by I’ve been eagerly awaiting PSVR 2 for some time because of one promise; This next-gen VR headset for PlayStation 5 will finally beat motion sickness. One of the reasons VR is bubbling under everyone’s radar but never fully takes off is that it can cause nausea. PSVR 2 has the advanced technology to solve that nausea, at least I thought so.
Let’s recap a little. Having owned and played PSVR for PS4 regularly, I was unfortunate enough to play Fracked for a review, a game so poorly optimized that I had to lie in a dark room for almost two hours to settle my stomach. Like some sort of VR aversion therapy, the very idea of resuming PSVR made me sick.
Then comes PSVR 2 and I’m back in virtual reality and there’s no gurgling for a while. Read my PSVR 2 review for more on how I found the hardware to use overall, but an hour into Horizon Call Of The Mountain and the notorious rise in temperature, a sick stomach and I just had to say goodbye to Sony’s Next-gen sign off VR hardware.
Motion sickness in VR is common. It can also be something you can teach your body to adapt to and overcome. It can be caused by low framerates and input lag, two areas where PSVR 2 excels. I also have to give credit to PSVR 2 and Horizon developer Firesprite, as I managed a consistent hour and bit of play before I felt the nausea build up.
But I’m a gamer and need to experience the latest thrills and technology. Even my angry belly cannot refuse me this move; PSVR 2 keeps calling me back. There are technical ways the new hardware eases motion sickness, for example, being able to physically feel the world around you through the haptics of the controller is incredible. Compared to the original PSVR, this new next-gen hardware is impressive.
In fact, after forcing myself back into Horizon’s metal monster-carved mountain, I’ve gradually become more accustomed to this virtual world in PSVR 2. Ultimately, the only real challenge to long playtime in this game is my own laziness.
After defeating a mechanical monster by happily firing a series of arrows into its glowing eye, I looked up at a carefully orchestrated cliff face that the game wanted to scale from me and found myself shrugging, huffed, huffed, and finally pulled the PSVR 2 off my head. The game felt so real, so physical, that I just couldn’t handle another climb…for now.
Motion sickness occurs when your brain is overwhelmed by instructions it can’t understand, and in VR there’s a disconnect between what your eyes are telling your brain and what your body is experiencing. There is some debate that the VR disease affects women more than men (opens in new tab)with the accusation that the technique is developed by men for men.
There’s really no reason to suffer from motion sickness in PSVR 2, not really. As my time with the headset shows, the more you play, the better the experience, and there are ways to immerse yourself in these virtual worlds and save you from an upset stomach. Below I go into some details on how to beat motion sickness and enjoy PSVR 2.
PSVR 2: How to Reduce Motion Sickness By
1. Play in short bursts
The idea is to find your “VR legs” and you can easily do this by taking 15-30 minute breaks and generally playing with those regular breaks in short bursts. Most good games made for virtual reality are designed to be played that way, with condensed levels and missions and stages with multiple spots where you can take a break. Little by little you build a tolerance to VR and motion sickness is a thing of the past.
2. Start with lower comfort settings
Developers go to great lengths to ensure that you can customize PSVR 2 games to suit your gaming needs. Go to a game’s “Comfort Settings” and tweak everything to the most basic game settings.
For example, options like Snap Turning reduce movement because the screen rotates in increments rather than one smooth motion. This may conflict with wanting to immerse yourself in VR, but here’s some scientific evidence – we generally “blink” our eyes when we turn our head and body, and this mimics that movement (we’ve evolved to deal with motion sickness naturally, smart us).
Uber settings include teleporting to jump to points in the world, and vignettes close around your eyes to reduce exposure to the world as you move. The basic advice here is to turn everything on and gradually turn those convenience features off as you acclimate.
Read my guide’PSVR 2: everything you need to know‘ for more details on the technology behind this new VR headset for PS5.
3. Choose your first game wisely
Even the The best PSVR 2 games causes motion sickness in first-time players. Jumping straight into a frantic race in Gran Turismo 7 or a chaotic fight to the death in Resident Evil Village isn’t ideal, no matter how amazing those experiences are in PSVR 2. The best thing to do if you’re new to VR is start with casual games that are slower paced and less stressful.
When you get into a game like GT7 that’s one of the The best PS5 games For PSVR 2 I would recommend starting with slower cars and challenges and working your way up to faster cars and busy races.
My three tips for first-time VR players on PSVR 2 would be:
- Moss & Moss Book II: You see the world from above and guide a little mouse through puzzle rooms and it’s a relaxing experience.
- Kayak VR Mirage: a slow-paced experience that allows you to “paddle” at your own pace. This is about immersion, not shocks, and the feel of movement is smooth.
- Tetris Effect Connected: I can spend hours in this game; The single screen and simple puzzle gameplay combined with hypnotic graphics make this a delight.
4. Make sure the headset fits
This seems obvious, but you really need to make sure the PSVR 2 headset fits properly and that includes calibration. PSVR 2 is an advanced piece of VR technology and one of the most important parts of the setup process is aligning the lenses with your eyes. Get it right and the games are Crips and Share, get it wrong and things can look blurry and suffer from chromatic aberration, both of which can cause headaches.
Also, make sure the headset is not too tight, especially around your forehead and nose. Stress can cause headaches here. Play around with the adjustments and keep checking the settings to work for your comfort.
Read my PSVR 2: Everything you need to know guide to find out exactly what this next-gen VR headset for PS5 can do.
5. Chew gum?
I came to play PSVR 2 and chew gum and I’m out of gum. Too bad, because chewing gum (or candy) while playing VR has been shown to help with motion sickness. If you’re a fearful flier, you already know this one, and it works in VR too.
Continue reading:
