing components of the game. Kayak VR: Mirage is a great title to show the family and friends. It may even work for some as a gym workout for the arms. Or just a game to warmup with before jumping into some VR games. Overall, Kayak VR: Mirage is a lovely experience.

Available now on PSVR2

Robert Ring