Why I Can’t Go Back to Flat Games After PSVR

I’ve always been a console gamer. And I guess that naturally makes me a console VR player too.

I’ve owned both PSVR1 and PSVR2, and honestly, they’ve reshaped how I enjoy games. These days, I find it hard to play anything on a flat TV; unless it’s something that’s meant to be flat, like a retro tile-based game.

For full 3D games, though? I just can’t go back. Once you’ve experienced the full immersion of being in the world, that 2D screen doesn’t cut it anymore.

When I first got PSVR1 back in 2016, it blew my mind. And the funny part? I didn’t even know the tech was coming. I heard about it just a week before release, so I never went through that long hype cycle most gamers endure. I didn’t check specs, I didn’t watch reviews; I just grabbed a unit from Walmart thinking, “If it sucks, I’ll return it.”

Honestly, I expected it to be a gimmick. I imagined it’d be like strapping a PlayStation Vita to my face; just a blurry, uncomfortable screen inches from my eyes.

Oh man, I was wrong.

Real, convincing depth. The same kind of depth you see in the real world. That feeling of vertigo? Yeah, that’s real in VR. You don’t get that from a regular TV.

My very first VR experience was Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, and I’ll never forget it; it was like being dropped into a whole new reality. As a first-time VR intro, it was perfect: a rail shooter packed with jaw-dropping moments. That scene with the giant pig heads? Burned into my memory forever, in the best way. I’ve replayed it multiple times, just for the fun of blasting everything in sight and chasing high scores.

Guess what? Virtual reality reignited my passion for gaming in a way I didn’t know I needed.

And sure, I loved everything from PlayStation 1 up to Nintendo Switch, but those were steady, incremental changes. The day I put on the PSVR1 headset, I felt that magical discovery again. Like when I first saw SNES games.

I wanted to try everything. Every demo, every indie, even the bad ones, because even the bad games looked so damn cool in VR.

One standout ‘simple experience’ was Déraciné (from the creators of Dark Souls, which I’ve never actually played). On a flat screen, I probably wouldn’t have cared for it. But in VR? It hit me differently. The medieval fantasy atmosphere, the soul-like character design, you feel connected to it in a way a flat screen just can’t provide. Just thinking about it brings back so much nostalgia.

Sadly, major studios didn’t seem to care about VR. I’ve always wondered why, because it honestly felt like a gold mine waiting to be tapped. The only company that really went all-in was Capcom.

And guess what? That move made me fall in love with Capcom all over again.

Back in the NES and SNES days, Capcom was god-tier. Then, for a while, they lost their edge; even though Resident Evil 1 and 4 were fantastic, something still felt bland with them. They just didn’t hit the same highs as Konami for me.

But when Capcom started making Resident Evil work in VR, it felt like Konami’s lost spirit was reborn inside them.

Could be pure coincidence, but it makes you wonder if a few Konami veterans migrated over after that ship sank.

Resident Evil 7 in VR is one of the greatest gaming experiences I’ve ever had—definitely top 5, maybe even top 3. If I’d played it flat on a TV? Probably wouldn’t have ranked it nearly as high.

VR amplified everything. The atmosphere, the tension, the immersion; it’s easily 100,000 times more intense.

So yeah, I’ve skipped a ton of games just because they weren’t available in VR. Especially in the survival horror genre. Silent Hill 2 Remake looks phenomenal, but there’s no way I’m buying it unless it gets a proper VR mode. Same for The Evil Within series.

And honestly, I’m nervous that Resident Evil 9 won’t be VR-compatible. If it isn’t, I’ll probably skip it entirely.

I slept on The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners for almost two years after buying it. Thought it would be a cheap cash-in based on the franchise. Plus, by that time, I’d already played a lot of VR. Turns out? It might be my favorite game of all time now. I’m still debating whether it edges out Resident Evil 7 for the #1 spot. They’re very different games, but both are just so damn good.

Astro Bot is another gem! That game had my jaw on the floor level after level. It showed exactly how a platformer should feel in VR. Honestly, it made every Super Mario game feel flat (no pun intended) in comparison. And yeah, the VR magic played a huge part in that.

You can imagine my disappointment when the developers announced the Astro Bot sequel wouldn’t be coming to PSVR2; not even a planned port. That was a huge letdown! Even with all the glowing reviews, I didn’t bother playing it. Without VR, it just didn’t feel like the true follow-up I was hoping for.

Other standout PSVR1 and PSVR2 experiences include Batman Arkham, Dark Picture Switchback, Moss 1 and 2, Arizona Sunshine (especially the remake), Metro Awakening, MADiSON, Propagation: Paradise Hotel, and some more. Honestly, there are so many great ones that it’d probably take a whole separate blog post to cover them all.

Of course, every technological high has its downfall.

As I’m writing this, PSVR1 is discontinued. It’s basically impossible to find a brand new unit anymore. Mine still works, but it now has slight blurry scratched lenses, even though I was careful with it. If your lenses get damaged, that’s it—you’re out of luck. No cheap replacements, no easy fixes. It’s my biggest complaint. Same goes for PSVR2.

I’m still getting good mileage out of my PSVR2, but the game library feels pretty limited. People will say, “Oh, there are tons of indie games,” and sure, that’s true. But after experiencing PSVR1, I wanted more real, full-length, polished games, not just short indie experiences.

Right now, PSVR2 feels like it’s on life support. And I wish I was already a stronger game developer, because I’d love to build VR games myself. There’s so much untapped potential there.

For now, I keep replaying Saints & Sinners and the three VR Resident Evil titles every year, just like I used to replay Chrono Trigger annually. I never get tired of them.

Even if the big studios give up on VR, I know where the magic lives. As long as I can strap on a headset and step into another world, I’ll be there: controller in hand, heart pounding, chasing that next unforgettable moment.