Arken Age makes a strong first impression on Playstation VR 2
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Arken Age has much more to offer than just beautiful graphics. It also convinces with its VR implementation and is a lot of fun to play.

Arken Age will be released on January 16th for Playstation VR 2 and on Steam for PC VR headsets.

The studio responsible for the game provided me with access to the game in advance to get a first impression. And it’s a positive one.

It’s easier to make a VR game that looks fantastic than it is to make one that takes full advantage of virtual reality and is fun to play. Arken Age does both.

I played and explored the first four areas for about two hours. Since Arken Age offers a total of 25 areas and a campaign of more than 15 hours, the following impressions are limited to the beginning of the game.

The landscapes are beautiful to behold with their mix of pristine nature, crystal blue waters, magnificent Nara temples and technoid elements and facilities. The native flora and fauna, weapons and enemies are all designed and animated with great attention to detail.

I played Arken Age on Playstation VR 2, and that version has two graphics modes, both of which use Dynamic Foveated Rendering:

a performance mode with 90 native frames per second and a resolution of approximately 2,800 x 2,000 pixels, and a quality mode with 60/120 reprojected frames per second and a resolution of 3,300 x 2,400 pixels.

I prefer performance mode as the game runs smoother and is free of ghosting. The world is not quite as sharp, but it is a feast for the eyes even without the quality mode. The PSVR 2 version also benefits from HDR, an immersive use of adaptive triggers on weapons and the headset’s rumble haptics. On the Playstation 5 Pro, the resolution is 15 percent higher in performance mode and 25 percent higher in quality mode.

If you play Arken Age on a powerful PC, you can enjoy even better visuals thanks to numerous graphics settings.

The biggest question I have is whether Arken Age can maintain the positive impression of the first two hours for the rest of the game, or whether monotony will creep in. In any case, I’m excited to delve deeper into this world.

Arken Age is coming to the Playstation Store and on Steam on January 16th and can be wishlisted on both platforms. The price is $40.