Our early The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR impressions weren’t exactly enthusiastic. We tested the game in sub-optimal convention conditions with hellish teleportation enabled, and walked away from our demo like we’d just spent an afternoon in The Bannered Mare. The opportunity to test the final build of Bethesda’s snow-tipped fantasy setting with PlayStation VR is one that we simply couldn’t refuse, then – and fortunately we can confirm that it’s hugely improved.
Firstly, the controls. We once again played with two PlayStation Move wands – the DualShock 4 is supported, of course – with each illuminated controller representing one of our hands. Our understanding is that everything is completely customisable, but we played with the run command mapped to the Move button and incremental turning applied to Square and Triangle. Holding the Move button down propelled our silent protagonist forward, while looking left and right slightly altered the direction of our movement.
Hallelujah, it works just fine! We still reckon that we’ll be playing this with a DualShock 4 in the final version – manually swinging your sword adds very little to the experience in our opinion – but it’s nice to try the title without that nightmarish teleportation option enabled. With everything being completely customisable, it’s safe to assume you’ll be able to settle on a set-up that works for you – even if it may require a little bit of tinkering to get things how you want them.
More importantly is just how surreal it feels being in Skyrim in virtual reality. We often point to scale (not the dragon kind) when we talk about PlayStation VR, but once again it’s the most prominent feature here. Arriving in Riverwood at the start of the game is an unreal but euphoric moment: it looks and feels like the village we explored on the PlayStation 3 some six years ago, but suddenly it has the size and depth of a real place. Simply wandering down its central pathway is a revelation: it’s like our previous playthroughs took place on Google Streetview and now we’re actually there.
Of course, the enhanced immersion does come with its own unique drawbacks. Skyrim is, and arguably always has been, an ugly game – excelling in scope but collapsing under scrutiny. These problems become even more prominent in virtual reality, as you entangle yourself with dogs trapped in wooden beams and peasants who evaporate as they disappear through doors. The sandbox itself is immersive; the bugs, glitches, and bad animations are not.
But this isn’t a phoned-in effort from Bethesda – not at all. The skill tree, a vibrant star chart, is displayed as a kind of dome that you stand inside, with each unlockable attribute engulfing you. The map, meanwhile, transforms you into a phantom, as you fly over the world in order to find your next destination. It’s all incredibly impressive stuff, but it begs one question: are 100 hour role-playing games the best fit for PlayStation VR? Non-owners have argued that the headset isn’t worth the investment without full-length experiences, but in a medium that mostly excels in short bursts, the jury’s still out.
Are you planning to revisit Skyrim with PlayStation VR, or have you had enough of Bethesda’s perennially repurposed RPG? Post your favourite Fus Ro Dah pun in the comments section below.
Comments 43
Very interested in this title. I'm not completely sold on the idea, but it at least seems like they put decent effort into it.
Skyrim is a game that I know like the back of my hand. I'm not big into VR as far as gaming is concerned, but I would definitely be interested in seeing such a familiar world through VR goggles.
If anything would tempt to buy PSVR, Skyrim would be it. Gods be praised.
I have a VR but im afraid to say that I just cant get excited for this sorry. The key line in your article is this: "it looks and feels like the village we explored on the PlayStation 3 some six years ago"
Granted you explain how it feels iincredible to feel like yoi are there; but I sunk 180 hours into skyrim six years ago. I just cant muster up the enthusiasm to play again. If it was a new experience I would be all over it.
Shame but this is a miss. I have a large enough backlog as it is, without adding games I have already own back into the mix. Its a shame as my lack of support will be seen as a lack of interest by Bethesda and will reduce the likelihood of their next game coming to the platform.
Is it still the teleport movement style, I really don't want to play a game where im blinking around.
@Rob_230 I think that's fair enough.
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi "Firstly, the controls. We once again played with two PlayStation Move wands – the DualShock 4 is supported, of course – with each illuminated controller representing one of our hands. Our understanding is that everything is completely customisable, but we played with the run command mapped to the Move button and incremental turning applied to Square and Triangle. Holding the Move button down propelled our silent protagonist forward, while looking left and right slightly altered the direction of our movement."
Sounds good. Now I got a Switch, PSVR is my next hardware purchase, but I might wait another 12 months. Looking forward to trying all the games I missed.
As for this, it'll be a curiosity on the cheap.. I won't buy Skyrim again full price (already done that 3 times).
So cool. I have never played Skyrim but this will be the moment when I dive into the world, exploring and experiencing it as if it would be a real place. I love VR. Yes, even this first gen.
At over 100 hours, it'll definitely be a Fus Ro Dahnting quest in vr, but I'm willing to neglect a couple relationships to get some time in on this one
I would love to play this if I hadn't already put well over 1000 hours into the game and if I owned a PSVR.
I have never thought as Skyrim as an ugly game.
Sounds pretty cool, if the game's plot was decent I would be very tempted by this. They should have a chat with the Wolfenstein and Doom teams about story telling.
I will definitely get this. So glad to hear the new controls.
Question. I’ve heard rumors there’s a new demo disc coming that you can download, and I heard Skyrim vr might be on it. Any word on this?
@NintendoFan4Lyf I can't imagine playing a game like Skyrim on a tiny screen, hopefully they put some effort into making it feel as good as it is on the big screen (and that they actually squash some bugs)
.... why arent any devs utilising the PS3 Move Navigation Wand for ANY PSVR titles? Surely it'd be a great fix for some of the games on VR? Paranormal Activity and Dont Knock Twice wouldve been fantastic with one hand using the Move and the other using the navigation wand to get around. Instead you have to use the Move shape buttons to move .... it works and u kinda get used to it but its pretty atrocious!!!
Wow tbis has me supper excited now , was very woried about it but now .... . let me go find somore motion sickness bracelets....lol
1) I never played Skyrim (have the game on 360 since the beginning of time, but I always said : "yeah, I'll do it next. But first, this other game !")
2) I do have a Psvr and I genualy love it
So I'M TOTALLY EXCITED for this game !! Whatever the downgrade they come with, this is a FULL-SCALE GRAND RPG in F*** VIRTUAL REALITY !! This is the promise to escape to an another world. It's THE MATRIX !!
@ztpayne7 Not heard anything about it but it would make sense for them to offer a Skyrim VR demo so wouldn't surprise me at all.
@Bobobiwan It looks pretty good in VR TBH. Lighting is a bit flat, but it seemed comparable to the PS3 version to me. (Probably not on par with the remaster, though.)
@get2sammyb just saw the updated list. No Skyrim - the new disc just comes on the Skyrim psvr bundle and gt sport bundles. It does have a moss demo though!!! And it’s available to download tomorrow it sounds like.
@ztpayne7 Moss is amazing.
Skyrim wasn't an ugly game.. it was not state of the art by any means, but it had its moments of decency. Personally looking forward to playing this on PSVR and Pro. The fantasy world of skyrim seems fascinating to be "in" in psvr. Just let me avoid being hit by a giant early on. I imagine that would be barf-o-rama. Speaking of the Pro.. howcome these previews never say which model of PS4 they are playing on?? There could be a visual downgrade on the base PS4 vs. the Pro. It would be nice to hear what machine they let you play on with your impressions.
@RedMageLanakyn I can't see how anyone would want to play Skyrim on the switch in Portable mode unless you had to take a turd and could not pause it... I was playing Skyrim on my 10" tablet and while it was viewable.. it was not a good experience. I can't see how it would be even tolerable on a 6" screen. Mind you, I always have my switch in the dock, so maybe I am biased for bigger screens.
@Party_Cannon I think its gorgeous when you're taking in the vast spectacle of the scenery, it just falls apart a bit under intense scrutiny. Which, in my opinion, isn't great in VR because everything feels more personal.
This will be the 3rd time I've bought Skyrim... and I don't have a problem with that.
1st copy was on Xbox360 --I still have it... my only remaining disc, everything else is now digital download on an external HD.
2nd copy was the SE remaster for PS4. While I've crafted a nearly identical character in terms of race (Dark Elf) and appearance, each individual character's journey has been unique. I buy quite a few games per year, so when I picked up SE on sale, it sat there on the drive for about a month until I loaded it up one long weekend and fell in love with the game all over again.
I'm looking forward to the VR release... something fierce. I turn 45 the day after Skyrim VR releases, and have been a fan of D&D since I was like 6. I've played all of the Elder scrolls games going back to the 2nd one, on MS-DOS, prior to the first console release, Morrowind (TES3) on the Original Xbox (which I still have a copy of, in mint condition).
To me, this release will be like Christmas come early. My only gripe.. if you can call it that, is that there isn't a VR mode addon coming to ESO. ESO, with all of it's social capabilities would be sick in VR. But hey, Skyrim's a great start as far as I'm concerned. It's sorta testing the waters to see how huge scale RPGs do in VR on a massive distribution scale.... something I'm curious to see myself. There's not really been any extensive testing of VR in terms of hundreds of hours of use. I don't mind being a lab-rat... seems familiar some how.
@fluggy MY guess is because it doesn't have the glowy light, so the camera can't track it 1:1.
Anyone know if this disc version will allow non vr mode too?
Tempted by the game of the week sale, but would prefer to get this a couple of days later to try the vr (even if I don't play it in vr mode all the time)
@Totaldude911
Camera doesnt need to track it ... its just an analogue stick and a few buttons ... it didnt need to track it with PS3 Move games like Resi 5.
I've already pre-ordered this for my PSVR digitally. I'm really looking forward to feeling the scale of the game, I've loved the scale in all the other games I've played on PSVR. I've never been a big fan of the move controllers in VR whenever I have the option I always use the PS4 controller which I will be using this time...roll on a week Friday, I've taken the day off as well
It'll also be interesting to see how open world non-linear games fare in a VR environment.
I'm so glad I never got around playing Skyrim as I'll get to enjoy it more now experiencing it for the first time. Mom's spaghetti.
@Sgt_boots The VR version is for the PSVR game. You need to buy the Special Edition for non-VR.
That's disappointing... I wonder if cross save will work...
I'm really loving the build up to Skyrim VR. I've already played it on PC and PS4. And be happy to play it again in VR. This is the one game I'm hoping will break the 'VR experiences' and turn VR into huge adventures. For me gaming virtual worlds translates as huge open world not theme park worlds. As for the motion sickness thingy... When Quake first came out I remember my mates and family getting sick not being use to 3D movement. Now 3D gaming is the norm. I believe VR is at the pinnacle of a revolution just like what Doom and Quake did for gaming. Come on VR!
Played it on 360,PS3,and PS4 Pro.Am I ready to take a virtual arrow to the knee? Well,maybe...
Updated with video.
@fluggy Indeed, but my guess is with as hard as it is to track the wands with lights, it would be even harder to have perfect tracking without a light.
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi from my understanding , they have teleport style and locomotion movement with the move controllers. As well as the locomotion movement with dual shock controller.
The locomotion movement with the wands is a newer feature. From what I believe it's a smooth run feature.
Hope this helps
@bbq_boy resident evil 7 in VR is fantastic in my opinion. I'm hoping Skyrim brings me as much enjoyment. Picking up my copy Friday morning at 10:01 am.
Really looking forward to Doom BFF as well.
@SirWaysted yeah I read that game is a triple AAA experience. But sadly I'm a wimp with horror stuff and won't go there.
It's a must play on psvr. I'm a 45 year old man and screamed like a lol girl.
Lol
@get2sammyb
Skyrim VR reviews are starting to go live...
https://www.vrfocus.com/2017/11/review-the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-vr/
https://uploadvr.com/skyrim-vr-psvr-review/
@lacerz Yep, I got review code this morning so look for stuff on here and YouTube.
@get2sammyb
Looking forward to it.
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