I’ve many fond reminiscences of going to the arcade as a child, taking part in video games like Time Crisis or House of the Dead, and racking up excessive scores. These lightgun video games, as they have been known as, have been so completely fitted to the arcade expertise and sometimes featured huge, unwieldy plastic weapons, flashing lights, and infrequently a pedal that allow you to duck behind objects.Fast-forward to 2023 and arcades are virtually nonexistent. You additionally will not discover too many video games primarily based on the lightgun method — a degree my colleague Charlie Wacholz lamented virtually precisely one 12 months in the past (opens in new tab) — however that appears to be altering as extra builders are embracing this arcade aesthetic to ship VR video games that even essentially the most motion-sick-prone of us can get pleasure from.Dark Pictures: Switchback is a brand new PSVR 2 (opens in new tab)-exclusive sport that places gamers in a rollercoaster seat — sure, I do know that appears like a extremely previous sort of VR sport, simply bear with me — and arms them with a gun in every hand. You’ll traverse via the wild, depraved world of the Dark Pictures Anthology (opens in new tab) led by a psychotic protagonist bent in your torture and eventual destruction. Can you defeat her?Switchback to the observe(Image credit score: Supermassive Games)Dark Pictures: Switchback gameplay is almost equivalent to Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. Just like that authentic PSVR sport, this new PSVR 2 sport sees gamers sitting in a rollercoaster seat all through everything of the expertise, so it is a sport that is greatest performed whereas truly seated.The rollercoaster automobile strikes by itself as you’ll count on from a rollercoaster and, as in Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, gamers are tasked with taking pictures absolutely anything that comes throughout their path in hopes of extinguishing evil’s flame and wracking up a excessive rating.It’s the sort of simplistic gameplay that wants no rationalization regardless of a brief tutorial on what you may must search for and what to shoot throughout the sport. The PSVR 2 additionally permits gamers to maneuver round greater than the unique PSVR because of the improved monitoring however, as I stated earlier than, this is not a sport the place you may stroll round.Supermassive Games repeated the very same method with the Dark Pictures Anthology because it did with Until Dawn.In essence, developer Supermassive Games repeated the very same method with the Dark Pictures Anthology because it did with Until Dawn. The flat model is an investigative horror sport whereas the VR model is an motion arcade-like shooter that traverses gamers via the world.I’ve no private expertise with the unique Dark Pictures collection, though I’ve watched some gameplay movies on it so I’m at the least a bit of bit accustomed to its themes. Based on what I do know there, followers of these video games will virtually definitely really feel proper at house on this egregiously creepy world.The sport even makes spectacular use of the PSVR 2’s distinctive expertise. Pulling the set off on a gun feels extra like pulling the set off on an actual gun. It takes a little bit of effort and automated weapons will see the set off pushing out and in as they may on an actual model of that gun.These mannequins solely transfer whenever you bodily blink because of PSVR 2’s eye-tracking capabilities. (Image credit score: Android Central)Likewise, the headset rumbles when gamers are attacked or are going via a specific slimy state of affairs, one thing you may perceive as soon as you’ve got performed the sport.Oh, and do not forget these enemies that transfer solely whenever you blink your eyes. It’s a mesmerizing expertise that’ll have you ever begging for eyedrops or loss of life, whichever comes first. Truly the most effective makes use of of the PSVR 2’s eye-tracking function I’ve seen up to now!High scores and extra(Image credit score: Android Central)In the hours that I’ve put into Dark Pictures: Switchback, I’ve discovered myself replaying ranges not simply to get higher excessive scores but additionally to see each boss and hidden encounter within the sport.As you progress via the world and its many chapters and diverse themes, you may come throughout switchbacks that’ll pressure you to decide. In prepare lingo, a switchback is outlined as “a railway operation in which a train is required to switch its direction of travel in order to continue its journey,” based on Wikipedia (opens in new tab).(Image credit score: Android Central)This break up within the tracks all the time has a route pre-selected nevertheless it’s not all the time the best route to go. In one degree — don’t fret, I will not spoil the story right here — gamers who proceed on the default observe to the left will discover themselves going round in a circle till they’re eradicated by an unkillable enemy. This loop is a part of the sport’s story and helps change up the gameplay a bit, particularly when your palms are bored with pulling the set off always.And Switchback’s gameplay loop is kind of a bit totally different from different lightgun video games like Zombieland: Headshot Fever, one other one among my favourite PSVR 2 video games (opens in new tab). In that title, ranges are usually fairly small and have you ever touring from the start to the tip, clearing rooms or areas earlier than progressing to the following space.Players select from branching paths within the story, every will reveal a brand new location or boss to defeat making a number of play-throughs about extra than simply getting a greater excessive rating.Switchback sees gamers always shifting via the atmosphere, stopping solely when a puzzle must be solved, a boss must be defeated, or a locked door must be blasted via.Those switchbacks provide gamers a selection of bosses and methods to replay the sport with out doing all the identical issues twice. In a method, it is just like the basic zombie sport Dead Rising the place you solely have a lot time to make it via the mall. You have to decide on properly when saving folks or going through bosses, and every of these decisions makes a distinction in how the sport performs and ends.Return of the lightgun genreLightgun video games died out, partly, as a result of most at-home lightgun equipment relied on CRT expertise to operate correctly. Now, with VR, builders do not have to fret about how the gun works or how the participant interacts with the scene. You simply put the headset on and also you’re there.Horror followers and House of the Dead followers will love Dark Pictures: Switchback’s engrossing environments and twitch arcade taking pictures mechanics. The story is fascinating and mysterious, retaining you intrigued all through regardless of not having a lot dialog in any respect.If you find yourself shopping for it and having fun with it, I’d suggest additionally selecting up Zombieland: Headshot Fever Reloaded. It’s a reboot of the sport that launched on Quest a number of years again and includes a whole visible overhaul in addition to improved mechanics. It’s virtually equivalent to a House of the Dead sport in some ways, but presents loads of upgrades and high-score problem loops alongside the way in which.Can you clear up this puzzle earlier than this poor man dies? (Image credit score: Android Central)Another title, RUNNER, places gamers in an Akira-inspired anime world the place you may hop on the again of a blazing-fast motorbike with the intention of constructing it out of the enormous metropolis alive. Take down corrupt garden enforcement drones and wrack up the power-ups alongside the way in which. This one’s received surprisingly good voiceover work and backstory regardless of its easy mechanics. I’d anticipate a sale on this one nevertheless it’s nonetheless enjoyable in case you’re an arcade shooter nut.On the horizon, nice video games like Crisis Brigade 2 (opens in new tab) are being ported over to PSVR 2 which can provide stellar Time Crisis vibes and the power to play co-op with buddies. The VRigade collection, because it was as soon as known as, is thought for being extremely troublesome and unforgiving, a mostly-lost high quality that 90s players will fondly bear in mind and absolutely get pleasure from. It additionally presents practical visuals and extra practical gun dealing with than most lightgun video games, serving to it additional set itself other than the pack.Dead Second (opens in new tab) can be headed to PSVR 2 and units itself aside with its distinctive bullet time and zooming mechanics. This one is smoother and presents fancier gunplay choices than a typical lightgun sport due to the distinctive method it strikes the gamers’ viewpoint round. It’s a stellar title that’ll simply make the record of greatest arcade shooters as soon as it is out.As a former arcade junkie, I’m extremely proud of the PSVR 2’s library and video games like Dark Pictures: Switchback. Some days, it is simply nicer to have a sport that prioritizes bodily motion circulate states as a substitute of deep considering. While it does not carry again the implicitly social nature of the arcade, it does let me relive the glory days in an entire new method.