Review for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR. Game for PC and PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 17/11/2017 The version for PC came out on 03/04/2018
How many times have we heard of Skyrim? The Elder Scrolls V it came out way back in 2011, and has since received so many updates and reissues that it is almost ridiculous. After the very last port we evaluated, that is Skyrim for Nintendo Switch (which certainly brings no little interest as it is the only portable version of the title), here comes the first, real reason to replay this video game thoroughly, or for whom had never touched it yet, to dive deep into it.
And the dip is literal, this being a version for Playstation VR that will personally plunge you into the world of Skyrim, as will happen very soon for Doom and Fallout 4.
Notice of pleasantries
Talk about the story, the setting, or the gameplay of Skyrim nowadays it would be completely useless and out of place, being something now present practically everywhere and most likely already widely played by all concerned. We will therefore only talk here about the immersion possible only thanks to virtual reality and how the gameplay has been modified to better reflect the new game peripheral, however at first thought it is all too clear that this is the first, truly huge game for Playstation VR. If up to now on VR software with rather poor longevity have been released, which can be called "experiences" rather than real games, in Skyrim we find a really gigantic game with its 100+ hours, and above all with all the expansions included within it.
The more traditional can enjoy themselves The Elder Scrolls V in virtual reality using, as they have always done, their joypad in hand, but for the bravest Bethesda has implemented a gameplay totally compatible with two Playstation Moves. Each "ice cream" represents one of the hands of our character and with them we will be able to fight in every form as if we were inside the title. Wearing sword and shield we will be able to strike while we will bring protection in front of us when needed, while in the guise of a magician we will be able to cast spells by bringing our hands forward, so as to unleash lightning bolts and fireballs .: an extremely gratifying feeling, let it tell you.
This feeling is further amplified when we use the bow, having to actually aim with one hand and shoot and shoot the arrow using the other. Not all of this deserves praise, however: when the enemies run towards us we will have no way to aim and shoot and in the meantime move as we usually do with the joypad: we will in fact be forced to turn around, run away, and turn around in the hope of having time. to shoot a new arrow. Even the shield, being on the same hand that is usually devoted to the movement buttons, will force us to move only sideways during a parry. All in all acceptable compromises? This depends on player to player, but sometimes it's better to have full control of the game and your movements than to have fun fighting "in person".
As for the movement itself, we will have the possibility to walk freely or to “teleport” from step to step to avoid annoying problems of motion-sickness, which we found powerful (and at risk of vomiting) by playing with a free movement. Bethesda has certainly done everything it can to deliver Skyrim to a version in Virtual Reality, and their efforts are clearly visible everywhere even if there are several technical defects such as those already expressed above, however the management of the menu and subtitles is truly unforgivable, identical to those of the previous versions and therefore uncomfortable and with the tendency even to "get stuck" between the polygons of the area in which we find ourselves, making everything difficult to read and, above all, not very navigable due to the very uncomfortable pointing system of the PS Move.
Technically ambiguous
The major strengths of Skyrim VR are the vastness of the world and the realism that shines through. It is difficult not to feel immersed in a game in which, firsthand, we have the opportunity to enter a city or an inn populated with people who will start talking, acting on their own, while we can look around freely and take decisions about our course of action. This feeling alone would be worth the full cost of the game (although they could have sold VR support as an expansion for those who already owned the remastered version of the Playstation 4 title).
Unfortunately there is also a weak point: the graphics. Bethesda has very little to do with it (and indeed has done everything possible to improve the final result), but Playstation VR does not have exactly the best graphics power and the best resolution: unfortunately, so the title is comparable to an even worse version. of the original of 2011, between an exaggerated aliasing, simplified polygonal models and very unattractive textures. Certainly, in addition to the menus, to break the magic of virtual reality there are also the loading screens between one place and another, which could be managed in a more intelligent way. These falls in class find their climax when our weapons are lined, as rather than simply seeing our hands in front of us, we will find ugly three-dimensional models of the plasticky Playstation VR, completely out of context and incredibly ruining the atmosphere.
As for motion sickness, that depends entirely on the user. For particularly delicate people (like myself) even twenty minutes of play will be enough to make you feel furious nausea, however Bethesda has made the movement comfortable for most people. One of the techniques used is that of teleportation, but another is that of radically lowering the visual range around the player during movement. The result was that while all my curious friends delighted in Skyrim VR without an ounce of nausea, I have endured the pains of hell.
But the whole thing is so magical and immersive that it was worth it. To make it more realistic, all on-screen elements have been removed (such as the compass or life and magicka bars), but can be found by lowering and raising the head out of normal range of vision. Here, too, we talk about compromises: having the bars out of range is not exactly the best thing when you are in the middle of a fight and need to keep your life points under control.
Skyrim VR has brought for the first time a real gigantic game in full immersion on Playstation virtual reality. Bethesda has done its best to bring the entire gameplay of the title to VR, sometimes using uncomfortable compromises, but eventually succeeding in its intent. Most of the annoyances can be eliminated by playing with a pad rather than Playstation Moves, and despite the obvious graphical downgrade, everything is absolutely immersive and makes the idea of experiencing the adventure firsthand. Too bad for the non-optimized menus, but for any PSVR owner this could be a compulsory purchase, also considering the fact that all the expansions are present inside for a stratospheric amount of content.
► The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR is an RPG-type game developed and published by Bethesda for PC and PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 17/11/2017 The version for PC came out on 03/04/2018
