Resident Evil Village for PSVR 2 Review: how scary, virtual reality

There are those who argue that virtual reality is lived, not described. It is a plausible thesis. The mass of sensations experienced by wearing a viewer goes beyond words: it is a sort of synesthetic concert, which acquires a further dimension by virtue of interactivity. To this symphony of perceptions, Sony adds another stratification: as we have already extensively told you in our review of the PlayStation VR 2, the internal vibration of the viewer and the adaptive triggers of the VR Sense give the immersion that extra degree of involvement which, if well exploited, it can make a difference. Resident Evil Village wisely leverages the signature features of PSVR 2.

The tingling of the forehead when the insects of Dimistrescu’s daughters buzz, the pulsation of the controllers after a wound suffered, the syncopated trembling that accompanies us to each more adrenaline-pumping sequence are undoubtedly factors that decisively underline the uniqueness of the experience. However, Resident Evil Village is not a game designed for virtual reality from the first stirrings. The VR version is a retroactive addition, a free mode downloadable from PlayStation Store, provided you have the starting title already installed on the console. A conversion, in short, with all the limitations that follow from it. It’s not a big problem, nor a shortcoming that diminishes the success of the operation, you just need to know what you can expect once you put on the viewer: a horror adventure of sure sensory valuevisually sumptuous and certainly very engaging, but distant – predictably – from the degree of interaction that the new generation virtual reality experiences are called to offer.

A redesigned gameplay

The world of Village is a beautiful setting. Whether they are the luxurious interiors of Castello Dimitrescu or the cottages of the village immersed in the snow, whether they are haunted houses or factories of death, everything envelops us and gives us a concrete feeling of anxiety. In VR, the macabre atmospheres of Village maximize their horrific charge, to the full advantage of the tangible sense of presence.

However, it must be admitted that the world remains mostly a frame, in which environmental interactivity translates into a re-proposition, in virtual reality, of the same interactions already foreseen in the basic version. We will be able to open the doors by simulating the appropriate hand gesture, or turn the keys when requested, but the scenario is not at our service as, for example, in Half-Life Alyx (the review of Half-Life Alyx is here at your disposition). Of course, that’s perfectly fine too, considering the nature of the experience. Indeed, Capcom’s effort to adapt part of the gameplay to the languages ​​of VR deserves to be applauded. The most significant playful change clearly concerns shooting and weapon control. It will be necessary to extract the guns from their respective positions along the body: for example, by bringing the hand along the holster to the right we will be able to hold the pistol, while stretching the arm over the shoulders we will be able to recover the shotgun. However, everything remains customizableand the gestures necessary to take up arms will depend on the organization of the inventory and on your preferences.

Removing the magazine, picking up the bullets, inserting them in the barrel and then firing are movements not perfectly suited in this VR incarnation, and a few slight inaccuracies end up weighing down the liveliest shootoutsless fluid than we would have liked them to be.

In the initial moments, more phlegmatic and with few abominations in the assault, the system is not particularly affected by the aforementioned uncertainties, but it is in the final sequences, when the pace presses, that the backlash of a gameplay not designed for the virtual reality.

Although these forgivable stumbles do not prevent the adventure from being fully and pleasantly usable in VR, since the feeling remains satisfactory and the controls quite responsive, however they make it clear that this version cannot fully replace the base game. Anyone who wants to experience Resident Evil Village for the first time would be better off doing it in a “traditional” format, and only then wearing the Sony headset. On the other hand, the conversion to VR is an excellent added value, but it remains so: a very tasty taste of what could be born, if Capcom decided to give life to an episode designed from the beginning with virtual reality in mind.

It’s scarier

Fear not: whatever your needs, Village’s VR mode will prove malleable enough. It will be possible to play standing or sitting, adjust the vibration of the headset, choose the type of movement and rotation, as well as the speed of the view. Despite all these settings, Resident Evil is not a title to be approached lightly in virtual reality. There are highly dynamic situations that could cause some discomfort to those who are not very accustomed to this technology.

The advice, in these cases, is what almost anyone would give: don’t be discouraged and keep trying, even in small doses, varying the customization options from time to time until you find the setup that best suits your needs. It will be worth it, especially when you wince at the angry muzzle of a growling Lycan a foot from your nose, or when you hear the heavy footsteps of Alcina as she slowly approaches you, with the towering confidence of one who knows how to instill fear. Tinkering with the comfort options may decrease the sense of motion sickness, but not the anxiety that the game can generate. The interlude sequences are highly spectacular, and experienced in VR convey a much higher degree of involvement than in the original edition. It is in these cases, on the occasions in which the direction takes total control, that the risk of motion sickness will become even more noticeable, and to remedy the problem you can always switch to the scenes in cinema mode, temporarily renouncing the immersive experience.

Let me tell you, though: it would be a huge waste. In virtual reality, Resident Evil Village is scarier because it conveys unprecedented sensations, with a more perceptible physical presence. You will notice it when Dimitrescu will be on your heels, when Bela, Daniela and Cassandra will try to taste you, but you will perceive it even more in the phases following those of the Castle, in a moment with highly anxiety-provoking tones that players of the traditional version know very well Well.

In virtual reality, Village enhances the power of its horror ride: it does so thanks to the pulsations of the VR Sense, the enveloping uneasiness of the kinematics, the stimulating vibrations of the viewer, the guaranteed high level of detail of the RE Engine, which in this conversion does not lose an iota of its strength. That said, Ethan Winters’ additional adventure mode isn’t the most appropriate starting point for those new to VR, nor for anyone who has never played the base experience.

Virtual Reality Village is a different game, not better. It has the limits of a subsequent conversion, from interactions with the environment to a partial reconstruction of the gameplay which, although functional, shows some difficulty in adapting in some situations. In the vibrant setting of a multifaceted horror, Resident Evil Village on PSVR 2, however, knows how to intimidate, stimulate, involve, and it does it very well.