PSVR 2 Review: Is It Worth Buying? Our Honest Opinion

Hello Reader, I am Abrar Khan, and this is my full review article of the PSVR 2, PlayStation’s VR headset for the PS5. So, I’ve been using it over the last week, playing games like Horizon: Call of the Mountain and Gran Turismo 7, which have looked incredible on this. But I wanted to cover what I like, dislike, and most importantly, if it’s really worth buying.

In this article, I’ll talk about using it for gaming, watching movies, the motion handling, picture quality, and comfort, as well as some great features like the Cinematic mode that lets you watch and play content that isn’t designed for VR on a massive virtual screen. So, I hope this review is helpful and answers some questions that you might have had.

Setup

it comes with the headset, two controllers, some stereo earbuds, and a USB-C charging cable. As for the setup process, it is really straightforward. PlayStation has done a great job of making it as effortless as possible. You just need to plug the USB cable into the front of the PS5, run through the on-screen prompts, and within a matter of minutes, the headset is up and running. But if you want to see the full setup process and the unboxing, I’ll have linked to that video below.

Picture Quality

Let’s discuss the impressive picture quality of this device. It boasts two OLED displays that support 4K HDR, resulting in sharp and vibrant visuals in VR. I’ve tried out a variety of games over the past week, and one that particularly stands out is Horizon: Call of the Mountain. The graphics are stunningly clear, with impressive brightness and clarity.

I’m using a capture card to show you how these games look, which is slightly lower resolution than what you’ll see in the headset. However, once you witness the picture quality in person, you’ll be blown away – it truly is unlike any OLED display. The black levels and contrast are almost perfect, with no blooming or washed-out colors. Plus, the headset’s seal is tight, so there’s no distracting light leaking through. Additionally, the 110-degree field of view makes playing games feel immersive, as the content wraps around your head both vertically and horizontally. While you may notice a slight darkness in your peripheral vision, it’s not noticeable during gameplay. Overall, the picture quality is top-notch and provides an unparalleled VR experience.

Motion Handling

When it comes to motion handling and frame rate, you’ll be pleased to know that this headset offers up to 120 hertz. This means that any game that supports this will be silky smooth, and I haven’t experienced any screen tearing or stuttering no matter how fast I move around. This leads me to talk about motion sickness and how it can affect you while gaming. For me, it has had zero impact. I can sit or stand, move around or stand still. It might sometimes feel a little trippy when looking over the edge of a cliff, but I definitely have not suffered from any motion sickness while playing.

However, my wife has tried it a few times and has experienced it almost immediately after putting it on. Sitting down will vastly reduce it, though, where you don’t need to worry about trying to stand up straight as you’re moving your character around. But it obviously affects everybody differently. If you are concerned about motion sickness, my advice would be to try one out before buying. Any VR headset will do, for example, a Meta Quest. It’s a good idea just to make sure you’re not wasting your money on something that you cannot physically use.

Space Required

Now, when it does come to physically using it, you might be concerned about how much space you need around you. Well, PlayStation recommends having a safe area of 2 meters by 2 meters, and as it comes with a 4.5-meter cable, that should be no problem for most rooms. But you can use it sitting or standing, so you don’t need a massive room to run around in, just enough to wave your arms. And when you set it up for the first time, you’ll be prompted to map out your room. This will take a blueprint of your room and work out where the safe areas are that you can walk to while you’re gaming. You can then go ahead and edit this safe area by using the controllers to either add or remove sections of your room, like a corner of a desk or a coffee table that it might have failed to pick up.

Now, every game that I’ve tested doesn’t require too much walking around, so as long as you have a couple of feet around you, enough to spread your arms out, that should be fine. And if you’re in the middle of a game and you’re concerned about walking into something, all you need to do is tap the function button under the headset, and it gives you an instant live feed of your room. This pass-through camera is a brilliant idea, and it means you can check your surroundings without needing to take the headset off and on each time.

Then, there’s the option to sit down and play. So, for games like GT7, you’re more likely to sit down rather than stand up while you’re playing. This means space isn’t an issue at all, as you’re only moving your head around and not your arms or your body. You could do this with other games too, like the kayak game. In fact, pretty much every game is suitable for sitting down if that’s what you would prefer to do.

Games

Let’s talk about games. These are all the games that PlayStation has announced, which are either new to VR2 or have updates to make them compatible with VR. I think this is a pretty decent lineup. It’s nowhere near as impressive as the back catalog of games we have for the first gen, which unfortunately are not compatible with this one. But it’s a really good start.

At the moment, I only have five games in my library that are compatible with VR2. These include Horizon: Call of the Mountain, Gran Turismo 7, Moss Book 1 and 2, and Star Wars Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge. Now, all of these games are completely different from one another in terms of the genre and what they offer, but they all have one thing in common: they look incredible on this headset.

Horizon: Call of the Mountain gives you that awesome first-person experience of walking around, exploring, climbing rocks, shooting arrows, and warming your hands next to the fire. And when you factor in the 3D audio, whether you’re using the provided earbuds or your own headphones, this game feels incredibly immersive. Obviously, some of this is novelty, like eating an apple that you just picked up, playing with a tambourine that you found on the bench, or maybe even smashing plates just because, well, you can. But it still brings an awesome immersive experience. It’s hard to show you through this flat image.

Then there’s Moss Book 1 and 2, which are fun little games and probably one of the most popular games we’ve seen on VR. So, it was great to see that we’ve got an update for PSVR2 as this will be a brilliant game for many first-time VR users to try out.

But the game that got me the most excited about testing out, and one of the reasons I held off making this review in the first week, is Gran Turismo 7. So, this game isn’t new. I mean, it’s been out for nearly a year now, but the new VR update went live last week, and wow, it’s hard to put into words how realistic and scary and fast this game feels when playing it in VR. Being able to look around the cabin while driving, looking over your shoulder, or just seeing where the other cars are on the road, it feels strange yet kind of natural. I’ve always enjoyed GT7, but this brings a whole new level to racing. I think this is the game that I would recommend everyone try out for this headset.

They’ve even added a virtual showroom where you can move, walk, and look around the cars in your garage, both inside and outside the car. Now, there are other VR headsets out there on which you can play most of these non-exclusive games. But there’s one thing that makes me want to play the VR2 over, say, the Oculus Quest 2, and that’s the trophies. It might only seem like a small point, but if you’re like me and you enjoy collecting trophies, I will always pick up the PS5 game over the Oculus Quest game every single time. Plus, with that 4K HDR, it will look better on this headset.

Audio

So, the VR2 doesn’t come with speakers built-in, but it does have a 3.5mm headphone jack on the back, as well as a pair of stereo earbuds included in the box. Once you’ve plugged these into the headset, you can wear the earbuds and you’ll get that 3D audio sound without any extra cables. And you know what? These aren’t bad at all. Now, you can go ahead and wear your own headphones over the top of the headset if you prefer. I’ve tested out the Pulse 3D, the Nova Pros, and the Inzone H9s, and they all fit over the VR headset with no issues. You can either use the 3.5mm headphone jack on the headset, or you can set the audio on your PS5 out to those headphones instead. Or, you could use your TV or monitor speakers as well, but you won’t get the full immersive experience doing it this way. Although, that is how I’ve been playing GT7 on my TV setup.

Sense Controllers

So we’ve talked about how good these games look and sound, but how do they feel? Well, outside of turning your head to see where you want to go, you’ll be controlling your gameplay with these two controllers. These are the Sense controllers, essentially offering a similar experience to the DualSense controller, with the same buttons, thumbsticks, and color theme, but split into two ergonomic handles instead. For me, these fit perfectly in my hands and make controlling and playing the games effortless. Whether I’m moving around, pointing at things, shooting, or just trying to interact with the environment, I found these two really easy to use. They aren’t heavy, the buttons are in an obvious and easy-to-reach spot, and the added features make the gameplay even more immersive.

We get things like adaptive triggers, so when pulling the L2 or R2 triggers, you will feel that slight resistance depending on the game or action you’re doing. We also get haptic feedback, so as you’re moving around or picking things up, you get a slight rumble or vibration in the controllers which change and respond to the situation. Something else it has is finger detection sensors built in, so even before you press the buttons, it will recognize if your fingers are resting on them, in turn changing the way that your hand is shown in the game. Another cool feature is if you place the controllers down on a desk and you’re not sure which is which, well, the controllers will be labeled for you.

Battery and Charging

As for the battery, I estimate I get around four to five hours out of them before needing a charge, which isn’t great but also five hours is enough time that I need a break anyway. In the box, we have one USB-C cable to charge one controller, but then you do have another USB-C cable that came with the PS5. So in theory, you should have two cables knocking around that you can use. Failing that, as it’s a normal USB-C port, any cable will do the job, or you could do as I’ve done and just buy the Dual charging dock. This will not only make it easier to store them away, but you also know that they’re being charged every single time you put them down, and it looks pretty neat.

I also tried charging these two controllers as I was playing, and to my surprise, it worked. I’ve seen others saying that you cannot charge the controllers while you play, but it definitely worked for me. Now, you would need a pretty long USB cable just to ensure you don’t get tangled up, at least in games like Horizon: Call of the Mountain, but it’s still great to know that you can technically use these controllers while you’re charging.

Cinematic Mode

So we know VR games look great, but what about games and content that are not optimized for VR? How do they look and play well?

Fortunately, there’s an option called cinematic mode, and what this does is create a virtual cinema screen inside your head that allows you to view the content on a sort of static screen. You don’t need to do anything special or fancy; basically, any content that is not VR optimized will default to this view. So, for example, the PS5’s home screen is still a flat image. It doesn’t wrap around your head while you’re viewing it. You can then resize it by pressing the PlayStation button on the controller, and you get to see this menu. You can either have it as a small monitor or pretend you’re sitting in the front row at the cinema. I’ve played a few different games this way, including Spider-Man and even Call of Duty, just to see how it works and how it plays. And you know what? Surprisingly, it works really well.

It kind of feels like you’re sitting in a dark room at the cinema with a massive projector screen. It’s not as sharp as they’re full of VR effects, but I would say it was slightly better than 1080P. And you obviously don’t feel as immersed as you’re watching a screen inside a screen.

Now, for those games that are not VR optimized, you can still use the DualSense controller just like you would before. Essentially, the PS5 is treating the VR headset like an external monitor or TV, so controls and gameplay feel exactly the same as normal. I did the same with movies and TV shows, and this is where I was really impressed. It literally felt like I was at the cinema. I can imagine a lot of people watching movies this way as it gives the impression you’ve got a massive screen in your room. Although I would still choose to watch movies on my TV rather than this, it’s still an incredibly impressive setup.

Screen Sharing

Now, while you are using the headset, you can share your gameplay with your TV or monitor if you wish. This is useful if there are other people in the room and you want to show them what you are seeing. If you are using the advanced tracking option on the headset, it will reduce how much they see on the screen as it has a PlayStation border around the entire image. However, if for any reason you would rather they see the entire screen, just disable this option, and they can see everything. Additionally, you can live stream directly from the PS5 to YouTube or Twitch, just like you would with any other game on the PS5. To do so, tap the share button on the sense controller, select “broadcast,” and you are now live on your streaming platform.

Comfort

As for comfort, it’s as comfortable as you need it to be. It has a hard plastic frame on the outside, but on the inside, it’s coated with a nice, soft, flexible rubber that molds around your face quite nicely. However, it also means that it can get quite grubby, especially if multiple people are using it. When it comes to wearing it, you simply pull it open, slide it over your head, and twist the dial on the back to tighten it. There’s also a button on the front that allows you to adjust the distance of the screen from your eyes, which is ideal if you wear glasses.

Finally, you can tweak the width of the lenses by spinning the dial until everything is in focus on the screen or it prompts you that your eyes are now in the correct position. And if you were wondering whether you can wear a hat with it, well, yes you can. I doubt a baseball or snapback will work, but a beanie or woolly hat is absolutely fine. I’ve had no issues with comfort, even after hours of gaming, and with the different adjustments, it fits snugly on my head and doesn’t feel like it’s going to fall off or apply unnecessary pressure. This helps to reduce headaches and fatigue, so overall, it’s a nice headset to wear.

Settings

I also wanted to quickly go over some of the settings. If you press the PlayStation icon on the controller, you get a quick settings menu. In here, you can adjust the screen brightness, size, and turn the vibrations on or off. You can also quickly set the play area, adjust the visibility or enable eye tracking. Alternatively, you can go into the main settings area and then navigate to Accessories and then under PlayStation VR2, you’ll see the entire list of options. The only settings that I’ve changed so far have been decreasing the boundary display sensitivity to low. This is where the virtual wall shows up as you’re moving around your room. I’ve also disabled the tracking support option. I’ve not had any issues with the tracking, but it means the big black box around the image is removed from the TV or monitor while I’m sharing my screen. Other than that, this is a simple Plug and Play headset.

Worth Buying?

So the ultimate question is, is the PSVR 2 worth buying? Well, for me, the short answer is yes. Even at the price tag of £550 or $530, it feels well-made and integrates nicely with the PlayStation 5. The launch lineup of games is decent, and the experience that you get from some of these games is incredible. But for that kind of money, you need to know you’re going to make the most of it.

It cannot be an accessory that just sits in the box and only comes out a few times a year. So, it will come down to whether you see value in it.

Do you want to play Horizon: Call of the Mountain or GT7 in VR? Do you like the idea of exploring games and worlds in a whole new way?

My advice would be to look around at the games that are already out or that are due to come out over the next six months and decide if those are the games that you wish to play. And if you can get hands-on with a VR headset before you buy one, I would definitely go ahead and do that. Whether that’s in a shop or if a friend has one, because it’s a lot of money to spend on a headset that you might not use.

Now, let me know what you thought about this PSVR 2 review and whether you will be buying a PlayStation VR 2 for yourself. Also, if there are any games that you would recommend playing first and if you did enjoy it. Comment below.

PSVR 2 Specs & features