These PSVR games prove Sony's PS4 virtual reality headset is here to stay

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There’s a confidence to the next wave of games being developed for the PlayStation VR headset that transcends the limitations of the hardware they’re running on. 

Sony’s PlayStation 4 VR gamble was one that put accessibility and price (pairing a relatively affordable, low-res virtual reality headset with a relatively underpowered console) over a ‘money-is-no-object’ mentality that its high-powered, high-priced PC rivals opted for. And, on the strength of the slate of games set for release in the coming weeks and months, it’s a gamble that’s paid off.

Following Paris Games Week and its vote of confidence in PlayStation VR going forward, I attended a PlayStation showcase session where I was able to try out the likes of Moss, Bravo Team and Blood And Truth. Each very different virtual reality titles, all showed a progression in the quality of the experiences being squeezed out of the console hardware.

From mighty mice to military musclemen

Take first Moss, a family-friendly platform puzzler that moves away from the first-person experiences that dominate the VR landscape. You play as a sort of omnipotent guide to an intrepid, sword-swinging mouse adventurer, controlling the mouse’s movements directly while also separately interacting with environmental elements to clear a path or swing the tide of battle in your whiskered friends’ favor.

Moss isn’t the first VR game to opt for a third-person perspective. Oculus Rift standouts Chronos and Edge of Nowhere have similarly proven that you don’t need to be digitally-embodied inside a character to achieve a great VR experience. But few have managed it with such charm.