TECH PREVIEW – Sony has announced 11 new games alongside the PlayStation VR2 release date and price.

Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced on the PlayStation Blog that PlayStation VR2 will be available from February 23 (with more than 20 games available at launch) and will be priced at €600 in Europe, $550 in the US, 530 GBP in the UK, or 74980 JPY in Japan.

That is more expensive than the PlayStation 5. PlayStation Network users can sign up for pre-orders here, which start in November. The bundle includes a VR headset, stereo headphones and Sense controllers. There will also be a Horizon Call of the Mountain bundle of PlayStation VR2 for 650 euros/600 dollars/570 pounds/79980 yen. The charging dock for the PlayStation VR2 Sense controller will be 50 euros/50 dollars/40 pounds/480 yen, so you don’t need to plug the controller into the PlayStation 5 to charge it.

Eleven games for the new VR console

There is also word of the eleven games announced. After The Fall is being developed by Vertigo Games. It’s an intense co-op shooter set in a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, coming to PlayStation VR2 in 2023. After setting off from a survival camp that can hold up to 32 players, team up with three other players, but you can also head to the city alone, although it’ll be harder to fight mutants and bosses. Shooting feels unique with the Sense controller: everything that lands in your hands will be sensed through haptic feedback. With the dynamic use of adaptive triggers, every weapon mimics the weight of the trigger pull of the real-life magazine.

The game world also provides a more profound sense of presence than before. You can feel the vibrations of the environment when the Smasher is coming towards you or when the Snowbreed is trying to hit you. The headset gives you feedback with a thump. Vertigo says it is one of the best-looking VR worlds they’ve made so far. We’ll scan the environment for threats through the huge 110-degree field of view, but it’s best not to blink. The game supports cross-play multiplayer with an updated matchmaking system. Initially released in December 2021, the game’s content has since doubled, and the co-op section will be free for those who buy the game on PSVR2.

Cities VR: Enhanced Edition is developed by Fast Travel Games; it will be available for pre-order from November 15 (such titles will be in the launch line-up!). The VR adaptation of Cities: Skylines allows you to build and manage the city of your dreams. From small villages to large metropolises, we can plan road networks, manage city finances and provide citizens with the services they need while buying land to expand the city. There will be excellent detail courtesy of the PlayStation 5, and the Sense controller will give you a feel for city building. We’ll have to build everything from an empty lot. The game will be released sometime in 2023.

Cosmonious High is made by Owlchemy Labs (creators of the famous and award-winning Job Simulator and Vacation Simulator). This game is comically disastrous, according to the developers. An alien, a Prismi, can be controlled in it and adapt to any situation. After crash-landing at the school, we discover that the school is full of life, the characters are engaging, but they all have mysterious malfunctions. With skill, the school’s glory can be restored. 4K, 90 FPS, and real-time shadows provide the most realistic environment. Feedback will be felt on your hands and head, so wind, water and paint balls will affect you. Vibrant sound is provided by 3D sound, there’s no charging screen and eye-tracking software tracks our eyes, but it’s worth not blinking.

Crossfire: Sierra Squad is being developed by Smilegate, and the fast-paced FPS is scheduled for release in 2023. It’s a combat-focused shooter in which you’ll have to take on a seemingly endless enemy force with high AI intelligence as the leader of an elite squad in the middle of a war for a recently discovered, top-secret biochemical weapon. Who is responsible for this weapon? Fierce resistance from all sides will be met with various cunning enemies and a relentless pursuit of the truth. There will be explosive paramilitary action between rival factions of the Black List and

Global Risk in indoor and outdoor battle sequences with over 60 campaign missions. There will be 39 weapon types, including pistols, rifles, throwable grenades (you can throw them back) and sniper rifles with revolutionary scope mechanics. These provide plenty of options for taking down 17 different types of enemies. You can also take on heavy artillery, such as helicopters and LAVs, in the entire 360-degree VR space. Our enemies won’t be mindless NPCs: they’ll have keen artificial intelligence, but in return, up to four players can play in co-op. Coordinating attacks with teammates is fun, especially when you learn to communicate with natural hand signals through finger touch sensing in-game. Bossfights promise to be intense. Smilegate wants to create a gaming experience that will appeal to newcomers and VR veterans. There will be multiple game modes: arcade, realistic, hardcore horde, and competitive players can climb the international ladder.

The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR is developed by Supermassive Games. It will be a fast-paced, rollercoaster action-horror shooter where every move you make and everything you see can mean the difference between life and death in the world of The Dark Pictures Anthology. We must survive a terrifying ghost ship and its distorted apparitions, confront the hideous demonic incarnations of persecuted “witches” from 17th century New England, then fight for our lives against otherworldly vampires trapped beneath the desert… finally, escape from the World’s Fair Hotel where a bloodthirsty serial killer is trying to eliminate us. How are these stories and worlds connected? Sitting on a rollercoaster, we must endure every bump, twist, turn and fall. Adaptive triggers make each weapon unique as we attack fearsome enemies that emerge from the shadows. There will also be falling beams, buses and witches. Headset feedback lets you know when you’ve failed. Eye-tracking means enemies only move when you blink, and 3D audio makes their voices prominent. Each story has multiple terrifying routes, and no two playthroughs will be the same.

Hello Neighbor VR: Search and Rescue for PlayStation VR is made by TinyBuild and will be available to pre-order from November 15. In partnership with Steel Wool Studios, the most authentic Hello Neighbor experience to date is being created. Mr Peterson’s creepy house in VR evolves to a new level. Taking on the role of six little neighbourhood heroes, we must rescue our friend who is held captive in a mysterious basement dungeon. We must learn and master their unique abilities to solve puzzles, solve mysteries, and escape from Peterson’s vault, all while he constantly tries to catch us. But there will also be other opponents.

Coming in 2023, Jurassic World Aftermath Collection is a Coatsink project. For them, working with dinosaurs was a dream. This remastered version of the popular survival adventure game combines parts 1 and 2 into one collection set between the two Jurassic World films. We land on the familiar Isla Nublar and find ourselves stranded in an abandoned research facility. In a fully dubbed narrative (with Jeff Goldblum reprising his role as Dr Ian Malcolm) led by Laura Bailey, our goal is to gather valuable information, survive, and escape from a host of ferocious and familiar dinosaurs. It features 4K, 90 FPS, headset vibration, 3D sound, volumetric lighting, enhanced post-processing effects, and faster load times. There will also be a new feature, the Dino Viewer: an immersive, living museum where you can get up close and personal with them.

The Light Brigade will be available to pre-order from November 15 and will also be made for PlayStation VR by Funktronic Labs. It’s a new single-player roguelike experience with immersive shootouts and atmospheric puzzles. The world is in ruins, and the light grows dimmer with each passing day. As the last line of defence against the darkness, we join the ranks of the Light Brigade to travel to the Sunken World as often as we need to. The procedurally generated battlefields of shattered memories are filled with enemies lurking around every corner. Strategically navigate through dense forests, frozen mountains and forgotten cemeteries. You’ll have a steady rifle and light magic. With these, we must keep the shadows at bay. There will be realistic physics-based weapon combat, and as you progress up the brigade, you’ll get your hands on new weapons and unique spells. By saving our comrades, we can upgrade our headquarters in the temple, opening up new shops and character classes. There will be cross-buy between PlayStation VR and PlayStation VR2.

Pistol Whip is made by Cloudhead Games. It’s an award-winning physical action-rhythm game where thrilling gun battles collide with dynamic maps. A dream world has been created, and you can fight in it. The enhanced game version brings even more depth and dimension to the gory action with haptic feedback through the headset and Sense controller. It features finger touch sensing and a significantly reduced loading time. Each weapon has its unique feedback for firing and reloading, plus adaptive triggers add a unique flavour by providing different levels of resistance when the magazine is empty or full. According to Lucas Sitanski, designer at Cloudhead Games, the new haptics allow you to experience the Pistol Whip in a way never seen before. The 3D sound brings the game’s iconic movie-inspired scenes closer to reality through dynamic positioning: the headset tracks where the sound effects concern the player and automatically adjusts the volume. The PlayStation VR2 version will be a free upgrade for owners of the original PlayStation VR version.

Tentacular, made by Firepunchd, will be available for pre-order from November 15. It’s about a giant but good-hearted tentacle monster trying to find his place in the world. We slip into the body of a gigantic, gentle-mannered mollusc ocean dweller raised among humans on the bustling and eccentric island of La Kalma. It’s a physics-based adventure packed with imaginative, immersive VR gameplay, a heart-warming story and plenty of humour. Solve puzzles using playful tools to build strange and spectacular structures or wreak havoc with your mass. Eye tracking allows you to interact with the inhabitants of La Kalma by looking at them. Deciding whether to accept a task from one of the city’s inhabitants is simply a matter of looking at the yes/no option, but you can always hit them with your tentacle. The audible haptics adds detail and tactile feedback, further adding to the feeling that we’re out in the ocean breeze, releasing our tentacles. Adaptive triggers let you sense the weight of objects you pick up, and the headset also gives you an impression of what’s happening in the world.

Finally, Ramen VR makes Zenith: The Last City, available for pre-order from November 15. The studio has added hundreds of hours of new content to the game, implemented a massive graphics tune-up, and taken advantage of the PlayStation VR2’s capabilities. It has an epic, twist-filled new story with new, memorable characters. Capture creatures and summon them as pets, or raid a new boss. There are sharper textures, higher resolution models, more lifelike grass, realistic shadows, and lighting. Experience a new dimension of interaction with adaptive triggers, so you can feel the energy flow through your hand as you charge your sword or shoot. With headset feedback, we can feel the snap of enemy blades, the speed of a rush, or the slow pulse of dangerously low health. Load times are five times faster, and anyone with the PlayStation VR version can get free access to the PlayStation VR2 version.

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Source: Gematsu