PlayStation VR review: The best-value VR headset

PlayStation VR review: Hardware comfort specs

The PSVR headset itself is the most comfortable head-mounted display on the maket right now. Its minimalist, black-and-white design not only looks like it’s been teleported in from the future, but it’s also exceedingly lightweight, weighing a mere 610g. That’s a fraction heavier than the Vive, but whereas the Vive looks more like a first-gen prototype, with its Velcro straps and visible cable trails dangling around the back, at least Sony’s gone to the effort of making it look like a proper, finished consumer product.

The flexible headband sits snugly over your forehead, and it’s clear Sony has put plenty of thought into its overall design. A small button on the underside of the display allows the spring-loaded front display to retract in and out, giving you clearance to loop the headband over your head, and a button on the rear of the headband lets you stretch its two internal rubber straps to pull it all the way down over your eyes. There’s also a dial just above the headband button at the rear to help tighten and fix the headset in place; finally, all you need to do is press the button beneath the display to bring the front of the headset back towards your face.

You’ll want to make sure the headset’s small volume controller is within easy reach, as you’ll need this to use its inline microphone and plug in a pair of headphones. Just Like the Vive, the PSVR doesn’t have built-in headphones, so you’ll need to supply your own if you want to take advantage of its “3D binaural audio”.

In case you’re unfamiliar with binaural audio, these specially recorded tracks use 360-degree microphones to produce an all-encompassing soundtrack, which is supposed to produce a sensation of being in the room with the audio. It’s intended to be played back specifically via headphones. You can still listen to what’s being pumped out of your TV speakers, but I’d recommend using headphones if you really want to feel truly present in your virtual world. You’ll need to avoid headphones with built-in microphones, though, as these will conflict with the one inside the headset’s controller.

Inside the headset itself is a 5.7in, 1,920 x 1,080 OLED display. That resolution is quite a bit lower than the 2,160 x 1,200 screens in the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, but the PSVR has a higher maximum refresh rate of 120Hz.

Most PSVR games available right now run at a regular 60Hz, but Sony’s clever software trickery boosts this to 120Hz to make it appear smoother. Using its own so-called “reprojection” technique, this involves taking the last outputted image at 60Hz and creating a new one at 120Hz based on the user’s latest head movement. This is different to regular frame interpolation, according to Sony, as it doesn’t introduce any extra lag between the images presented onscreen. Either way, while it might not be true 120Hz footage, the result is still extremely convincing. It’s noticeably smoother than the Vive’s 90Hz refresh rate and Sony’s claimed ultra-low latency figure of just 0.018 seconds means I rarely suffered any bouts of nausea or motion sickness.

What’s more, the headset has been designed in such as way that you can still see your DualShock 4 controller if you glance downwards, with a slight gap in the headset’s rubber surround. This might offend VR purists who want total immersion, but even though it does cause some light bleed, it didn’t adversely affect my playing experience. Likewise, the fact I could still glance down at the controls as and when I needed felt immensely reassuring.

It’s an incredibly practical headset, but the one downside of the PlayStation VR is its comparatively low resolution. This made itself felt on a number of occasions during my testing. Objects onscreen often looked quite soft and pixellated, and text was visibly jagged. Luckily, most of the games I’ve played – including RIGS: Mechanized Combat League, PlayStation VR Worlds, Battlezone and The Playroom VR – employ a fairly soft, block-colour approach that helps mask any loss of fine detail. However, if there’s one thing that’s going to derail your sense of immersion, it’s seeing virtual faces that are pixellated horror shows, like those in Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, or watching Driveclub VR‘s grand vistas blur into a single mass of colour.

However, while the low resolution is a weakness, it isn’t a deal-breaker for me. Yes, a higher-resolution display would have been nice, but that would have also made the headset more expensive. As it stands, the fact that Sony has managed to create such compelling VR for £349 is something to be applauded.

After all, there’s still nothing quite like being surrounded by one of RIGS‘ hulking mechanoid robots or flying a spaceship in EVE: Valkyrie‘s full 360-degree dogfights, and for most people, I’m confident, that in itself will be enough. Those who want a higher-quality VR experience (and are willing to pay for it) have other options, namely the Vive and Oculus Rift. For everyone else, PSVR does a grand job of making you feel part of these strange, new virtual worlds, and its relatively simple setup also makes it the most accessible and consumer-friendly VR headset yet.

PlayStation VR review: Verdict

Despite the comparatively low resolution, Sony has managed to achieve something special here. Resolution quibbles aside, the PSVR is a fantastic VR headset that has a great line-up of games and is excellent value for money. It’s easy to set up and exceedingly simple to use, and the fact you can plug just it into an existing PS4, PS4 Slim or the PS4 Pro only makes it more attractive.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether Sony will be able to sustain its game library over the next couple of years, but from what I’ve seen so far, the PSVR has everything it needs to be the must-have VR headset of 2016 and 2017, not to mention one of the best accessories Sony has ever produced.

I’d recommend trying one out before you buy if you can, if only to see whether you’re particularly susceptible to motion sickness, but if you already own a PS4 and want to take your games to the next level, then the PlayStation VR is a must-buy.