One of the reasons why I’ve been so excited about virtual reality in terms of gaming is how it’ll provide new opportunities for already established gaming genres. The ability to look around a virtual environment without using an analog stick is a game changer, and it’s something I feel like many types of games will benefit from. The first game I played on PlayStation VR was EVE: Valkyrie, a space dogfighting title from CCP Games, and it showcased how much of a game changer virtual reality can be.
After a few minutes of introductory story dialogue, I found myself inside the cockpit of a fighter jet. The novelty has worn off after a dozen hours of play, but the first time I was staring at all of the monitors and switches inside the dashboard was mesmerizing. I had an amazing amount of freedom to look around (perhaps too much as standing up from my seated position caused me to see my headless body below), and I was just soaking in the atmosphere. The freedom to look wherever I wanted to wasn’t just a cool gimmick, though, as it became an essential tool in EVE: Valkyrie‘s gameplay. While the default fighter spaceship still has players using the analog stick to pilot the ship and to shoot at the center of the screen, it becomes far easier to actually take in the action with the increased field-of-view. I could be firing at one enemy, while looking completely elsewhere. I finally knew what it felt to actually be flying in the air and having the ...