In 2020, I reviewed the original version of Iron Man VR, and I loved it. Although I was sad that not many people would experience this, all due to the cost prohibitive nature of PSVR (remember, you had to buy a console, the peripheral, controllers and the game) and the general population resistance to virtual reality as a whole. I never would have thought that this game, originally published by Sony themselves, would eventually be relaunched for the Quest 2, the most cost-effective and user-friendly VR device on the market (despite Zuckerberg owning it, though sure). It even has some slight improvements for a much larger user base. I love that it happened. Not much has changed since the original release, but it’s easily the perfect way to experience one of the best VR games of all time, bar none.
Full head tracking, analog sticks, and improved load times are game changers over the PSVR version.
The base game remained intact, so the award-winning gameplay of the original Iron Man VR is still there. Use triggers as thrusters to move as Tony Stark through massive levels, in near-ace fight way, is still unbeatable. While I’d still prefer to use triggers to activate my blasters, given that the Quest has a pair in each controller, I can’t complain so much about the controls. They worked well then and still work well today.
Customize your own Iron Loadout.
The gameplay improvements are minimal, but welcoming. This is primarily the better quality of the Quest’s head tracking, which now allows you to move your head in any direction you want, given that you don’t have to face a camera for your faux-VR immersion works, and more importantly, improved camera controls. Again, a port of a previous PSVR game is now better experienced on the Quest due to the “revolutionary” inclusion of analog sticks. For the most part, moving with the left analog is limited whenever you waltz around your mansion as Tony Stark, but moving your camera with the right analog stick, coupled with improved head tracking, results in a much smoother experience. .
At its core, still a fantastic quasi-arcade combat flight simulator.
Speaking of fluidity, the Quest port of Iron Man VR features significantly shorter load times, making this build much easier to pick up and play. In fact, being a Quest game on its own would already make it more arcade-ready, but I wouldn’t complain about those improved load times either. Finally, my main gripe with the original version of the game has been (slightly) fixed. The PSVR version of Iron Man VR had serious frame rate issues, especially during intense, action-packed segments. I’m not going to lie, I still noticed a few issues here and there with this build, but it felt much smoother and less inconsistent in terms of framerate.
My favorite VR-into-another-VR couple. I send them.
Overall, although the improvements are mostly minimal, it is clear that the Quest 2 version of Iron Man VR is indeed better than the PSVR port, and the perfect way to experience one of the best VR games of all time. It would have already been a recommendation if it was the exact same game, glitches and all, available on what is essentially a handheld VR device, but the improved controls, head tracking, load times and the performance makes it the ultimate version of the game, and one of the best games available on the Quest 2, if not THE best.
|
It still suffers from a few framerate hiccups here and there, but they’re far less noticeable than the PSVR port. The visuals are also slightly sharper. All in all, a commendable improvement, considering the hardware. |
Yet another PSVR-to-Quest game that feels better to play purely because it has real sticks to help with movement and camera control. Slightly hampered by the framerate, as before, but much less noticeable than the PSVR version. |
|
Not much has changed, and that’s not a bad thing. The soundtrack and voice acting were good then, and they’re still good now. |
A little more content here and there, a handful of quality-of-life improvements, and the fact that the Quest 2 is a lot more user-friendly and hassle-free than the PSVR makes this version of Iron Man VR the perfect way to play one of the best virtual reality games of all time. |
|
Final verdict: 9.5 |
|
Iron Man VR is available now on PSVR and Quest 2.
Seen again during quest 2.
A copy of Iron Man VR was provided by the editor.