One of the most hotly anticipated titles to get PlayStation VR2 support is Polyphony Digital’s real driving simulator. Gran Turismo 7 is a title that showcased the potential of the PlayStation 5, so it’s only natural that such a flagship racing title would also showcase just why someone should invest $500+ for a PlayStation 5 accessory.
In the favor of Gran Turismo 7, the PlayStation VR2 support patch is available free of charge to anyone that already owns the title on PlayStation 5. With the Version 1.29 patch released yesterday, February 21st, players can access nearly the entire Gran Turismo 7 racing experience in Virtual Reality. The most notable exception to this is the inclusion of Split-Screen races which makes sense, given that two headsets can’t be plugged into the console at one time.
The first time that I tried Gran Turismo 7 with the PlayStation VR2 headset on, I was confused about just how to access the VR-supported content. You see, just as with any title that doesn’t have a separate VR mode, the game is displayed in the virtual theatre mode with the game screen floating in virtual black space. It took me to give up on digging through menus and just jumping into my first race, in this instance the Race Together with the autonomous GT Sophy AI, to realize that Sony’s implemented it as a seamless transition to VR.
After finishing with vehicle selection and tuning and opting to start a race on the track, the viewport transitions from the floating theatre screen directly into the driver’s seat of your chosen car. It’s a similar approach to the new VR showcase mode where players can walk around their favorite ride and also back into the driver’s seat to fiddle around with blinker lights and whatnot.
As the race begins, players are quickly thrown right into the driver’s seat with no tutorial or introductions to ease players into the firsthand Gran Turismo 7 PS VR2 experience. From the driver’s seat, players can freely lean around or look all around the surrounding environment even as the car races forward. There are obvious limits to this, as once the player’s head clips through any piece of the environment, the view immediately switches to a basic wireframe of the vehicle amid a black backdrop. I understand that this is to keep the immersion and prevent the view from any unforeseen glitches with clipping into the body of the car. Still, such a stark transition can be bothersome in the midst of a race where players are trying to navigate a tight hairpin turn.
With the improved resolution of the PlayStation VR2’s display, the obvious limitations of the first generation of PlayStation VR are a thing of the past. No longer are competing vehicles or background environments a jagged mess of aliased pixels. Instead, the view is filled with about as close of fidelity as one would get from the main game. Distant objects throughout the environment, such as trees or road signs, do take a hit but are usually not the focus of one’s eyes for very long. The eye-tracking tech of the PlayStation VR2 headset is also used to great effect to improve the fidelity of the player’s gaze through the addition of foveated rendering. High-dynamic range lighting boosts the realism of Gran Turismo 7’s daytime races and is a wonder that has to be seen firsthand to be believed.
Even with just a standard DualSense controller in hand, the racing action feels as realistic as the highest-end racing simulator that money can buy. The immersion can be taken to another level with a full racing wheel and pedal setup, but that’s still something yet to find its way into the office here. The adaptive triggers and controller rumble, in combination with 3D audio through any connected audio device, only serve to heighten the realism of Gran Turismo 7 enough that the lack of a steering wheel in hand can temporarily be forgotten as players lose themselves within the leather exterior of a custom-tuned Pagani Huayra.
While Gran Turismo 7 is a full-priced title on its own, it should be considered an essential purchase to help show off the PlayStation VR2 to anyone curious about the headset. Even without a racing wheel to complete the experience, getting the controller into curious players’ hands and letting them take a test drive on the High Speed Ring can prove the potential of the platform even on the first day on the market. If you haven’t already picked up a copy of Gran Turismo 7, a brand new copy is available right now from Amazon US for $39.99.
