PlayStation VR2

Hardware

I was excited by the idea of a headset attached to the PS5 that I could just pick up and start playing. That sounded ideal to me. Eye tracking also felt like it could lead to interesting interactions, rather than just being another improvement to the screen.

The headset felt cheap and squeaky. It was light but felt like it could break at any point. Inside the headset I experienced light leaks and it felt unfinished.

Visuals

At first, the screen looked better to me than the Index, but the sweet spot was small. Getting the headset into the right position made a noticeable difference. The IPD adjustment and the position of the lenses felt more sensitive than I wanted them to be.

The mura was distracting at first. On flat colors, I could see a very clear pattern that moved with my head. Through-the-lens videos didn't really capture how obvious it was inside the headset.

After about a week, I was noticing the blur and mura less. Part of that was getting the position more correct, and part of it was just becoming accustomed to the display. It was still a disappointment, but it wasn't bothering me as much as it had initially.

Comfort

The fit never really worked for me. I found a better position, but I didn't feel like it settled naturally on my head. The Index felt very premium by comparison.

Performance

Horizon was very hard for me to play because of the frame blending. It was really unpleasant and felt like a strange decision to lead with a technology that is so visually distracting. A better display doesn't help much if the way the game is presented is uncomfortable to use.

Overall

By March 2024, GT7 was the last PSVR2 game I had played, and I hadn't turned the headset on since. That was disappointing. I had been excited about the hardware and the idea of an easy console VR experience, but the fit and some of the visual compromises kept it from becoming something I regularly wanted to use.

I did end up repurposing the controllers for use with my Apple Vision Pro.