Publisher – London Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment America
Price – US $19.99 / EU €19.99 / UK £14.99 / AU $26.95
Release date – October 13th, 2016
Move Support – Yes
Pro Support – Yes
Digital only – No
Reviewed on – PS4 Pro
We are now pushing 2 years to the PSVR’s launch and I thought it would be a great time to revisit my 1st review for that headset. PlayStation VR Worlds is a collection of 5 smaller games and experiences that aims to deliver a variety of game types and showcase just what Virtual Reality can bring to the gaming table. The cinematic opening is a little lengthy, especially for repeat viewers, but soon enough you will be at the menu where you can choose which of the 5 games you would like to play, some requiring different control methods which I will cover below
Ocean Descent is a virtual tour taking you to the depths of the ocean in a shark cage. There is no interaction here, just take in what the title puts all around you. Starting off in a coral reef you soon begin your descent the ocean depths and encounter a whole bunch of sea life up until a very dramatic shark encounter. What Ocean Decent lacks in gameplay is made up by the visual fidelity. Everything here from the scenery to the animals looks stunning and showcases just how beautiful VR games can be. When the light from my headlamp lit up the lifeless eyes of the shark, I couldn’t help but marvel and just how realistic the experience looks. The entirety of the Shark Encounter takes around 15 minutes with the only other options being to chill in the coral reef or experience the dive before the shark encounter. It’s a one and done type experience, but great to show off to friends and family unfamiliar with VR.
Ocean Descent still has some amazing visuals!
Next up is VR Luge and it takes place over 4 stages. You control the luge by simply leaning your head in the direction you want to go. It’s fun and gets intense at high speeds as you whip past cars and javoid obstacles in your path. Collisions leave a bit to be desired as you tend to awkwardly bounce off the scenery until you get you bearings, costing you precious time. Going airborne is also suspenseful as you lose whatever control you had and pray for a good landing. You can play through all 4 tracks and while the game doesn’t look terrible, much of it does look washed out. It’s fun and quick though it’s simplicity won’t maintain your interest for more then a few rounds.
Top speeds are a thrill in VR Luge
Danger Ball is a VR 1st person pong game that is a lot of fun. With play modes like tournament or quick play you are pitted against different opponents with different abilities. You simply move your head where you want your “paddle” to go and bounce the ball(s) back and forth until either you or the enemy loses. The simple mechanics hide what quickly becomes a very challenging game and as you progress through the tournament, the game gets incredibly challenging. It’s great, the only downside is no online or even local multiplayer, which really feels like a missed opportunity.
Danger Ball gets incredibly challenging in tournament mode
If you are a fan of British Gangster movies than you will love the London Heist. It has all the feel of a Guy Ritchie Movie with a majority of the game taking place in cinematics. Those are fine enough but the fire fights are where this game shines. Only 2 of the 5 stages are full on combat while with the rest being cinematics viewed from your point of view. Gun fights are amazing, putting you right in the middle of the action. They are short, sweet and are one the biggest highlights of this disc, the only problem being there just isn’t enough of them. Changing the difficulty just means making you invincible or not so I suggest leaving it off just to add some risk to the game. You have the option of using 2 Moves or a DS4 controller but the DS4 method locks your hands in place so for full immersion, if you have them, stick with the Moves. Included here is also a few shooting galleries that toss a bunch of objects at you in a variety of ways in an incredibly short amount of time with the goal being to hit everything you can for maximum points. It’s a solid addition that extends the game quite nicely.
Though brief, the shooting portions of London Heist are still pretty fun!
Lastly, we have Scavengers Odyssey. You play as an alien in a mech suit investigating a mysterious artifact in space. A simple plot you’ve seen many times before that controls like a typical mech shooter using a DS4 that utilizes head tracking to target enemies and objects. You have full control of your mech with some auto targeting to help you out. Added to that is a gravity gun to move obstacles and you are set to fight the unknown menace. This game looks alright, though I found some of the visuals to be a little washed out. The story is broken up into 6 chapters and while it does have a conclusion, feels like an extended prologue to a full game. You’ll fight a few enemies and a a boss all while navigating around a graveyard of space ships using some fun anti-grav platforming. It’s a cool little game with some highlight moments, though the action is relatively uninspired leaving little reason to come back except to trophy hunt.
Solve the mystery of of the Obelisk…or not.
Minus Ocean Descent and London Heist, the other 3 games don’t look that great. They aren’t awful but considering more recent efforts and Pro supported titles, they show their age. The audio is amazing, especially in London Heist with the spatial audio making every scene come to life and greatly adding to these games.
All these experiences offer a different type of fun and any of the games that are broken into chapters allow you to replay individual sections of the game. It’s a great package though most of the games, once viewed or beaten offer little replayability other than simply replaying levels you’ve already played just for the fun of it.
What would I pay? $20US is a great price. Granted this disc is starting to show its age but it is still a great collection showcasing a variety of VR games and experiences. VR Worlds is still my go-to experience when it comes to newbies in VR and remains a solid showcase title.
