retrostation
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BATMAN: ARKHAM VR
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THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM VR
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BEAT SABER
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MOSS
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ACCOUNTING +
Not only is the training mission an unparalleled exercise in wish fulfilment (Wayne Manor! The Batcave! Batarangs!) but the defiantly sharp, if short, campaign is the epilogue to Arkham Knight we needed and deserved. Bats off to you, Rocksteady.
Though compromises have been made to texture detail and controls, you get all of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, including the expansions, inside PS VR. The scale and organic nature of the world at your feet overcomes any shortcomings.
PS VR firmly on and PS Move controllers in hand, Beat Saber feels like the game both pieces of hardware were made for. In it you have to master songs and challenges by swiping your neon swords through the air, and dodging with your head.
Guide adorable mouse heroine Quill through a fantasy storybook world full of virtual puzzles, fights with insects, and perfectly pitched Disney influences. There’s no need to say cheese, because you’ll be smiling as you play, all day long.
One of PlayStation’s funniest games is a dark, twisted journey into the world of accounting. It’s an Inception-like dive into increasingly bizarre and frequently hilarious scenarios that will scratch the itch of any Rick And Morty fan.
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FARPOINT
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KNOCKOUT LEAGUE
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APEX CONSTRUCT
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TRANSFERENCE
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SUPERHOT VR
This sci-fi shooter is a brilliant showcase for the PS Aim controller, a versatile bit of kit that makes the satisfying range of weapons feel weighty and real. The game matches it, delivering a strong story and challenging co-op for great VR action.
Punching things is possibly the least creative use of the VR medium, but when it’s used to create a classic arcade boxing sim that plays like a brutal puzzle puncher, it’s irresistible. It’s also good for you: it tracks your calorie count as you work up a sweat.
This story-driven FPS demonstrates five-to-eight hour adventures can work in PS VR. Building its narrative organically through physically exploring the game’s world while fending off mechanical creatures with a trusted bow and arrow is a delight. Ambitious.
PS Now for something completely different Recently joining the ranks of the gaming-on-demand service were multiplayer heavyweight Rainbow Six Siege (until 2 Nov), psychological thriller Get Even, and the chilling The Evil Within 2. It’s that final one that caught my attention, as now’s a good time for some horror. Even though Shinji Mikami stepped into a more supervisory role for THE EVIL WITHIN 2, it feels like a culmination of the sort of horror he’s championed his whole life. Tense, thrilling, walking the line between giving you the tools to fight back and causing enough anxiety to make you question whether you really should. A fusion of classic survival horror and modern psychological horror, this dip into a warped shared artificial reality is a bizarre and compelling game no horror fan should miss. Coming off that high I jump into more PSNow horror. THE EVIL WITHIN is also on here, and while it’s still a spooky time, detective Sebastian Castellanos’ first outing into the world created by the STEM
machine has since been overshadowed by both its sequel and other horror games, and feels like a notquite-as-good Resi 4. So naturally I jump into RESIDENT EVIL: CODE VERONICA X next, and catch up with what Claire Redfield did after escaping from Raccoon City. (You know, I’d love a remake of this one). Before I know it, I’ve become a full-blown adrenaline addict. Give me the scares. I’m fiddling around with SOMA, FEAR (plenty of gunplay here), DEADLY PREMONITION (a cult classic that ensures you’ll never look at trees in the same way again), FORBIDDEN SIREN, SILENT HILL 2, and *shudder* HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: MONSTERS OVERBOARD. I awake from the horror haze in a stupor. I can’t go on. I’ve run out of pants.
Come home to these ghosts in the machine. Traipsing through each family member’s surreal vision of the apartment they share in first-person horror is a wonderfully dreadful experience. Trespassers will be thoroughly spooked.
Time moves only when you move in this exceptional PS VR first-person shooter that manages to make you feel like you’re playing through a slow-mo action movie. The free Superhot Forever update adds even more challenges. Make time for VR bullet time.
■ Headshots aren’t always enough to finish the Lost in The Evil
Within 2. If that doesn’t scare you, nothing will.
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