The PlayStation VR headset has been out for the better part of a year now, and since then, additions in the form of not only new AAA game announcements such as Skyrim VR, but new accessories such as the PSVR Aim Controller have either been announced or have hit the market.
With rumours of better tracking and a refreshed PlayStation Move controller on the horizon, Sony seems to be pushing their console exclusive virtual reality peripheral, which in turn got us here at CGM thinking about potential PSVR remasters or remakes of classic PlayStation first person titles that would benefit from a virtual reality makeover.
We’ll start things off with a series that has been curiously absent on the PlayStation 4: Insomniac Games’ Resistance. The last entry into the alternate history alien shooter was 2012’s Resistance: Burning Skies for the PlayStation Vita. Unfortunately, the game was given less attention during development than its bigger brother console entries and was ultimately panned for being a bland and uninspired title. The Resistance series as a whole however were some of the best exclusive FPS titles available on the PlayStation 3, with Resistance 3 even supporting PlayStation Move controls out of the box.
The biggest thing Resistance did right—and why the series would work so well with Sony’s PSVR headset—would have to be the tense atmosphere and strong writing. Any setting ravaged by war can be considered bleak, however the war between Mankind and the Chimeras in Resistance painted a truly sombre outlook. A remaster or reboot of the series could breathe new life into the now dormant franchise, and with the added horsepower of the PlayStation 4 coupled with the immersive nature of virtual reality, Resistance could make a huge comeback and potentially even become the go to VR title for Sony’s black box.
Another PlayStation Move-friendly title that could potentially benefit from a PSVR resurgence is Child of Eden, by famed creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi, best known for his work on the music rhythm game Rez. For those unfamiliar with the game, Child of Eden came out on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and acted as a sort of spiritual successor to Rez. Gameplay in Child of Eden consists of the player shooting a range of objects that clutter the play area. Similarly to Rez, shooting said objects results in musical notes that modify and add to the overall tempo and feel of the music in any given stage.
PlayStation Move elevated the game to new levels, giving players precise motion controls that let them immerse themselves in the synth-filled abstract world of Child of Eden. Rez Infinite, which was a PSVR launch title, took the classic music game and allowed PlayStation gamers to experience Rez in a virtual reality space.
Rez Infinite also contained a new special mode known as Area X. Made from the ground up for PlayStation 4 and PSVR, Area X added a new level that took advantage of the PS4’s hardware and gave players a small glimpse into what a new game from Tetsuya Mizuguchi could look like. A follow up to Child of Eden or just another music rhythm game from Mizuguchi for the PlayStation VR platform could end up potentially being the best way to experience music rhythm games going forward.
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood proved that PSVR could reinvigorate the ‘’on-rails’’ style of first person gaming and make it exciting (and terrifying) again, and no other series more than SEGA’s The House of the Dead franchise deserves to be on a virtual reality platform. The long running goofy and gut-filled zombie shooter series first made its debut all the way back in 1996 in Arcades, with PC and console versions that hit two years later. The series is known for its fun shooting gallery style gameplay mixed in with awful, yet somehow endearing dialogue.
Those who never experienced a House of the Dead title, especially the older entries in the series, can look at it as what it would feel like stepping inside the world of a B movie zombie flick. A PlayStation VR House of the Dead would work wonderfully for the franchise and recapture that whoa factor patrons of arcades and movie theatres had when the game first released back in the mid 90s.
Of course, there can’t be a list relating to first person games on the PlayStation without mentioning the Killzone series. Although the Guerrilla Games franchise has come to an end after the events of Killzone Shadow Fall on PlayStation 4, there is always room for a reboot or reimagining of the long running sci-fi shooter. Like Resistance 3 on the PlayStation 3, Killzone 3 allowed players to use PlayStation Move controllers and when paired with the Sharp Shooter gun accessory, the title transformed from a hardcore military shooter to a fun, more casual point-and-shoot Wii remote style romp.
The basic premise of Killzone has two factions fighting against each other: the ISA or the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance and the Helghast. The ISA are mostly composed of your average law abiding citizen, whereas those who side with the Helghast are generally more on the nasty side of things. What makes the series truly great is its visual identity: The game is rife with dark blacks, greys and foreboding reds that lend to the cool dystopian aesthetic that borrows heavily from Russian Constructivism and other pulpier propaganda-inspired art. A PSVR Killzone title could provide players with a fun sci-fi shooter and possibly a great military title, a genre that is currently lacking when it comes to the library of PSVR titles available.
Finally, ending the list is a somewhat obscure title, but one that would surely benefit from a virtual reality remake or reimagining, and that game is LSD: Dream Emulator. If the name sounds like a certain psychedelic drug, that’s because it pretty much is. LSD: Dream Emulator, or LSD for short, is one of the most surreal games to ever hit the original PlayStation, perhaps even gaming in general. LSD released way back in 1998 exclusively for Japanese territories.
LSD gives players a means to explore randomly generated sequences—or dreams—in which they can explore and interact with strange and often otherworldly environments. Upon making contact with one of the many residents in a dream, the game will warp the player into another sequence. LSD is a title that consists solely of exploration and the sense of discovery that comes with it. The core design of the game was inspired by the dream journal of Hiroko Nishikawa, an artist that worked for Asmik Ace Entertainment, the developers of LSD: Dream Emulator. The title would be a great fit for PSVR in that it would be able to transport players to different surrealistic worlds in a way that only virtual reality can offer. The exploratory nature of the game is perfect match for those looking to get lost in the world of virtual reality and a full blown remake of LSD: Dream Emulator should be more than capable of delivering a truly unique experience.
