Bethesda Skyrim VR (PS4)

Since its debut in 2011, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been an amazing success. It’s seen three huge expansions, repackaged as a complete Legendary Edition, released on the newest generation of consoles in a remastered Special Edition, and most recently, its port to the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation VR. When I first saw the PSVR version announced, I was immensely excited. However, I didn't have a Psvr, let alone thinking about buying Skyrim! Yes, Skyrim was one of the main reasons I got myself a Psvr. And an excellent bundle in the black friday sale. For a game that wasn't originally designed for VR, Skyrim is nothing short of impressive. This really is the Skyrim that you know and love, but now you can enjoy it like never before with the immersive presence of a VR headset. Much like the new Switch version, which came out on the same day, this is essentially the same game as was released six years ago but with all the DLC included from the start. And no matter what the compromises and problems involved were in making it work that is an incredible achievement. Funny how some games have incredible staying power. Tetris has been coded for virtually every gaming device since the 1980's. Whilst something like Doom has been able to run on everything from smart watches to microwaves. Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, is one of the latest additions to the canon of games ported as widely as possible for years after their initial relevance. The 2011 open-world role-playing game set the modern standard for the genre, earning rave reviews across the board. Players could be any sort of hero they wanted, and explore the massive fantasy region in any way they wanted, allowing for nearly infinite replayability. Although I completed the main story on the Xbox 360 many years ago, I only played the game for around 160hrs give or take, compared to hundreds of hours other players have done. I also purchased the Legendary Edition and then the Special Edition on the Ps4, that of which I played mods, for a number of hours as well. Going into Skyrim VR I was concerned that it was going to be another port, but I’m happy to say that I couldn’t have been more wrong. Skyrim VR is not a simplified version of Skyrim. It’s not a version of the game that’s been sliced and cut for virtual reality. It is Skyrim in all of its glory. And soon after putting on the headset, there I was again, in the back of the wagon, bound for my own execution... It was a pretty cool moment, I have to admit I got a little giddy. Straight away I was amazed on how much depth there was. I mean, this opening portion is largely on rails sure, and the real test would come later, but the opening of the game blew me away! Bethesda has added a lot of customization options to the comfort settings. Players can change how much of a vignette comes in when moving or turning, change the rotation angles for turning, and make the snap either instant or gradual. If you’ve followed VR, then you know that increasing the comfort settings will lower the sense of immersion. Finding the lowest comfort settings that you can stand is the best way get everything the experience has to offer in VR while not getting sick. Opting for sliders instead of toggles, Bethesda allows players a lot of control over their own experience and comfort in Skyrim VR. Thankfully even though this my first foray into VR, not once have I suffered from any kind of motion sickness. There are two ways to play Skyrim VR: with the DualShock 4 controller or the PlayStation Move controllers. The move controllers, I haven't had the chance to play with yet, but the Dualshock however was perfect. Skyrim VR makes the 6-year-old game feel fresh again. It may have taken a graphical hit compared to some of the more recent re-releases of the original, but the appreciation of scale more than makes up for it. Graphically, the game is a lot closer to its original 360/PS3 version than the newer remastered editions, which's a shame, but that's simply due to the limitations of rendering in PSVR. It’s sure to bother some, but for those who can allow themselves to get immersed in virtual reality despite graphical quality, I found it easy enough to lose myself in the world and largely forget about the flat textures that cover many of the surfaces. Keep in mind that I was playing on a standard PS4, too. It’s possible that the Pro does a better job at handling the rendering of a massive open world in virtual reality. In 2011 Skyrim was a technical marvel — one of the largest and most open worlds that many players had ever explored. On the one hand, the extra degree of immersive intimacy afforded by VR is put to excellent use here. Gazing across sweeping, mountain vistas, or up at an angry giant, looming directly overhead, has an extra, visceral punch here above and beyond what the base game can achieve. Skyrim has always been defined by its scale, and in that regard VR is a natural and obvious way to enhance that basic appeal. The menus remind me slightly of minority report popping up in front of you which I found cool. Even sitting in the three-dimensional starscape of the skills menu is a stunning experience that could have just as easily been left a dull two-dimensional screen. Transition from 2D to virtual reality is amazing. I normally play my games on a 49" Samsung, but it doesn't matter how big your tv is, and whether or not it's full hd, or 4K with all the bells and whistles, at the end of the day, you're still a spectator. Similar to when you watch a movie or at the theatre, you're an observer. But VR takes you into that game. You are in that world, and that's where Skyrim VR succeeds! The depth and immersion can only be experienced for oneself to fully understand and appreciate. With virtual reality, when you’re in motion, you're experiencing the world all around you, it’s a sensation unlike any other. When you’re walking through a forest, taking in the sights in front of you, you can stop and turn your head. You won’t see your couch behind you when you do this. Instead, you’ll see the path you just walked. Look up, down, anywhere at all, and the game is all around you. You are inside of that world. For a huge Skyrim fan like myself, it’s a wish come true. I remember climbing The Seven Thousand Steps to High Hrothgar when I first played Skyrim, but doing it in VR felt like an arduous journey, and one that I remember more clearly and in so much more detail than any of my time playing the game outside of VR. You can almost feel the snow hitting your face when you climb the highest mountains. Spiders hold a lot more terror when they are coming at you. Campfires feel warm and comforting. Most impressive, perhaps, is the presence of a dragon flying over your head, or slamming into the ground in front of you. Play with headphones, and you’ll have the full experience. Sound has incredible depth in Skyrim VR. Spells roar with a voracious power that makes them feel like true destructive forces. Wonderful orchestral pieces add amazing soundscapes to your exploration, and the sound of enemies approaching in a dark dungeon makes your blood run cold. Playing Skyrim VR showed me the future of virtual reality, and It's ignited my love for PlayStation VR. Make no mistake — Bringing Skyrim to the PSVR is an impressive feat, especially given the age of the game and the technical constraints of the platform. It’s still hard to comprehend that Skyrim, a game from 2011 not originally designed for virtual reality, is now PlayStation VR’s killer app. Marrying these two ideas seemed like an impossible feat, and I don't know how, but Bethesda pulled it off. Skyrim VR is anything but a simple port to virtual reality. It is lovingly crafted with care and attention to make one of the biggest and most memorable VR experiences since the platform first launched. Skyrim VR isn’t just a must-experience for PSVR owners; it’s a reason to buy the headset. Pros: The whole game is fully playable in VR, which includes all the dlc, Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn. Despite the games problems, the sense of immersion is incredibly impressive. Skyrim itself is as good, if not better, than ever. Cons: Low res graphics and blurry visuals. Bugs and glitches. 5/5

The Good:-Full Skyrim game, At times can feel real. Fast loading. The Bad:-Bethesda bugs aplenty! Hardware limitations. Poor Draw distance. VR Spiders are EVERYWHERE! So at this point Skyrim has been released on what seems like everything since its first came out back in 2011. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bethesda plan to make a version for Playstation 1 at this point! While I would love to see a remake of Morrowind or Oblivion, Bethesda instead decided to re-re-rerelease Skyrim but this time in VR. But is it any good and is it worth buying the game again? So with that being said it is highly likely that you already know what Skyrim is and how it plays so I won’t bore you by going over it again but instead focus on the VR aspect and how well it plays. First, I want to say that I am using the standard PS4 console (Uncharted 4 version) and not a PlayStation Pro so please keep that in mind. I have heard the pro version runs better. One thing that surprised me is that this is the full Skyrim game with all expansion/DLC’s included. After playing DooM VR, I thought it would be selected parts of the game but was pleasantly surprised to see it wasn’t. The graphs have had a huge downgrade from the HD version which is understandable. Some items look very blocky and textures when up close are more like the 360/PS3 version of the game rather then the newer versions. While I don’t have too much of a problem with that I do with the terrible draw distance. I’ve had trees pop up less the twenty yards away from me, grass sometimes only being around my feet and even enemies appearing out of nowhere. It’s at times like this that you are taken out of the game. There are also the usual Bethesda bugs which I think have been there since the original. My personal favourite so for is when fast traveling to on of the Cities, several guards dropped from the sky and landed in front of me. Then people started walking around saying “Where did this body come from?” My thoughts exactly. However, I do have to mention the poor hardware and how it is possibly the biggest problem for this game. While in close quarters it looks amazing as item move in real time, the one area I was really looking forward to was climbing mountains and looking down on Skyrim. However, it just looks blurry and fuzzy when looking over long distances. I found this to be the case in several other PSVR games so it’s not just this one. It is a shame but Bethesda did the best they could with the tech they had. I’ve even found map icon and text to be a fuzzy mess too. So with all this negativity you probably thing I don’t like this game? Actually, I do. It is still Skyrim and it is an amazing world to be in. Even though it has been less than a years since I last played this game, I loved every second of it. One last point I want to make is the motion sickness accept. I personally didn’t get any but there are several setups to help. First is you can use the snap angle to move. This is where you use the right joystick to move left to right in 30 degree angles (the angle can be changed) or have complete 360 movement although this did make me feel dizzy. Also a black ring comes up around the edges when moving to help focus the players eyes. I turned this off and felt it worked a lot better without it. There are many opinions in this game. Also, it might sound silly but I also found bobbing your head a little when walking long distances also helps….although you do look stupid! Also, the game is VR only unlike Resident Evil 7 for example which was playable both normal and VR. So if you are buying this to play on and off VR, it wont work. So would I recommend this game? Well, I’d say yes overall with a but. It is an amazing game and impressive to see they got the full version to work but that is the problem, it is the same game all be it with all DLC included. Nothing new has been added to the adventure and just one year after the HD rerelease just feels all to similar. However, I would be lying if I said I didn’t have fun with it. If you already own the PSVR then I would say go ahead and get this game. If you don’t own it I wouldn’t recommend buying all the gear for just this game. Still, I did have a great time visiting the land of Skyrim and with Fallout 4 possibly coming soon, VR is not going anywhere for the time being. (Oh and Resident Evil 7 is still the best VR game!) Gameplay:- 19/20 Graphics:-13/20 Sound:-17/20 Replay Value:-19/20 Value for Money:-18/20 86/100:- A grand (if not blurry) adventure.

If you do not want to read the review, then quickly said, there are now 3 “real full games” for PS4 VR that introduced new genres: Resident Evil 7 introduced the “VR fear factor” with nice features like the sneak-peeking, Farpoint introduced the VR aim controller with nice features like “real aiming” through the weapon scope and actually having the sensation of holding and using a big nice weapon and Skyrim VR is the real first role playing game where you actually have a huge open world to explore in VR using the PS4 Move controllers to the best they could be used without analog sticks and without needing to teleport. Buy Skyrim VR if you own a VR set! I'm impressed as I thought this would fail but it works fine and smooth and is a great way to (re)discover this game. Here is what I found out and might be of interest to potential buyers for this: About moving around in Skyrim VR: You can either use PS4 Dualshock or PS4 Move controllers and teleportation mode is optional, so, yes you can play with the either controllers without having to use the teleportation mode as most people feared. I will only talk about the PS4 Move controllers as regarding the PS4 Dualshock the commands are the same as usual and work smoothly and without stalling if you like and adapt this in the settings. Moving around (walking + running) using the PS4 Move controllers without teleportation works rather fine and needs a bit of training (well like everybody would agree the problem remains that Sony won’t bring us Move controllers with analog sticks and we would have something really great). Moving back is possible two if you bend your arms behind or move the PS4 Move controllers to the back as the movement follows the position of your hand as well as the direction you press on your PS4 Move controllers. At this point I think that good stealth movement and all missions that require this will be rather hard if they do not improve this with a patch. In any case I think they really did the best with what they could do with the rather limited PS4 Move controllers. About fighting: The PS4 Move controllers introduce a new set of immersive moves as you need to swing your weapons to hit (swing, hack, stab, etc. even hit to the sides and behind your back works!), you need to raise your arm to block (you can actually see the shield while carrying it and it is transparent if not used which adds to the "reality feeling") and using the bow requires you to draw the bow, aim and release the arrow. If you use magic that damages on distance you need to aim as well and all of this adds a real nice new feeling to the game (hell, just feel like the Emperor in Star Wars or Raiden while using Lighting while you’re at it lol), well, what you really hoped/expected from a VR version and it is there (of course it's not perfect but it works and after a bit of training you should be able to handle this quite well). In terms of weapons drawing and hitting in general, the PS4 Move controllers react too sensibly and you find yourself quickly in a situation where you draw a weapon when you don’t want to (which can be a kind of problem depending where you are and might be regarded as offensive behavior) or you wander around with your weapon and start hitting without wanting to (or even injure your followers). I hope a patch will solve this issue to. About graphics: The graphics are something between Playstation 2 and 3 and I would call them Skyrim with Wii graphics. That might seem a bit harsh but textures are completely flat and there is a great lack of details but all for the greater good indeed to have a fully working smooth game and even if the “awwww effect” stays out (at least for me) while gazing at the environment I still enjoy the vastness and nature of the world. About loading times: This is certainly related to the “lower” graphics level of Skyrim VR and loading times (for what I tested) do not exceed 15 to 20 seconds at the longest which is totally OK. The loading screen is still in 2D and while I firstly thought why not use this to have a nice VR loading session time while watching elements in 360 degrees, I now tend to say it’s better as loading times would be certainly longer then. The map: A new VR map is now available as you can fly over it like a bird; really nice feature :) The books: Books are really “big” now when you open them and you can turn the pages like a real book; cool feature too :) Lockpicking: They could have done something nice but they didn’t as you use normal controls for lockpicking and they really could have adapted this to the PS4 Move controllers and VR sensation by, for example, needing to turn around the PS4 Move controllers carefully. My opinion: There’s a lot more you could write and comment about it but I hope I’ve covered the most important questions about the “VR side” of this game and give it a 4 stars out of 5. I fully recommend this game and doesn’t matter if you already played Skyrim or not; if you don’t give up and train a bit with the PS4 Move controllers you’ll have a real nice and immersive experience and makes it worth to play the game again if you already played it on your PS3 or PS4. This is one of the very few “real full and big” games with deep scenario and content that have been released for PS4 VR and certainly confirms the VR set to be something absolutely worth buying.

So Skyrim in VR. Its still the same game I played 7 years ago, which is still brilliant... but in VR. First time entering the game in VR is a strange experience, you marvel at the mountains as you now look up at the peaks instead of simply towards them and then upon first walking around, its the clunkiness of traversing the floor that brings you crashing back down to earth... yes dont forget, this IS a 7 year old game after all. Its that sentiment that runs all through the first few hours in Skyrim's VR open world, what I mean by that is its an experience of highs and lows that may be different for each player. In my case I have a few issues with this game even though I love it. Firstly its the sound. Skyrim always had good spacial, surround audio which definately enhanced the experience ten fold, in this version its only stereo which to be honest is sloppy on Bethesda's part. Skyrim needs to have that surround sound... everything here feels on top of you, all the effects, ambience and music all blur together when its in stereo which just sounds cheap. Next its the controls, I started with a dualshock which felt weird at first because there feels like a disconnect with the way VR works in this game, its hard to explain but doesnt really matter because after playing with the move controllers for a albeit brief period, I quickly reverted back to the dualshock because any fight with more than a single enemy is all but impossible with the move controllers. With a dualshock you can at least take on an entire swarm of enemies with no problems at all... so dualshock is the best control option for me. And lastly its the dreaded VR motion sickness that rears its head. I consider myself an experienced VR player because I can play damn near any VR game with all comfort settings switched off but Skyrim is a strange beast. It doesnt get you whilst wearing the headset but only after you take it off. After 2 hours play(normally a doddle for my VR legs) I removed my headset and felt fine for about 5 minutes and then it hit me... not a nice experience and probably a warning for future Skyrim sessions.. dont play it for more than an hour at a time, a shame really, because even with all this games issues they all seem to be technical and fixable. Perhaps a future patch will sort the audio and I have got used to the dualshock now, so dont think you need to buy new move controllers to get the best from this game. I have absolutely no issues with the game itself... Skyrim's world is a fantastic one to traverse which is even better in VR, and if they fix that audio it will be better still. Its a world so immersive that you want to stay longer in it, you want to overstay your welcome and enjoy a marathon day long session but you can only play in short bursts, the world is beckoning you to stay longer but the VR wont let you... and thats the trade off for VR. Skyrim VR... is a victim of its own brilliance Thats why I cant give the game anything less than five stars. You will need to adjust your expectations because those issues are there... but its still a fantastic experience in VR. Proof if ever that you can have too much of a good thing.

wow. Just wow. This game blew me away. This is the third version of Skyrim I bought, I’ve played it for hundreds of hours but never have I experienced it like this. You are not playing a game you are right in the middle of another world acting out a game. The NPC are the same size as you, it feels just like talking to another person, you swear if you just reached out you’d touch them. The detail is amazing, you can see the individual hairs on the faces of the NPCs. Game play is a breeze, look where you want to go and push forward on the controller, it very smooth. The first time I died it went black and I started to fall, IRL I stumbled, my Brain was crying out “you’re not really falling” but I was reaching out for things to grab hold of, things that only existed in the headset, it felt that real. Very weird experience. The quality of the image isn’t HD and it is a bit pixelated but your brain just smooths the edges, it’s total immersion. At the start of the game when the dragon comes I couldn’t run I was stuck to the ground staring up at this huge dragon towering above me and spraying fire everywhere, I literally raised my hand to shield my eyes as the fire hit me. I can’t stress this enough, go buy the game, it’s the future but it’s here now.

My first experience with PSVR was on release last year, a friend of mine had enough disposable income to buy one outright and we sat up all night playing on the demo games. It was a fantastic experience, but we could tell it was rather limited in scope. Having had a year to mature and evolve a little, there are (slowly) more games being released. I took a chance during the Black Friday "sales" and bought the Starter Pack with Skyrim VR, and at £249.00 it was still quite an outlay. I was definitely a bit worried, given how much I spent. Having now had time to play for longer than a few hours, I am amazed by it. Maybe because I love Skyrim so much my judgement has been slightly coloured, but it is the experience I always imagined it would be. Potential buyers should note that this is not the Remastered version (recently released) but is graphically similar to the original release from 2011. I imagine this will be off-putting for those expecting top of the line graphics and visuals, but I don't care in the slightest: the technology is still very much in its infancy. The game does however include all the DLC: Hearthfire, Dragonborn and Dawnguard, which is a nice touch, so you get the complete experience all on one disc. Some of the actions and visuals in the game have been altered to accommodate the pure FPS nature required for VR, but I have to say, they've been done very well on the whole. Using a bow for example, requires that you 'look' where you want to aim and feels very fluid and accurate. In fact, all combat feels natural and much more involving - seeing arrows fly past your head, and ice spikes crashing into walls nearby is incredibly immersive in VR. As other reviewers have noted (and at risk of repeating myself), the game is 6+ years old now, and therefore graphically somewhat dated. Because of this, the environment in-game is not in sharp focus beyond approximately 10 meters. This can make identifying distant enemies and objects a little more challenging, but I have found that it actually draws you into the game more, as you are more vigilant about your surroundings. If you have played Skyrim before, it will feel familiar but is still a fresh experience. If you haven't ever played Skyrim before, you are in for a real treat. Taking all for all, I can't fault it. If this is a sign of things to come, I'm convinced VR is the next step in the evolution of video gaming. With regard to some comments about motion sickness and headaches/nausea etc, the PSVR manual suggests that you ease yourself into play, with the first few play times kept short (approx. 30 mins or less) particularly if it is your first time: I followed these instructions and after a few short initial sessions I have grown accustomed to it. I no longer get any motion sickness issues of any kind. I would advise all players to follow this guidance. There are some glitches and slight issues graphically, but these are forgivable when you consider the immense, richly-detailed world you can explore. Yes it's old, but it's the first of its kind. I have to say, this as close as I have ever been to a truly immersive suspension of reality; it represents the ultimate escapism. And let's face it, that's what gaming is all about at the end of the day, isn't it?

When I first played this game I felt bad motion sickness immediately and had to stop after the initial scenes which was unfortunate, but after changing the tunnel vision setting to max when moving or turning I felt I was able to play for half an hour before experiencing it again. That's still disappointing though as a game like Skyrim is very immersive and needs a longer time to play than half hour sessions. I guess I'm one of the unfortunate people who experiences this, others may be fine, but buyers need to be aware of this. It's not the game maker's fault though and they've tried to reduce this by adding the tunnel vision option. That said, Skyrim in VR is very impressive and immersive. I had most fun standing still and looking around at the environment.

This is the best gaming experience I've ever had. An open world rpg In vr is just stuff of dreams and the scaling and everything is just done superbly. This isn't like your usual skyrim its just 50times more immersive the combat with motion controls is far better and the bow and arrows is a great addition too. You actually look over your shoulder while running from giants you can to proper dual combat with full control of your hands. There's so many moments where I just stood there in amazement looking at the waterfalls, the moons and the dragons. It honestly is the best game you can experience ignore the critics if you have the money go buy the vr version of skyrim. It doesn't matter which version you've played in the past the vr one will absolutely blow you away.