Released back in May 2017, Farpoint, developed by Impulse Gear was one of the first VR first person shooter game on the PS VR to fully utilise the PS VR Aim Controller. While the initial reviews were mixed but one thing was clear, those who used the VR Aim Controller was totally blown by the experience.
Farpoint pits you in a hostile alien world after a wormhole mishap where you attempt to regroup with the rest of the survivors of the space station that was drawn into it. Armed with a trusty assault rifle that automatically reloads, you explore the alien planet in a true 3D immersion and encounter strange hostile life forms. In the early parts of the game, these often come in the form of spiders with varying attacks, so those with arachnophobic tendencies might wanna try the demos first before buying.
Graphics wise, Farpoint is one of the best looking VR shooters out there. Using a 1:1 tracking through a combination of the PS Camera and gyroscopes on the headset and Aim controller, the view and weapons tracking appears to be almost flawless. I had some slight problems with the Aim controller drifting off-centre everyone once in a while but after a quick jerk, it returns back to normal. It’s not a deal breaker as the overall experience of playing an FPS in a VR is simply incredible and the level of immersion has to be experienced to be believed. The gameplay is mostly linear with some sections having larger areas to explore than others but this usually means that a horde of hostiles is about to spring an attack on you.
The score in Farpoint is suitably majestic in levels showcasing the scale of the level. Although there’s a lack of variety in the score it gets the job done and doesn’t distract you much from the gameplay.
As the game progresses, you will be able to unlock new weapons like a shotgun which is really powerful for close range but requires a longer reload and a sniper rifle which is great for taking out enemies from a distance. You will eventually unlock some of the more exotic alien weapons late in the game. The main campaign took me about 7-8 hours to complete which is relatively short. Impulse Gear recently released an update which introduced the Co-op and Deathmatch mode for multiplayer. This dramatically extends the game’s replayability after you’ve completed the story campaign. Matchmaking for these sessions often take between 3-5minutes which is still pretty decent. So if you’re looking for some of the best VR games to showcase your PS VR, Farpoint should definitely be at the top of your list.