Borderlands 2 VR is a PSVR exclusive port of the popular 2012 title. The core tenants of the franchise has always been: 1) shoot stuff, 2) loot stuff, but now the big question is whether or not VR adds to the experience.

Borderlands 2 VR Details:

Official Site
PlayStation Store [Digital]
Amazon [Physical]

Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: 
Gearbox Games

Available On: PlayStation VR
Reviewed On: PSVR (PS4 Pro)
Release Date: December 14th, 2018

Note: Considering the multitude of existing reviews which assess the merits of the non-VR version, and the need to take comfort breaks in the VR version, I did not complete the game’s reported ~25 hours of main quest content. Based on several hours of gameplay, this review focuses on the underlying mechanics of the VR implementation upon which the content of the game relies.

Gameplay

Borderlands 2 VR knows what it is. It’s a shooting and looting game. While that might make it sound bland on paper, the game actually manages to make it feel quite alluring, thanks in a large part to an interesting variety of guns and at least a little bit of loot to be found around every corner. While the original Borderlands 2 was highly focused around co-op, supporting up to four players, Borderlands 2 VR lacks co-op entirely, making it a single player experience through-and-through.

Borderlands 2 VR supports both PlayStation Move controllers and the standard gamepad, but sadly lacks support for PS Aim.

My initial instinct was to start playing with the Move controllers (this is a VR shooter after all, and tracked Move controllers are the closest option you can get to actually holding a gun). My first hint that this was the wrong choice was the fact that the game relies on floating reticles to indicate where your shorts will land, including artificial recoil which causes the reticle to bounce around. A floating reticle feels entirely archaic in VR, where almost every native VR title is built around actually aiming down the weapon’s sights, or using a laser pointer projected from the gun. The reticle, as implemented, doesn’t feel quite right in VR when played with Move, but it’s essential to representing the unique feel of the game’s many weapons, as the bouncing reticle indicates the amount of kick and its expansion represents various states of accuracy.

What’s even more awkward when using Move is the way locomotion is handled. There’s both free walk and teleportation options. When using the free walk mode, holding down the Move’s big button causes you to move in the direction your controller is pointing. This works well enough in other made-for-VR games, but in Borderlands 2 VR—where the gameplay was originally designed for lots of stick-based strafing and continuous movement—you wind up holding your locomotion hand mostly up in the air as you point it awkwardly around to simulate stick movement to ensure you can effectively dodge incoming fire.

Image courtesy Gearbox Software

While it seems like the teleport option might be a better bet, teleportation is hampered by a finicky implementation which doesn’t handle height well at all (making it difficult to teleport over small obstacles or up small ledges which would be a breeze to simply jump over). You can actually enable the ability to jump in the game’s control scheme, but it only took a single hop for me to realize that would quickly lead to nausea (more on that in the Comfort section below). Teleporting is also slow, and a little awkward to blindly aim your teleportation (in the case of needing to strafe or fall back while continuing to fire at enemies).

The game’s usual interface has been ported to VR in an entirely straightforward way—it’s the original interface but now on a plane floating in front of you. The interface is controlled with a laser pointer with your Move controllers, which at least makes it less cumbersome than Skyrim VR (another port, which very often relied on tilting the Move controllers to simulate stick scrolling in menus). Still, it’s clear the interface was not built with this scheme in mind, as some actions are not intuitive at first, but it gets the job done in the end.

Image courtesy Gearbox Software

Playing Borderlands 2 VR with Move just felt clunky overall. I suppose nobody should be surprised to learn that the game plays notably better with the gamepad, considering it was built for that input device in the first place. (Aside: the lack of PS Aim support feels like a true shame considering it combines the motion-aiming of Move with the sticks of the gamepad.)

Once I switched over the using the gamepad I had no interest in going back to Move—shooting feels better (considering the floating reticle), the sticks make it easier to facilitate the kinds of movements that the game expects from the player (strafing, dodging, running backwards while shooting), and the interface is easier to use. Of course, playing with the gamepad and aiming with your head lacks a certain level of ‘VR-ness’ that you’d hope for out of a VR game, but at least it lets you connect with the game’s core fun more directly.

And what is that core fun exactly? It’s an engaging loop of blasting baddies and finding new guns, ‘nades, and other loot to upgrade, while being guided through the game’s world and story through a straightforward quest and leveling system (get a quest, do the quest, turn in the quest, collect reward, level up, get stronger, fight stronger baddies). Anyone who has played an MMORPG will innately understand this gameplay approach, right down to the loot tiers which use color to represent rarity.

The franchise has always prided itself on having heaps and heaps of interesting guns, and that’s in full force with Borderlands 2 VR. There’s the usual weapon classes (shotguns, sniper rifles, pistols, etc), but the game inventively mixes things up in fun ways, like a shotgun which shoots exploding rounds, a rifle which lights enemies on fire for bonus damage, an automatic pistol which gets more accurate as you fire it, or even a weapon which you toss away to explode like a grenade when you go to reload it.

You’ll find a gun that you really like, but as you level up you’ll eventually need to say your goodbyes and find a new weapon with better stats to take on harder foes. Looking forward to that next gun is always fun because it usually introduces an opportunity to change up your play style.

Unfortunately sniper rifles and other scoped weapons feel tremendously hampered because of the clunky implementation of scopes in Borderlands 2 VR. Instead of actually looking through any of the scopes with your eye, using a weapon’s zoom causes a tiny  screen to appear in front of the player which shows the weapon’s zoomed view and reticle (as it would have originally been repsented in the non-VR version of the game).

Screenshot by Road to VR

This might not be so bad except that the view through the window appears very low resolution, appears to run at something like 15 FPS, and lacks 3D entirely. On top of that, stylistic choices from the non-VR representation of the reticles are retained in the scoped view, which means even further reduced view quality thanks to things like dirt on the scope and fake scanlines. For a weapon class which focuses on precision, looking through a tiny, dirty, laggy window is far from ideal.

One major new gameplay feature has been added that’s unique to Borderlands 2 VR, and that’s the ‘BAMF Time’ BadAss Mega Fun Time ability which is a simple slow motion mechanic that’s available to all four characters. As it was tacked on, it’s lacking some of the effects that turn other some slow motion implementations into a visual spectacle, but it’s at least useful (to save yourself when you’re outgunned) and occasionally adds extra fun (like when you blow a jumping enemy out of mid-air). Unfortunately there’s nothing VR specific about BAMF, and it would work just as easily in the non-VR version of the game.

Immersion

Screenshot by Road to VR

As a port, Borderlands 2 VR is inherently stuck with lots of non-VR baggage, much of which can’t be tossed out without tossing our core elements of the game (or rewriting them from scratch). From the outset, the non-VR version of the game is designed expecting continuous movement from the player (to maneuver in battle), often in directions they aren’t looking (strafing, moving backwards while shooting). This abstract movement doesn’t feel great in VR, and can lead to nausea. Teleportation, if you want to ensure comfort, is always less immersive than free walking (because you lose your sense of place), and that’s doubly so in a game that wants you to be moving around constantly.

Given the awkwardness of trying to play with teleportation, I stuck with navigating using the gamepad’s sticks and needed the peripheral blinder settings at medium; that shrinks down the field of view considerably so that all that movement doesn’t make you instantly dizzy. But this too comes at a cost to immersion—the smaller your field of view, the less you feel like you’re ‘there’.

There’s also nothing in the game that makes the player feel particularly connected to the world. Looting is done by pressing a button and having all the items magically zoom into your inventory, grenades are thrown with a button press, and quest objects are activated with a button press too. You won’t find a moment where the world immediately around you feels ‘there’ because so much of the player interaction is done through fundamentally non-VR means.

Screenshot by Road to VR

All of the above is underscored by the game’s pretty awful graphics, even on PS4 Pro (which Gearbox says is slightly enhanced with ambient occlusion). You might think that the signature cel-shaded style would translate very well to VR, but in this instance it clearly hasn’t. Texture quality drops off rapidly as it gets further from the player, turning the world into a muddy mess that’s framed by aliasing and plenty of flicker. The stark difference in graphical fidelity between what you see in VR and what you see during cutscenes (which are rendered in their original version on a flat screen in front of you) shows just how much visual fidelity was lost in the conversion to VR.

So, just to recap: the game plays best with a standard gamepad, there’s no made-for-VR interactions, the game looks significantly worse than its non-VR counterpart, and more than likely most players will need to employ a reduced field of view to remain comfortable (which makes the game even less immersive).

These points together raise a huge question: why play Borderlands 2 in VR? The game lacks a compelling answer.

Comfort

Screenshot by Road to VR

Although developer Gearbox Software has “painstakingly optimized Borderlands 2 VR to ensure it’s one of the smoothest, most seamless VR experiences out there,” the studio warned reviewers up front that “most players” should take “frequent breaks” (every 15-20 minutes) to ensure comfort—not a good sign.

Borderlands 2 VR includes a decent set of comfort options—there’s snap turning and smooth turning, free walk and teleportation, optional jumping, and several settings for peripheral blinders. Even so, considering how much the game wants you to move around, you might find 30+ minute play sessions a challenge for your inner-ear.

I’m probably a ‘low to medium’ on sensitivity to sim sickness in VR. While Borderlands 2 VR didn’t have many moments of outright comfort lurching (just don’t jump!), the continuous movement demanded by the gameplay accumulates discomfort over time. Even playing with snap turning and peripheral blinders at medium, I still found myself with a case of the ‘VR sweats’ (the precursor to a full blown sim sickness headache) during most sessions longer than 20 minutes or so.

Yes, you could argue that I could turn peripheral blinders up to maximum and stick with only teleportation movement, and maybe then I’d be able to play comfortably for longer sessions, but this comes at such a great cost to the immersion and gameplay that it’s hard to justify.

The game’s head-locked HUD is another comfort misstep. At best, elements like your ammo count (at the bottom of your head-space) are difficult to see. At worst, elements like the mini-map (at the top right) are so away from your central vision that it causes eye-strain just to look at. I found the mini-map almost completely useless because of how tiny it is and the eye-strain required to actually look at it.

Even on PS4 Pro, moving through some of the game’s interfaces would cause micro-stutters which weren’t fun to deal with. The interface also clips through any nearby geometry (including the ground), forcing you to close the menu, move to somewhere else, and re-open it.

REVIEW OVERVIEW
Overall
5.9
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Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • HybridEnergy

    MuH AaA PsVR ExclUsIveS. Dud. I got a feeling Contractors is gonna smash in the reviews tomorrow. Playing the Beta it’s the best VR shooter I’ve ever played.

    • Skippy76

      Uhh.. Onward?
      Contractor is good but it gets old fast.
      Hopefully they introduce more game modes.

      • HybridEnergy

        Some of the beta players and from what I’ve seen say it’s basically Onward but with COD pacing and better detail. I find Pavlov more enjoyable than Onward.

        • gothicvillas

          Uh I like both Pavlpw and Onward. Perhaps spent 100+ hours there on my Vive.. until I got ps aim gun nd Firewall. There is no going back no matter what are ps4 limitations. Firewall is a VR shooter king hands down.

          • jj

            ive played them all as well as bullets and more which was one of the best and each pavlov onward and bam were great for unique reasons but firewall was only good graphically. everything else was beat by one of those games

  • Arcticu Kitsu

    Ammunition for anti-VR folks. A shame.

    Well, at least all the other PSVR games are said to be solid that they’re helping PSVR sell more than any other VR device out there. Tweet below showing PSVR is killing it in PSVR sales that my coworker at work even boasted about purchasing a PSVR for $315 cheap with even his girl enjoying it:

    https://twitter.com/psvrsoku/status/1069152096425897989

    Is there going to be another Borderlands? A sequel? Prequel? Maybe that will have actual VR support this time around now that they know what they’re doing that you can’t learn unless you make mistakes, something Bethesda is learning the hardway for Skyrim & Fallout 4. Even going to release Elder Scroll: Blades hopefully early 2019.

    • jj

      wow you obviously feel a great need need to spread propaganda about psvr…. without anybody saying anything to you.

      hmmm kinda just highlights the fact that even if it has more sales theres a general feeling that it is the lesser version out of all vr and you clearly came in here with that topic being the centerpiece to your argument.

      • kool

        It’s the headsetwith the most polished games. Most PC VR games feel like unfinished indie projects, which should be unacceptable to somebody spending thousands of dollars on videogames.

        • Pablo C

          This is very untrue. The quality and amount of good PC VR games is superior to PSVR games (i.e. pretty much all oculus-curated games). And ADDED to that, there is a ton of good Indie developers.

          • kool

            Anything good the Indies comes up with will land on psvr and there isn’t a real mp shooter yet as many titles still feel like early access titles. Occulus has a couple of AAA titles but they are very small in scale. Echo combat and robo recall are the only ones that come to mind maybe I’m just missing something but it just seems like PC has alot of unfinished ideas instead fully fleshed out AAA games.

          • Arcticu Kitsu

            > it just seems like PC has alot of unfinished ideas instead fully fleshed out AAA games.

            Rome wasn’t built in a day that good games take a long time. That’s what we’re seeing with Beat Saber, Furious Seas, Tales of Glory, and all those. Even Falcon Age with all the behind the scenes work. Every game….. Everything takes time that the better the game the longer it takes. That’s how it goes with everything. Even at this stage though we can enjoy VR at a nice amount that there shouldn’t be any complaints. VRchat as the hub, Beat Saber as a follow up, and everything else just supporting VR… Yeah, there’s lots to choose from… More than what I’ve seen back in December 2017.

            If you can’t find VR games then you’re not looking.

          • Pablo C

            Yeah, you are missing many. X:Rebirth comes to mind right away. But I think you are right: good Indie games, will land on PSVR, but, with subpar controllers and no roomscale. i.e. I wonder how can you even play Windlands without roomscale. And yeah, you are playing good VR shooters, but you cant turn around to shoot! How is that immersive or natural? I play all my VR games standing, and move around naturally, just like in reality.

          • kool

            I’ve always played sitting down. I don’t like the the feeling of moving while standing still and I don’t like moving too far without seeing what’s around me. Also the psvr has trackers on the back of the headset so you can turn around completely in shooting games or whatever. The most glaring flaw is the move sticks idk what Sony is going to do with those things?

          • Pablo C

            I´m glad you enjoy your way of playing. The Rift also has sensors in the back but you can´t accurately shoot without 3 sensors (I used to have 2).

          • Frédéric Lormois

            No. Wipeout, Astrobot, REVII, Persistance, Tetris Effect. Games are far superior on PSVR.

          • Baldrickk

            PSVR is better – We have TETRIS!
            heh

          • Pablo C

            All of them, sitting, looking up front, without turning around? no thanks….

      • Arcticu Kitsu

        “spread propaganda”…. What the hell is wrong with you. Go see a therapist.

        Yeah, you failed to note that people want an easier way to get into VR that PSVR is a way to get into VR. When they’re happy they’ll then tech up into something better. I just happened to get into it through the Oculus Rift so whatever is easiest shouldn’t be an issue here. We should be happy people are even having fun with VR while you’re being a spoil sport.

        Go home, you’re drunk.

  • namekuseijin

    easier, easier, easier. go play Beat Saber, casual boy

    • benz145

      Nothing in this review is about the game not being easy, it’s about it being uncomfortable and poorly suited for VR. Perhaps save your criticism until you have a chance to play it yourself.

    • HybridEnergy

      The irony here, it’s a console game, it’s the definition of casual.

      • Alexisms

        Now there’s a stupid non joke i’ve not heard for a decade.

      • Branden_Lucero

        i’d rather deal with casual than an elitist asshole.

        • kool

          Indie asshole!

        • HybridEnergy

          Really, because saying casual is causal makes me an elitist asshole? Maybe you should read the original commentator namekuwhatever, how butt hurt he is about the score. You aren’t just casual, you act like a child too who’s going to stomp his feet over a video game review he doesn’t agree with just like him aren’t you?

          • Richard Norriss

            err your the child troll. We get it, you’ve got personal issues, but deal with them instead of projecting your constant immature trolling everywhere.

          • HybridEnergy

            Hey Richard, how about you stop following me around Disqus like an obsessed troll who got extremely offended by an opinion he doesn’t agree with. You’re no beacon of maturity like you think okay.

      • namekuseijin

        go play your 8-bit minigames, pc guy

  • Раф

    5.9 Borderlands 2??? Sorry gays, I can’t take this review seriously ..

    • Alexisms

      If you’d read the review he explains exactly WHY it scores that. At least make the effort to read.

      • Раф

        Move not so bad, the graphics are pretty good for me. So no, I do not agree with this review.

        • kool

          The move is the worst controller ever if you have to actually move. I can’t play megalith because of the move, I don’t see away around it without a thumbstick.

          • Rey Rangel

            Play this game and Skyrim, then you will see the way around.

          • kool

            Skyrim is playable with the move and headtracking but I still want some sticks to be more nimble in fights.

        • namekuseijin

          just a bunch of pc vr guys in rage here

    • Dark Evry

      Regular Borderlands is 3 out of 10, so giving the VR version 5.9 is WAY too generous for this Kiddy Cartoney Teenegiefied PUKE

      • Rex Thorne

        You’re telling people too much about your personality, and add nothing to the conversation.

        • care package

          or saying a lot about your own

          • Dark Evry

            “Rex Thorne” is a obvious kid.

    • Kraufthauser

      I agree with you. The gfx aren’t that bad I I don’t get sick at all. I have a feeling the author just doesn’t like the game and gets sick.

  • JPS

    I am, sorry PS4 VR is not REAL VR.
    If you don’t have a PC then don’t have VR. PERIOD.
    PS4 VR Is a farkin joke. LOL

    PS VR…..ppppppppppppppppppplllllllllllllooooooooooooopppppppppp…

    • Dark Evry

      PSVR OLED screens much better then Vive and Oculus rainbow trash

      • jj

        try again

        • Dark Evry

          Denying facts makes you a dumb fanboy.

          • jj

            yeah looks whos talking……

          • Dark Evry

            Oculus and Vive use Cheap mobile phone PENTILE AMOLED Screens, PenTile screens use 8 subpixels per pixel vs regualr RGB screens that have 12 subpixels per pixel

            Oculus Per Eye Resolution is: 1080 × 1200 = 1296000 pixels
            1296000 pixels x 8 subpixels = 10368000 Sub pixels per eye

            PSVR Per Eye resolution is: 960 x 1080 = 1036800 pixels
            1036800 pixels x 12 subpixels = 12441600 Sub pixels per eye

            12441600 minus 10368000 = 2073600

            PSVR has 2073600 MORE subpixels per eye, thats 2 million subpixels

            2073600 subpixels divided by 12 = 172800 pixels
            PSVR has 172800 more RGB pixels PER then RIFT/Vive

            2073600 subpixels divided by 8 = 259200 pixels
            PSVR has 259200 more PenTile pixels then Rift/Vive

            Lets keep going…

            So thats pixel density wise, but because RGB OLED screens are rught now the Top dog of all screens and leagues better then AMOLED and not even Comparable to PenTile AMOLED, you have everything rest thats comes with OLED screens, deep balcks, superb picture quality, proper colors and so on.

            PSVR uses standard heavy lenses, it doesn’t have such artifacts as Godrays, it just doesn’t exists on this device, its not light or small, its just ISNT.

            And if you dont believe me, every single reviewer or person that used it will tell you that compared to vive/rift PSVR has no screen door effect and thats thanks to RGB OLED screen and standard lens combo, because pixels are so tight [look at the math i did, with lower resolution then VVive/Rift it has MORE pixels and subpixels] there is no SDE.

            And the last part but not least, is comfort, PSVR when it came out introduced the best most comfortable head strap, that every modern HMD copied all the new devices now look like PSVR and use the same head strap, FACT.

            The WEAK link in PSVR is not PSVR is the Console and the IDIOTIC reasoning behind keeping PS3 era wand controlls.
            The HMD is NOT the issue, the weak consoles are [although OPTIMIZED games look great on PS4Pro, no complaints there, OG PS4 is just too weak] and the Dildo ball wands are outdated and the WEAKEST link, worse then PS4/PS4Pro actually.

            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/330d2ba19b6617019ee067e20629d76fe2dae21e517907f01e801133a87cc1c8.png

          • jj

            you conveniently left out Samsung odyssey+, the vive pro, pimax and more just to compare psvr to the oldest headset that exists……
            The fact that you put FACT after an opinion just disproves the majority of what you say, because it shows your blatant bias towards your opinion to the point where you think its fact.

            As well the psvr being the most comfortable is just your opinion, and no everyone did not copy them, FACT. It comes down to the person and everyone has a different shaped head. The vive DAS is the most comfortable thing for me so saying psvr has the comfiest strap is instantly disproved because its not a one size fits all situation.

            the fact that the psvr is only slightly better than the old oculus is not helping your case.

            “it just isn’t” is way to close to Todd howard’s “It just works”

            good lengthy write up though!

          • Dark Evry

            Why would I compare it to Odyssey+? my first post to which you replayed reads “PSVR OLED screens much better then Vive and Oculus rainbow trash”.

            There is a reason why most post PSVR HMDs copied PSVR head strap: Samsung odyssey, Samsung odyssey+, ALL Windows HMDs [no reason to list them one by one], Lenovo Mirage Solo, Vive Focus [hey look, even VIVE copied PSVR], the new DEUS and so on

            Anyway, iHead strap is irrelevant, I said that PSVR OLEDs are better then Oculus and Vive and I proved it.

            Next time just google, the information is out there.

          • Pablo C

            Those pixels are anyway not enough, you need supersampling for a clear image.

          • Kraufthauser

            The problem is not really the headset itself. It’s pretty damned good for what it is actually. The real problem is the PS4. It just isn’t very powerfull. That being said: sure gfx on my Vive PRO look a whole lot better, but Astro Bots is my GOTY any day, any year.. And yes PCVR gamers: you are missing out A LOT! ;)

          • Baldrickk

            @kraufthauser:disqus yeah, well the problem is you console guys all got suckered into paying for exclusives, instead of releasing to many platforms being the default model, developers get paid by the platforms enough to make releasing only a single platform viable – and how do those platforms afford that? they milk you for cash. But you’re paying for your “exclusives” so you’re happy that you’re getting something out of it, despite the fact that if you had not just gone along with it, voted with your wallets to prioritise cross platform games, then we’d have a much more open gaming landscape with everyone being able to play everything.

          • HybridEnergy

            Hah, look at this guy try so hard to convey “I can’t afford a Vive or Rift” and justify his lower end purchase. I bet noticing this though makes me an immature elitist PC asshole, watch.

          • Dark Evry

            You think so Pauper?
            https://valid.x86.fr/kiyrmk

          • HybridEnergy

            Oh I think so NPC bruh. You spend 5 paragraphs on nothing but RGB display. Yea , no thanks. I’ll take 2880×1600 , wireless with good tracking, and controllers over RGB any day. Sorry Pauper.

    • Rey Rangel

      Resident Evil 7, Skyrim VR and Wipeout would like a word with your dumbass.

      • jj

        yeah skyrim said it likes pc vr better because of the mods you can apply.

        • Pablo C

          And supersampling, and roomscale.

        • Rey Rangel

          Did it say that clearly or did it stutter due to the lag?

      • Rex Thorne

        JPS has personal issues he needs to work on before being out in public, but Skyrim VR is a terrible example, since it’s a real VR game on PC, and crippled on PS4.

    • Brettyboy01

      If it wasn’t for PSVR, nobody would have even knew PCVR existed.

      • jj

        nah thats far from the truth

        • kool

          Nobody knows about pcvr it hasn’t even moved a million units combined in all this time. The fact is nobody wants to pay that kinda of money for unfinished indie games!

          • jj

            up until the oculus go all anybody knew was pcvr… now they know pcvr and mobile vr while nobody cares about psvr. i have multiple friends that bought psvr and dont use it

          • kool

            I don’t think the occulus go will do psvr numbers. Its basically standalone cellphone trash that will kill any hype anyone has for VR. I didn’t use my psvr until it got some good games but now it’s my primary gaming method. Also how can people know about 2 niche products but not know the industry leader. That’s like saying I love Mr pibb, wtf is coca cola?

          • Arcticu Kitsu

            …….There’s a nice chunk of people out there enjoying PSVR that just because you hate it doesn’t mean everybody else does. No need to be salty just because you had a bad experience.

        • Brettyboy01

          mate, there has been more of an uptake in consumer VR with the introduction of the PSVR, its price-point and accessibility have greatly increased awareness of the technology alone.

    • kool

      The only joke is you spent all that money to play indie games. If you actually played psvr youd see the difference in graphics is not that big, but the quality of games is leap years ahead of of PC. PC is a see of unfinished indie games stuck in a cash grabby beta phase.

      • Pablo C

        This is very untrue. The quality and amount of good PC VR games is superior to PSVR games (i.e. pretty much all oculus-curated games). And ADDED to that, there is a ton of good Indie developers.

        • Dave Carsley

          Totally untrue lol

    • Pablo C

      I have Rift, but I don´t agree with you, since we are in an early VR stage and PSVR did a good, and most importantly, succesful, atempt. i.e. much more than the Xbox people. For best immersion, sure, you need roomscale and supersampling, but IMO PSVR did enought for this first console VR generation.

      • Раф

        People like JPS- just a trolls. Don’t feed them. I have Occulus and PS VR- Both headset really good. PC VR has the best tracking, graphics and controllers. But it really requires a lot of money investments… Personally, I can’t afford a PC for heavy VR games like Fallot 4…
        PS VR has less accurate tracking and less advanced controllers (although PS MOVE still suits me personally) But PS VR is much cheaper, there are a lot of games on it, including exclusives like Astro-bot, .The Persistence, even Borderlands 2 comes out first in PS VR. So if you can afford an expensive PC and VR to him, well done! For others- PS VR is a great way to join the world of virtual reality.
        З.Ы. Сорянчик если не очь грамотно пишу.

        • Candy Cab

          lol careful you are making way too much sense here. :-) Same experience here I’m running an Occulus on an i5 4690 / GTX 970 and PSVR on a PS4 PRO. Both can offer a great VR experience. Sad that people feel the need to limit their experiences to one camp or another but that seems to be a sort of tribal human nature thing.

    • Kraufthauser

      I have all the major headsets and your remark is pretty stupid.

    • Dave Carsley

      Wow. You’re a seriously sad, unhappy little individual. I literally pity you … Honestly

    • Alexisms

      Stop it, you’re embarrassing yourself.

  • Ted Joseph

    I have Rift, Go, (had a Vive), and have PSVR. What is holding PSV4 back are the move controllers, and lack of 360 room scale. Hopefully Sony fixes this soon with new controllers, and a solution for room scale (i.e. new inside tracking headset, or bluetooth wired cameras that can be place around the room). This can’t happen quick enough in my opinion.

    • There are many small “slightly less than perfect” things about PSVR, but those can all be ignored with a nice heap of enthousiasm. All, expect the fact that I can’t turn around 180° without the PS4 losing track of the Move controllers. Why they didn’t implement this with support for an optional second camera (to be connected to the breakout box perhaps?) is a mystery. I already had the old boxy PS Cam btw, so this would have been ideal.

  • Michael Lupton

    I think I may be able to have fun with this game. I like fast games with smooth movement, And snap turning and teleportation actually make me sick. Also I have played Borderlands alone, it’s not as bad as people say it is. I understand why the reviewer wasn’t impressed, but I still think I may like this one.

  • kool

    I still can’t understand why this doesn’t use the aim. It seems like it would eliminate all the problems he named. And why even add move support if there no interaction with the environment. The crazy thing is a one man team has the perfect control scheme for borderlands that uses all the controllers if you want. You can the aim for shooting, ds4 for driving and pull out a move for your pistol or grenades or dual wilding guns. If one guy can do this a decent size team should have that in their game.

    • namekuseijin

      probably because many guns are handguns while you yield another power in your left hand, like katanas or telekinesis – any fun doing that by holding your magic rifle? Plus, you won’t want to drive vehicles by holding a fucking rifle either – unless you’re a real nut job.

      • kool

        I don’t think you understand what I’m saying. You can shoot using the magical rifle, pull out a move to dual wield or use a blade or throw a grenade and use the ds4 for vehicle controls.

        • namekuseijin

          who are you trying to fool? you won’t grab a move/sword fast enough in the kind of frantic action at display here

      • Dave Carsley

        Many games easily get around these issues. The aim controller has EVERY button, stick, and light that the Duel Shock 4 has. If you can control it with a DS4, you can control it with the Aim controller ….. No exceptions.

        • Tinye

          100% agree. Aim with ds4 combined would have been a huge selling point and show that at least the developers put some effort into the game as VR. Like Skyrim did imo.

    • Bitekr

      aim support been added already.

  • namekuseijin

    a joke review from a VR reviewer without VR legs for fast-paced games like this and that focus on the lack of analogs on the PSVR Move controller – wtf does this have to do with the game and why exactly is a guy without VR legs asking for analogs if he won’t use them anyway?

    BTW, played 2 hours straight this morning on Moves. One of the best Moves implementation out there, right next to Rec Room or Killing Floor Incursion. a total blast, fast and furious battles, full of strife and rotation without no issues. Sorry, but git gud

    • bazzz

      I came from reddit to read this so called “Review”. I agree with everything you say, including the fact this reviewer should not be reviewing VR Games. The article is really so far from the truth. Played it for 3 hours straight last night, with the Moves only and all comfort options off. I don’t suffer motion sickness and never have. This reviewer clearly didn’t play for long and suffered from “accumulated motion sickness”. Whatever the fuck that feels like.

      The game runs smooth in VR and Moves(pun intended/double entendre) smoothly! There are a small few bugs in the Walk + Teleportation. Where the teleport reticle/marker would appear, but delayed upon pressing the triangle button. Sometimes it wouldn’t appear at all, This will be amended in a patch.

      Also I played on a PS4 Pro with a V2 Headset and the graphics were clean. Regarding the Aim Controller the Devs from GearBox stated that they are looking in to adding the Aim and future DLC, on their Boarderlands VR Reveal/Breakdown stream on Twitch last night. See from nine minutes into the video https://www.twitch.tv/videos/348730765?t=00h09m00s

      I wouldn’t normally comment on reviews, but this review is way off the actual mark. This is unfair to the Developers and to the people that actually can play in VR. While a fraction of VR users suffer motion sickness, the majority have no issues at all. This review should be taken down and given to somebody that relishes their time in VR. This kind of false reporting harms the industry.

      • Alexisms

        The thing is you never suffering motion sickness is the oddity, most people do. So to trash his review because he does is nonsensical.

        • bazzz

          Another one that didn’t read the so called review. You are talking shit. The whole review is incorrect, graphics wise, Move Controller wise, looks great on a PS4 PRo. That’s all I bother explain to whoever you are!

        • alexisms more

      • Candy Cab

        So a person relating their experience is false reporting ? Every review is just an opinion piece some we agree with and others we don’t. No review will be the be all end all of reviews and if you think something has that much importance then you probably aren’t looking at enough opinions.

        • bazzz

          Fucking read the review!! Have you played it in VR? He’s talking shit about the graphics, bugs(that don’t exist), Move controllers work perfect, the graphics on the PS4 Pro are super clean….I a player not a just sayer….You have no idea of what you are talking about. See why IGN pulled down their review, for the exact reason as this false reviewing. Absolute bullshit.

    • Kraufthauser

      I played 3 hours with the gamepad and have tons of fun. This review is sour. Really sour (read: if I cannot enjoy it, nobody will).

      This is one of the most unfair reviews I have ever seen.

      • Candy Cab

        Unfair ? Its just an opinion fair has nothing to do with it. Its just another persons experience take it or leave it.

        • Abominable Bee

          What are you on about? Opinions *can* be fair on unfair.
          And when we are talking about reviews, opinions can definitely be fair or unfair depending on the writer’s bias.
          Get your facts straight. Don’t be a sheep and follow the current trend with everyone sprouting some lame ass shit like ” Love yourself” or “everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, don’t criticise it”. If someone say’s something ridiculous, unjust or unfair, one should have the right to point it out!

          The only option is *NOT* to ‘take it or leave it’.

    • Massimo Antonini

      and the graphics is AWESOME, I really don’t understand why kids can write reviews

      • Dark Evry

        You clearly have no idea how AWESOME graphics should look like.
        Borderlands 2 on PS4 is puke and only less puke on PS4Pro

  • Dave Carsley

    Cannot imagine what Gearbox was thinking not supporting the Aim controller. So thankful Sony gave me a refund today due to my lack of research before buying (I just assumed that this *shooter* would of course use the aim controller)

  • Rey Rangel

    Having finally played it, I am gonna go ahead and agree with other reviewers. Its a great conversion, and your main complaints are already being worked on.
    lol

  • Still needs some work. Neither Skyrim VR nor Fallout VR were perfect on launch. I imagine alot of patches coming out soon. By the time it comes out for the PC (in likely 5 months, right?) it should be pretty solid. The extra machine power will likely help ALOT.

    • Rex Thorne

      I’d give you an upvote, if not for the strange capitalization of a spelling error in your post.

  • Massimo Antonini

    “poor graphics” ??? this is one of the best on PSVR! and already PRO enhanced… motion sickness? I have a lot of fun by jumping in the game. Maybe a VR review should be done by a man not a pussy. This review si GARBAGE.

  • Candy Cab

    An option to turn off head tracking while using a DS4 would probably get rid of the sickness for a lot of people.

  • penguinface

    *Core tenets

  • care package

    my review even though I haven’t played it in VR: I want to play this on PCVR F’ U. Sony. Sony’s timed exclusives are a joke. As if anyone using PCVR is going to go buy a PSVR to get a degraded experience early…..ok, i’m sure the few idiots exist. In other words seriously doubt their plan works out they way they are hoping it will.

  • Emmanuel Anthis

    You guys arguing about PCVR vs PSVR are really pathetic people!!! Get out of this wonderful new gaming world! We don’t need you in here! We are having a great time playing VR games whether they are in PC or in PS, we don’t faqing care about the specs! We need more good specs but that’s not the point! Grow up at last!! You are the cancer of this humanity society!!! Get the FAQ out at last!!!!

  • Sal Moulds

    I Good review..
    UGH! I figured it would be lame.
    It’s Gearbox!
    This is a company that didn’t even start Bordrlands3 until 5 Years later!
    That’s mental.
    On top of the fact that they CHEESED us with The PreSequel.
    Instead of a uber awesome expansion aka Large DLC which we woulda paid $35-$30 for, they went and sold it separate as a full blown new release..
    And it got really stale and myself and roommate & best Bro couldn’t finish it.
    That’s 3 diehard Borderlands fans h& 3 separate playthrougs= all bored quit around the 1/2 point….
    ~~~ENTER BATTLEBORN!
    this was probably the worst hyped up game to fail 100% because it was just terrible..
    The reason it passed testing is the Megalomaniac Owner= Randy Pitchford..
    He swore up & down how awesome & proud he wa of Battleborn & how it will be supported for the long blahblahblah.. WTF ???!!!!
    & IM not even bitter anymore over Aliens Colonial Marines. The Alien game that put the property of the No-Success Radar.. It will be 10+ years before we get another Aliens Shooter(if ever)

  • Bitekr

    this review should be updated because 1. aim controller supported was added 2. all dlcs are coming at no additional cost. many say that aim controller makes a big difference in this game.

  • Meh… BL2 + VORPX = Awesome!