Christmas is past, and many people no doubt peeked under the Christmas tree to find a shiny new PlayStation VR waiting for them, some of which may well have been obtained during Black Friday, judging by the listed sales figures.
For those looking to spend their gift money on some titles for their new PlayStation VR, or veteran owners looking for a good deal, all could do worse than to cast an eye over these end-of-year deals on the PlayStation Store.
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
A riotous VR party game. One person is ensconced in VR, looking at a bomb about to go off. Another person, out of VR, has the instructions. Players have to learn to quickly and effectively communicate, or… well… kaboom.
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is available for £5.79, a 51% discount.
Tethered
Players of Tethered are placed in the role of a spirit guardian who is trying to release other guadians who have been trapped by evil energy. To do this, players must solve puzzles and gather resources from across the beautiful hand-painted islands with the help of loyal servants, the ‘peeps’ who can be sent to do certain tasks to help you in your goal.
Tethered is available for £7.39, a 61% discount.
Thumper
Fast-paced rhythm game Thumper was a launch title for the PlayStation VR. Gameplay involves steering a small ship through a course filled with psychedelic colour, moving always with the beat of the music, which gradually becomes increasingly complex.
Thumper is available for £6.49, a 59% discount.
RIGS: Mechanised Combat League
One of the PlayStation VR’s earliest contenders for an eSports title, RIGS: Mechanised Combat League is a first-person arena shooter where players take control of powerful robotic battlers to take part in a futuristic sport that mixes elements of combat, motorsport, basketball and football.
RIGS: Mechanised Combat League is available for £11.99, a 52% discount.
Windlands
This puzzle-platform title from Psytec Games is expecting a sequel at some point in 2018, so now is a good chance to experience the original. Players need to plot a route through a stylised, hard-angled landscape by running, jumping or swinging using a grappling hook. The result is a system that is easy to learn, but tricky to master.
Windlands is available for £7.39, a 61% discount.
Battlezone
Scarcely needing an introduction is Rebellion’s VR remake of the classic 1980s Atari title where you take control of a Tron-inspired tank and go around shooting other tanks and enemy towers to bits. The developers regularly introduce updates, so there’s often a new challenge to take on.
Battlezone is available for £9.99, a 71% discount.
Weeping Doll
Dark winter nights are perfect for some horror in VR. Weeping Doll is a dark, story-based experience that challenges players to explore various creepy environments and solve tricky puzzles as a sinister doll, fueled by all the negative thoughts of an abused child seeks to take revenge on the parents responsible.
Weeping Doll is available for £3.29, a 58% discount.
Headmaster
Want to improve your football skills? (Or soccer skills, for our American readers), then Headmaster is here to help. With a framing device of an unexpectedly prison-like ‘Football Improvement Centre’, the player is subjected to several lessons aimed at improving various football skills, including an option to engage in 6-player local multiplayer in a ‘pass-and-play’ high score challenge.
Headmaster is available for £7.39, a 53% discount.
The Assembly
British development studio nDreams had its first big-budget VR title with the release of puzzle-based adventure The Assembly, which combines a relatively simple gameplay with a series of moral dilemmas as players explore a mysterious underground bunker.
The Assembly is available for £9.79, a 51% discount.
PlayStation VR Worlds
For those who have purchased, or been given, a new PlayStation VR and are unsure what genre of type of videogame to try first, there is the option of getting a compilation title such as PlayStation VR Worlds, which offers a variety of VR experiences to try, including the highly praised ‘The London Heist‘.
PlayStation VR Worlds is available for £11.99, a 52% discount.
“Bound casts the player as an ever-moving character in an aesthetically unique world, similar in intent to the GameCube’s P.N.03 but very different in resulting gameplay. The dancer that represents the player on-screen will use a variety of leaps and twirls to overcome the pitfalls of a chaotic level design, crossing bridges, bounding across gaps and solving switch puzzles all while visually impacting the world. The latter is an impressive visual treat in VR, but it’s actually the puzzling gameplay that makes Bound worthy of the transition to the new medium.”
“While still insisting that the PlayStation VR version of Driveclub is still a technical demonstration and nothing more, the experience feels as though a lot of work has gone into getting it just right. The handling is tight and responsive, the car feels weighty and collisions are given just enough oomph that they’ll interrupt your driving line but fall short of sending you spinning. It’s a very different way of playing Driveclub, and it arguably is what Evolution Studios’ racing experience needed to separate it from the pack all along.”
“Farpoint has become a key example for the success of modern VR, having surpassed all expectations for commercial value upon release.”
“Every early adopter of the head-mounted display (HMD) should consider a purchase of 
“Depicting a new form of sports entertainment that takes place 50 years in the future, RIGS: Mechanised Combat League aims to be a fast-paced FPS, the kind that might have required a few nearby sick bags on lesser VR hardware. ”
“Starblood Arena, the unique arena shooter that sees players piloting individualised space ships all with their own unique weapons and attributes, such as soldier Elsa in her versatile ship Mandible, or fast but fragile assassin Blade and his ship Raptor. ”
“A first-person test of mental and physical dexterity as players complete a series of tasks to solve increasingly challenging puzzles. These challenges can range from building towers to creating bridges, working out mind melting puzzles, and blowing up enormous towers of blocks. Puzzle titles tend to be single-player affairs but Supermassive Games has incorporated PlayStation VR’s Social Screen feature, allowing a second player to use the connected TV, creating a much more social experience.”
“Until Dawn is a story driven horror videogame, with the player’s in-game decisions having a direct influence on the outcome for each of the characters involved. A convoluted journey through an unwelcoming world. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is a far more straight forward affair. It’s a shooting gallery, pure and simple, but when played in VR it’s far more appealing than could it could ever sound on paper.”
