Summary
UPDATE: Resident Evil Village VR Mode won Best VR/AR Game at The Game Awards 2023!
Virtual reality has reached an interesting place in the gaming world right now. Over the last few years, there have been some pretty huge leaps in VR tech, and that’s led to the creation of some truly immersive, and groundbreaking VR video game experiences. However, in the last year or so, things have slowed down in the VR world quite a bit. Though PSVR2 came out, it didn’t hit the market quite as hard as many had hoped it would, with far too few games to really stand out. And whilethe Meta Quest 3seems to be breaking new ground in a big way, its long-term impact on the gaming industry is still yet to be seen fully. That being said, there have still been some great VR gaming experiences this year, andThe Game Awards 2023’s Best VR/AR category highlights a few of those.
While 2023 didn’t have many VR experiences that really broke new ground for the medium, it did still have some pretty fun VR games, and thisGame Awardscategory brings five of the best together under one roof. Any of these five nominees could technically win the award this year, but there are one or two that stood out a little more than the rest.
2023 Best VR/AR Game Nominees
Gran Turismo 7
Though the base game released back in March of last year,Gran Turismo 7received its VR mode earlier this year alongside the launch of the PlayStation VR 2, and by all accounts, it’s one of the most impressive VR experiences of the year. From 3D audio to eye-tracking technology that keeps the action in focus, and from 4K visuals to headset haptic feedback that activates when the player bumps into another car or object,Gran Turismo 7is theperfect tech demo for PSVR2, and it’s easily one of the most complete and technically-impressive VR experiences this year.
Humanity
A bleak yet beautiful puzzle game,Humanityreleased in May of this year, and came equipped with an optional VR mode right off the bat.Humanityis aLemmings-like that sees players control a spirit guide Shiba Inu as it tries to corral a horde of human souls to the end of a level, placing command waypoints for them to follow along the way. Unfortunately, whileHumanityis a solid puzzle game, its VR mode is rather disappointing, only really adding the ability to move the camera around the map from a first-person perspective.
Horizon Call of the Mountain
One of the more disappointing VR games of the year,Horizon Call of the Mountaindoesn’t really live up to its franchise’s lofty legacy. An admittedly beautiful game,Horizon Call of the Mountainsuffers from some repetitive gameplay, a lot of which feels a bit outdated for the VR scene, such as an overabundance of climbing sections. That said,Horizon Call of the Mountainis still a good VR game, it just wasn’t the flagship system-seller that PlayStation was hoping for, nor a title likely to win this year’s Best VR/AR Game Award.
Resident Evil Village VR Mode
The latest in Capcom’s ever-growing line ofResident EvilVR modes,Resident Evil VillageVR is undoubtedly one of the most complete VR experiences of the year. Letting fans play through the entire game in VR,Resident Evil Village’s VR modeis rather impressive, especially when paired with the fact that it was free for those who already owned the base game. The only thing holdingResident Evil VillageVR back is the fact that it’s technically a two-year-old game at this point, and one that many fans have already played a few times.
Synapse
A studio that’s been working on VR games for years, nDreams has made arguably its best game yet withSynapse, but there are still some sizable issues that might hold it back from winning the Game Award this year. While its gunplay is suitably intense, its superpowered abilities are always a blast to use, itsperformances from David Hayter and Jennifer Haleare great, and its art direction is striking,Synapse’s lack of enemy variety and sometimes repetitive roguelike nature do hamper its brilliance quite a bit.
Final Prediction
When all is said and done, this year’s Game Award for the Best VR/AR Game can only go to one worthy contender, and it seems likely thatGran Turismo 7will be the lucky winner. WhileSynapseis one ofPSVR2’s best shooters, andResident Evil Villageis a great new way to experience an excellent game in a new way,Gran Turismo 7in VR feels like a completely new experience, with the headset not just elevating the base game’s content, but completely reframing it.
