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
It was the 80s and Ronald Reagan was enjoying the presidency of the United States while Ali Agca was making an attempt on the life of John Paul II, Margaret Thatcher was the prime minister of the United Kingdom and the coin-ops, the arcade cabinets sprouted like pimples on the face of a computer science civilization that was just a teenager. The general euphoria about new technologies and the magic box of the computer went through that enthusiastic decade as an electric current, transversally affecting public opinion until it left its mark in various artistic fields. The harlequin Alberto Camerini defined his peers as the "automatic kids" of an electronic generation hungry for videogames in the single "Computer Capriccio", where a pinball machine and a cabinet framed the digital delirium of the video clip, which proclaimed the advent of a colorful future cybertronic.
So many years have passed, thirty-five to be precise, that that single now sounds laughable in aesthetics and content to us, so accustomed to portable internet connections and the most perverse technologies, in a world where science fiction happened in spite of us and VR viewers permeate home realities.
Bethesda is undoubtedly the software house that has most shown its belief in virtual reality, making excellent ports of its flagship titles for helmets of all kinds, such as the excellent Fallout 4 VR and Doom VFR. Who more than The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was eagerly waiting to land on Steam in virtual reality, after being hosted on virtually any machine capable of running it? Released in November on PSVR, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR is finally ready to show itself on the lenses of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, we were waiting for it with great anxiety and not without some concern.
The latest open world title proposed by Bethesda on PC, Fallout 4 VR, it didn't feature a very solid build: the game at launch required the application of several patches to make the experience fluid and to manually set anti-aliasing in an interface that was anything but user friendly.
It is good to immediately dispel any doubts: with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR we can almost cry out for a miracle, with a very fluid port with exceptional performance and not too expensive in terms of resources. Also in this case, many amateur patches voted for are already available from day one enhance the gaming experience with high definition texture packs, enhancing the glance with new water shaders, introducing bad weather or reinforcing ambient sounds. It is truly a pleasure to engage in modding to create the optimal gaming experience, instead of being forced to patch to fix bugs.
Skyrim landed on our PCs in its entirety, exactly as Bethesda had previously operated on Fallout 4. As is the custom of major VR productions, we can choose the movement system, opting for the free locomotion if we prefer a realistic exploration or for the teleport for the more sensitive to motion sickness. We can guarantee that the fluidity and the measures against nausea (a darkening of the contours of the view during the most abrupt movements) minimize most of the disturbances related to the viewers.
In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR the adaptation of the combat of the various weapons takes its cue from the excellence of the titles that have extensively experienced the best possible interactions, such as, for example, nibbling arrows on our bow winks at the well-known "The Lab" of Steam. The white weapon combat is instead more devoted to the RPG than to the naked and raw simulation, for example the shield will parry the opponent's shots only by assuming the right posture and stealth kills will require you to enter stealth mode or to squat in person.
Nevertheless, the gameplay feeling is really great and the navigability of the menus, a veritable scourge of VR, always ready to undermine the suspension of disbelief, is reduced to the bone thanks to numerous tricks: for example a very convenient sub-menu of favorite items that can be recalled with the press of a button which will allow us to change weapons in combat without cumbersome interruptions.
The version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive beats the PSVR version for the increased and improved range of motion and the wide range of customization guaranteed by a performing machine like the PC. Walking the lands of Skyrim has never been so immersive and alienating: the only limit placed on the thirst for adventure is represented by the real stamina of the player, who will be forced to take breaks after exhausting fights, while observing with envy his virtual alter ego don't shed a sweat. If you have a latest generation headset and a high-performance PC, don't hesitate for a moment before returning to visit Skyrim: you are facing the best VR experience available.
► 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
