Vertigo 2 Evaluate (PS5 / PSVR2)

What a nice shock Vertigo 2 has turned out to be. Waking up in a cell, held captive by the all-powerful — and probably sinister — Brian, you’re finally let unfastened to discover an enormous scientific facility housing a quantum reactor. The similarities to Half-Life are hanging and quick, however dev Zulubo hasn’t shied away from this, and the outcomes are spectacular.

Environments are diversified, however once more, lean into the look of Half-Life. You’ve loads of workplace cubicle areas evoking Black Mesa, however you’ll additionally see harmful industrial areas, and even lush, tropical alien environments. One thing for everybody, then. The sport does an exceptional job of bouncing you between totally different settings briskly, permitting every little thing to really feel contemporary always.

Enjoyable environments are nice, however what if there’s nothing enjoyable to do inside them? Nicely, relaxation assured, Vertigo 2 provides loads of enjoyable. The gunplay feels nice, with phenomenal monitoring and a big selection of armaments. Particular person weapons have a weightiness to them that makes wielding them really feel lethal. Whereas the beginning pistol is relatively dreadful, every little thing that bolsters your arsenal afterward is a noticeable enchancment. You’ll get customary stuff like a shotgun or assault rifle, in addition to extra adventurous issues if you happen to can find all the key weapons. Buying these is way more concerned, often requiring a sequence of puzzles to unlock. Every weapon additionally has an improve tree, so if you happen to discover you don’t like a sure weapon, you possibly can beef it up till it’s extra to your liking.

The writing is enjoyable too, although the sound design can typically undercut issues by blaring excessive of dialogue on default settings. We missed some jokes early on earlier than making corrections. It is nice that the title is so enjoyable although, as a result of it additionally occurs to be fairly a bit longer than we’ve grown accustomed to with VR titles. Clocking in at practically 10 hours, Vertigo 2 is a PSVR2 must-play. That is achieved by means of a mixture of nice gameplay, enjoyable, typically insane boss fights, a playful tone, and oh a lot extra.