The PlayStation VR has a treasure trove filled with many games, and as such it can be hard at times to find some true stand-outs. If you’re in the market for something terror-inducing, with some roguelike gameplay elements of course, there is no better title than The Persistence, as developed by Firesprite.
Released back in July of 2018, The Persistence is set in deep space as you try and save a space station from absolute destruction. You can not complete this task easily though, as while you roam the endless corridors and walls that seemingly close in, you also face off against violent clones of the ship's crew.
The concept is amazing, and the title is one of the best PlayStations VR has to offer. That said, some people would prefer to play it just like a regular game, without any VR involved whatsoever. To fulfill this niche, The Persistence will launch a huge free update for everyone called The Complete Edition. This adds a whole host of new and exciting features, but the one that takes center stage is the fact that The Persistence will now be fully playable with or without a VR headset.
In a blog post on the European PlayStation Blog, game director Stuart Tilley talks about bringing the game to flat-screen TVs, as well as the huge graphical overhaul for the PlayStation 4 Pro, including 4K visuals and 60 frames per second framerate.
He listed four main aspects that the Firesprite team worked on in order to make The Persistence: Complete Edition a new and exciting experience for both new and returning players
- Graphics – completely overhauled. As I mentioned above, the game will now run at full 4K and 60 frames per second for the PlayStation 4 Pro. For regular and slim PlayStation 4 owners, though, you will still have the 60 frames, just in 1080p resolution.
- Camera – the first-person camera has been reworked and now boasts new animations that ensure “a natural sense of movement around the ship.” You will now feel subtle head movement whist moving, and transitions between crouching and standing are now much more pronounced due to head movement.
- Gameplay and controls – the biggest challenge in porting a VR game to non-VR medium is the mechanics linked to the headset. To combat this, a huge focus has been given to ensure that you can pull off the same movements you do on the headset, within the same speed and accuracy. The way you interact with pickups and objects while in a non-VR mode has also been reworked, and weapon aiming and general usage has been reworked in order to not be frustratingly difficult on non-VR players.
- Presentation and UI – the OSD (on-screen display) was also reworked as a HUD for flat-screen TVs.
As for the release date, there is nothing set yet, although Firesprite promises that it is close to being complete.
The Persistence is exclusively available on the PlayStation 4.
