Sony has now revealed the PS5 Pro, adding another all-digital console into the mix. It boasts a larger GPU, AI-driven upscaling as well as improved Raytracing, though it comes at a premium price. If you want to pick up the PS5 Pro when it launches on November 7, 2024, you can now pre-order it for $699.99 / £699.99 / AUS$1,999.95.
Only the best PSVR 2 games will give you the best experience on Sony's latest virtual reality headset. With a growing library full of different adventures, there's also never been a better time to dive in.
While there may only be a few exclusives for the PS5 headset at present - the majority are either ports of games from existing headsets like the Meta Quest 2 or the original PlayStation VR - some of the best PSVR 2 games are proper PS5 experiences. From games that have received a free VR update, such as Gran Turismo 7 and Resident Evil Village, to exclusives like Horizon: Call of the Mountain, it's a good time to be a PSVR 2 owner.
If PSVR 2 is your first foray into the world of VR, there are plenty of great games to check out across a variety of genres. If you need a headset, here's where to buy PSVR 2 right now, but otherwise let's get into our top picks for the best PSVR 2 games going right now.
Best PSVR 2 games 2024
Winner of VR GOTY at the 2020 DICE Awards, Pistol Whip is fueled by dynamic tracks, dreamscape visuals and easy to learn, tough to master gunplay. Blast, duck, and dodge your way through fever dream scenarios, build unique rhythms in a ballet of bullets and claim glory on the leader boards.
On PSVR2, you can enjoy updated eye-tracking, and enhanced controller-feel thanks to the PSVR2 Sense controllers. Definitely a must-play for fans of rhythm games, and action shooters like SuperHot.
Horizon: Call of the Mountain is PSVR 2’s killer app, and an easy recommendation as the best PSVR 2 game at launch. Developers Guerrilla Games and Firesprite have effortlessly managed to adapt the world of Horizon to VR, and it’ll certainly sell you on the power of PSVR 2.
In Call of the Mountain, you play as Ryas, a Shadow Carja looking to clear his name of criminal charges and find his lost brother. To do so, you’ll be doing a lot of climbing and taking out machines with your bow, all with PSVR 2’s excellent Sense controllers.
Physical actions simply feel incredible in Call of the Mountain. Climbing feels immersive and accurate, with you moving the Sense controllers in a realistic clambering motion. Combat is also hugely thrilling; the loop of aiming, firing, dodging, and scrambling for resources against some of Horizon’s most iconic machines feels consistently fresh and involving.
Arizona Sunshine 2 is among the best shooters you can play on your PSVR 2 headset. It nails the fundamentals of a first-person VR experience. That entails a highly interactive environment replete with objects and miscellany to muck around with, and extremely tactile weapon handling that places an emphasis on manual reloading, heavy recoil, and the need for pinpoint accuracy.
You’re primarily going up against the hordes of the undead in Arizona Sunshine 2, and slaying the zombie masses with an array of weaponry is oh-so-satisfying. You’re able to dismember enemies to hamper their mobility, blow up crowds of them with explosives, and pop their heads like a watermelon with a carefully placed bullet to the dome. As mentioned in our initial preview before release, the moment-to-moment shooting as you move through each stage lends Arizona Sunshine 2 the feeling of a classic light gun arcade game like House of the Dead or Time Crisis. And it rules.
One major addition to the sequel is Buddy; the protagonist’s loyal hound is impressively versatile. Buddy can distract or outright kill zombies himself, sniff out hidden items, and even act as a second inventory for when your utility belt starts to overflow with guns, grenades, and gadgets. Arizona Sunshine 2 is fantastic zombie-slaying fun that we consider an essential play on PSVR 2.
Tetris Effect, much like the iconic puzzler itself, is timeless. It’s simply one of the best iterations of the classic puzzle game, marrying its block-clearing gameplay with mesmerizing music and visuals that evolve as you play.
If you already own Tetris Effect on PS5, you can download the VR update at no extra cost. If you’re sensitive to constant motion in VR, Tetris Effect provides a static gameplay environment that’s perfect for short, seated sessions.
It’s arguably developer Enhance’s best work, and the game’s gorgeous visuals and sound design shine extra brightly on PSVR 2 thanks to its superb image quality and high-quality 3D audio-supporting headphones. Tetris Effect is cheaper than many other games in the PlayStation Store, too, so it won’t break the bank if you don’t already own the game. As a result, we believe you shouldn’t miss this great experience.
Fancy something a bit less active, and more therapeutic? We can’t recommend Puzzling Places enough. While it’s been available for some of the other best VR headsets, we feel it’s a real hidden gem on PSVR 2.
Puzzling Places provides a huge collection of 3D models of iconic real-world architecture to piece together. With the Sense controllers, you can freely pick up and examine each piece to figure out which slot next to each other. Reference images provide additional help, and a calming zen atmosphere helps you focus solely on the puzzle at hand.
And if you’re feeling like Puzzling Places’ default difficulty is a little easy, the game lets you increase the number of pieces for all puzzles. The game will dynamically split the puzzles into more pieces, perfect if you’re looking for an immersive challenge.
Resident Evil Village is one of the best horror games in recent years, and once again, it provided an excuse for Capcom to show off its RE Engine. PSVR 2 gives us another compelling reason to return to Village’s werewolf-ridden setting.
If you’ve played Resident Evil 4 VR on Quest 2, many of that game’s features have found their way over to Village. You can now dual wield weapons and manually perform actions like applying healing effects, reload your guns, and interact with objects, thoroughly immersing you in the scene… and the scares.
Be aware that this is the full game experience, too, including all of its scariest moments. While Resident Evil Village is certainly a thrilling, action-heavy game, its more horror-focused segments are not for the faint of heart, doubly so if you’re tackling them in VR.
We didn’t think paddling a kayak would make for that fulfilling an experience, but Kayak VR on PSVR 2 shows best that seemingly mundane tasks can be both immersive and thrilling.
Kayak VR makes excellent use of PSVR 2’s Sense controllers. You’ll use their motion functionality to paddle your kayak, in a first-person view, down a variety of rivers and streams across the globe. It’s an absorbing experience that’s equal parts relaxing and engaging; you’ll certainly get a good upper body workout by mimicking the act of paddling.
And on a personal note, Kayak VR was a big hit with my mum. If that isn't a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is.
Beat Saber is a stalwart release across almost every major VR headset. Now, the popular rhythm-fitness game is available on PSVR 2, and it's as good as it's ever been.
Not only does Beat Saber have hundreds of tracks ready to purchase and download, its playstyle lends itself well to physical fitness, as you use PSVR 2's Sense controllers to duck, weave and slice at obstacles all to the beat of your chosen song.
Beat Saber is an excellent choice if you're a music lover, but also if you're keen on getting regular, brisk workouts through simply playing the game. It's arguably the most intensive game on this list, though, and just like Kayak VR, will give your arms and upper body a serious test.
No Man’s Sky has come a long way since its initial release, with bags of additional content and features provided through years of free updates. The latest adds free PSVR 2 support to the game, making No Man’s Sky’s near-infinite universe all the more gratifying to explore.
Whether you’re entirely new to the galaxies of No Man’s Sky, or a returning spacefarer, PSVR 2 support adds a welcome layer of immersion to the game’s lonely, contemplative universe. The whole game is here, too, meaning you can go from chiseling a planet apart for resources to soaring through outer space all within the lenses of your PSVR 2 headset.
Now onto an excellent VR shooter, one that's still receiving big updates after launch. Pavlov features realistic weapon handling, a variety of game modes and over 65 interactable weapons.
You'll be able to team up to face off in tense 5v5 firefights, across a classic Search and Destroy mode. The stakes feel extremely high as you attempt to defuse or defend a bomb objective. There's additional modes as well, including a murder mystery level that tests your powers of deduction. Uncover the traitors while working with your allies.
It's not just modern challenges like searching and destroying a bomb you'll need to deal with either. WWII modes add vehicles and tanks, across iconic battlegrounds like Stalingrad.
If you're looking for an RPG to play on PSVR2, you can't go wrong with The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners. While there are two chapters to take on, we recommend taking on the first chapter, which offers much more player choice than its sequel. As you sneak through levels, you must pick your battles carefully. Hordes will quickly overwhelm you, and your supply of weapons and ammo is severely limited at first. Slowly, you'll learn how to take down walkers quietly, and where to loot the best items to help you progress.
PSVR2 offers significant visual upgrades when compared to other headsets, with lighting noticeably improved. The gameplay is still stellar, with crafting baked into everything you do.
Gran Turismo 7 plays like it was developed with VR in mind from the get-go. Polyphony Digital has done a tremendous job adapting its flagship racing sim to PSVR 2. And it’s a huge improvement over the VR options available in Gran Turismo Sport.
GT7’s menus are presented in PSVR 2’s Cinematic Mode, but once you’re in a race, you’ll be in full VR. It’s quite a jarring feeling at first, but not unwelcome, as freely looking around inside your car is wonderfully natural. In the driver’s seat, the tracks feel absolutely massive; the banks and hills of courses like Laguna Seca and Mount Panorama are more daunting than ever.
Racing in VR is deeply immersive, as you are seeing the race from the driver’s cockpit view. Best of all, the VR update is entirely free, and all aspects of the game are playable in VR, including the online Sport mode. There’s even a VR showcase mode, letting you get up close and personal with your car collection, and their stunning detail is more apparent than ever, thanks to PSVR 2’s excellent image quality.
How we made our best PSVR 2 games list
It'd be hard to find an editorial team as interested in the crossover of culture, tech, and games as much as we are here at TechRadar Gaming. VR gaming is one of the best congregations of those three spheres too, so we're all about the latest and greatest when it comes to the best PSVR 2 games.
Despite it being a fairly young genre of games and gaming, we've put many hours into many game of all genres, testing them out to ensure we have the experience and expertise backing up our recommendations. That way you can have confidence in us and our picks.
Best PSVR 2 games: FAQs
How much do PSVR 2 games cost?
PSVR 2 games are available at a range of prices. Horizon: Call of the Mountain has set a precedent for the headset’s big exclusives to be full-priced, at $59.99 / £59.99 / AU$109.95. Smaller titles and ports can be bought, usually, for less. Some games have also added PSVR 2 support as free updates, meaning you don’t necessarily have to spend more beyond the headset itself.
What games work with PlayStation VR 2?
Any of the games on our list of the best PSVR 2 games will work with Sony's newest headset and they represent eh top picks from a growing and robust library. You'll have to make sure you double check to see if the game you want is PSVR 2 compatible though - game boxes and digital listings are well signposted though.
Can you play regular PS5 games on PSVR 2?
Yes, you can play your library of PS5 games via the headset’s Cinematic mode. This creates a virtual screen within the display. However, we’d only recommend this as a curiosity, as regular PS5 games benefit more from being outputted on a 4K TV screen or monitor.
Is PSVR 2 worth it in 2024?
Given the PSVR 2's price tag, this is a fair question. Undoubtedly, PSVR 2 is an excellent bit of gaming hardware and has the capacity to excite and offer gaming experiences like no other. If you're really keen on soaking up all the virtual reality gaming experiences you can get on the tech, and you're interested in all the games on our best PSVR 2 games list too, then the PSVR 2 will be worth it for you.
If you're on the fence, or need more games to convince you then waiting it out for a deal or for a fuller game library might be the way forward.
Will PSVR 2 get more games?
In short, yes - but what forms those games will take might actually be more complicated than you might think. This is due to the recent news that appeared to show that Sony was attempting to put PSVR 2 more into the PC gaming sphere, experimenting with games and support on that different platform. As a result, it feels a little bit like Sony is slowly retiring the PSVR 2 already, almost putting it out to pasture by expanding its compatibility with PC.
However, all that being said, it's likely that we'll see some new games on PSVR 2, be they built for PC VR or PSVR 2 itself - but perhaps not as many, if any, blockbuster hits that we might have expected or wanted.
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