PSVR Launch Title Roundup

Battlezone

Battlezone is a VR co-op blaster that puts you in a digitised tank and sends you off to blow through hundreds of enemies both on the ground and in the sky.

Battlezone doesn't reinvent the genre, but it doesn't need to. This is one of the most complete "game" experiences you can have on the PlayStation VR, and it definitely has the most video game trappings; Battlezone's campaign has you and up to three friends travelling across a hex-based map as you try to reach the ominous final boss.

Fail, and you'll be fired back to the start to try again, on a new hex map, with new challenges. It's frequently reminiscent of FTL, flecked with inspiration from Doom, which seems odd for a tank battler, but really does fit the frenetic pace and the fact you're continuously circling strafing.

If a lot of the best VR experiences are about reinventing the wheel in virtual reality, Battlezone shows that beyond all of the gimmicks, solid game design is the key to a successful virtual reality game, and indeed it bolsters its core gameplay with the addition of VR. It's hard not to recommend this loudly and repeatedly.

E.V.E. Valkyrie

E.V.E. Valkyrie feels like the best Star Wars dogfighting simulator you dream of, as long as you can ignore the lack of tie-fighters and X-wings and settle for what E.V.E. Valkyrie does well, which is super-tight aerial adventures.

First time VR users might balk at playing a space-fighter game with no sense of up and down, and the first time you nail a loop-the-loop you'll definitely feel your stomach jump up into your mouth, but there's just so much to enjoy about Valkyrie's dogfights you'll keep coming back.

This is, out of all of the multiplayer games I've played, the best competitive PlayStation VR game on the market right now, and all the shiny customisation options, head-tracking weaponry and the satisfying explosion when you deliver a burst of space-bullets to an enemy fighter make it all worthwhile. Tech fans will also note this is the first VR multiplayer game to let people fight cross-platform, which means you're flying against people with months of extra flight time. At first this is daunting, but I found trying to keep pace with them was a learning experience.

This game is worth your time. Trust me; I'm a journalist.

Batman: Arkham VR

The best argument yet for the PlayStation's Move Controllers, the clue to why this one is so great is in the title. You get to be Batman, and not just in a, 'I'm going to beat up a load of muscle in a warehouse', but in the way that lets you pick up Batman's cowl, put it on your head, and dance in front of the mirror.

It's refreshing to see a new side to the man in the black batsuit, and although there's not much in the way of action here, the way you get to inhabit Batman's head as he pulls together all the clues be the worlds greatest detective? That's the draw. It's a chance to see the Batman the comic books promised us, and not the Batman that solves all of his problems with a 50x freeflow combo.

Final Words

There are plenty more PS:VR games out there, and some I haven't even managed to play yet. The VR add-ons for the PS4 release of Tomb Raider, for example, I've not had a chance to really get to grips with. Sony went big on release day with nearly 50 titles launching for the hardware. As a result, I've probably missed some things. Please do comment in the thread if I have, because I'd like to play them.

One final note: There's been no horror games because I nearly wet myself playing Until Dawn: Rush of Blood and have now sworn off any horror games in VR forever. Sorry.