Red Matter 2 is a stunning visual showcase for PSVR 2
Red Matter 2 looks amazing on PSVR 2 and is my new visual benchmark for the system.
I had a chance to try out Red Matter 2 before today's launch and can only say one thing: Wow!
What the Spanish studio Vertical Robot conjures up on Playstation VR 2 is impressive. Red Matter 2 is considered the most beautiful game on Meta Quest 2, and the PSVR 2 takes this version to the next level.
The native 120 hertz makes for a smooth experience, the foveated rendering for a crisp, aliasing-free image, and the remastered 4K textures for environments that feel like you can touch them. I've never felt more present in a game world with Playstation VR 2.
Red Matter 2 makes Playstation VR 2 shine
Yes, I've played Horizon: Call of the Mountain and Resident Evil Village. But Red Matter 2 has a different quality, partly due to the smoother frame rate, partly due to the locations, which feel extremely realistic in their slick space station aesthetic.
Both of the above titles actually run at only 60 hertz and are upscaled to 120 hertz using Sony's reprojection software, which is far from perfect and can cause visual artifacts, motion blur, and even nausea in some cases.
Red Matter 2, on the other hand, runs at a native 120 hertz. You have to experience it yourself to understand the difference.
The high frame rate is made possible by graphics optimization and the fact that the VR game does not have to render overly complex scenes: no vegetation with high visibility (Horizon: Call of the Mountain) or messy rooms with lots of detail and realistic clutter (Resident Evil Village).
The relative emptiness of the space station allows Vertical Robot to make the most of the Playstation VR 2's specs, showing what the VR headset could do visually if it weren't constrained by performance limits - and that there's a lot of untapped potential in terms of visuals.
Red Matter 2 is available now
The gameplay is unchanged in the PSVR 2 version. My friend Jan played through the VR game on Meta Quest 2 and will update his Red Matter 2 review with his impressions of the PSVR 2 version soon.
Then we'll see if Red Matter 2 joins the list of multiplatform VR titles like Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge and Song in the Smoke that are experienced best on PSVR 2. One thing's for sure: you'll impress your friends with this sci-fi VR game.
Red Matter is now available on Playstation Store for $29.99.
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