A high-speed adventure made better on the PSVR2.

Fight back against an authoritarian regime in the latest PlayStation VR2 (PSVR2) release.

Resist from developer The Binary Mill, has long made Quest and other virtual reality (VR) users feel like Spider Man with guns. That experience has been upgraded and made better for it’s latest headset release – officially launched April. 9.

First hitting VR headsets in 2021, “Resist is a VR action game in which the player gets to swing through the skyscrapers of an authoritarian future city, fighting to regain their own freedom as well as liberate the city from the grip of a controlling mega-corp,” said Jason Spencer, writer and narrative director on the game.

What started as exploring the immersive potential of VR ended up becoming the game it is today, because of the experience it affords players.

“Swinging at high speed through a city is not something people can expect to ever experience in the real world, so it felt like an enjoyable experience to explore,” Spencer added.

And taking in this world, fighting your way to freedom as you swing across this city, is even better on the PSVR2. This is due to The Binary Mill taking full advantage of the technological prowess of the headset, by implementing haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and running at 90 frames per second.

The game plays extremely well and the city looks breathtakingly beautiful. If you’re coming from the Quest version for instance, the graphical upgrades are pretty noticeable. Not to say the game looks bad on that headset – because it doesn’t. But jumping into this world on the PSVR2, then experiencing it again on a different headset, is like playing professionally in the NHL then joining a weekend beer league; it’s the same game, but the feeling that something is missing will always haunt you.

That being said, whether you jump into a mission – of which there are many – during the day, at night, or even in the rain, the detail that went into making this look good is like magic. The little things like the reflection of light off a skyscraper, or even the rain, goes a long way to showcase not only what is possible in VR, but also how dedicated to their craft The Binary Mill team are.

Now let’s talk about the intricacies of this game.

As noted earlier, there are a lot of missions to Resist, but it’s worth mentioning that most of those are optional side missions, with the number of story related missions being relatively small.

Regardless of whether you’re playing the story or side quests, the core of the game remains unchanged; you’ll be making your way around the city – either via the grappling system that allows you to swing around the city, or a jetpack that can be unlocked later in the game – and shooting robots.

Obviously, there’s a little more to it than this – with side missions giving you the ability to hack billboards, shoot waves of enemies, and take on movement challenges across the city – but Resist wants you to feel like guerilla fighter and there’s no shortage of that here.

As you play through the game, you’ll find yourself with the ability to expand your abilities via a skill tree. This offers players the chance to improve themselves to make combat and traversal easier, while becoming a sturdier fighter.

In order to unlock all the abilities, you’ll find yourself grinding through side missions to earn the experience points needed. However, this can become rather tedious as the side missions will probably become rather repetitive after a while.

Good news though, as Resist boasts a “new game+” mode which allows you to come back after completing the game, and start fresh with your abilities carrying over.

As mentioned earlier, The Binary Mill chose to use all of the technological advancements of the PSVR2, when porting this game. While things like eye tracking and adaptive triggers are used well and make the game feel much more immersive – there are a limited number of guns so it’s not as if there’s that many chances to feel the trigger effect in action – what really makes this version stand apart from the others is the haptics.

“For my money, the haptics are what really set the PSVR2 version apart from Quest or PC. When you hit really high speeds and the headset haptics kick in, the sense of hurtling through the air is palpable,” says Spencer.

And he’s right. Headset haptics especially play a significant role in the immersion of this and other VR games – just look at how they help a game like Red Matter 2 feel like you’re really in a rocket ship. Here, it’s almost as if you can feel what it would be like if you when flying through the air at breakneck speeds.

In fact, just kicking off the game and walking around hundreds of feet off the ground, the haptics add the sense of wind blowing in your face. This is both an awe-inspiring, and slightly scary thing – especially if you have a fear of heights.

Speaking of fears, if you don’t like heights, flying, etc., then this probably isn’t your cup of tea. If you’re someone who doesn’t do well with motion sickness either, this is definitely not the game for you.

Movement through the game world feels great, it’s easy to get use to, and feels very fluid to whip around while cornering a giant building with ease. But even with all of the accessibility settings available, if you have a weak stomach, take precautions.

Overall, Resist is an extremely well done game, that will be a welcome addition to the PSVR2 library of the average VR enthusiast. It’s a fun experience that sticks to its guns by offering a consistently familiar experience, expanded by different mission types that set out to keep you engaged.

The character progression is deep and the completionist players who will set out to fully unlock everything on each of the three skill tree, will be able to dedicate an abundance of hours fighting for the city of Concord.

It’s funny that this game launches at a time when the world seems to be changing for the worse. Sure, it originally came out in 2021, but it’s not like the problems seen now weren’t in existence then.

As the USA and other countries become more hostile and unrecognizable places for many, people choosing to rise up and push back against the tyranny may be able to find solace in an experience such as this. Or perhaps some ideas that can translate into the real world.

Who knows, if things continue along their current trajectory, we may soon see experiences like Resist become a reality.