Kayak VR: Mirage PSVR 2 Review

thesixthaxis.com:

Kayak VR: Mirage is a very simple game. It’s you in a kayak, paddling through the waters of some gorgeous and remote locations from around the world.

Playing on PSVR 2, the controls for this are as simplistic as you would expect, with a double-ended paddle linked to the position of the two Sense controllers in your hands. It’s almost immediately second nature to adopt the motions needed for kayaking, with the cyclical left-right-left-right motions you need to propel your craft forward. From that basic level, a quick jaunt in an indoor swimming pool runs you through some more advanced techniques, whether it’s pushing the paddle deeper into the water for more thrust, holding it to slow that side and spin you round, or leaning to get a similar effect.

You can push things further, by toggling a simulation setting in the options, and you have a setting that lets you enable paddle rotation by using a stick. No, not an analogue stick, a broomstick that you attach your controllers to.

You won’t get the resistance (or the workout) from actually pushing your kayak through water, but the water in Kayak VR: Mirage is still fantastic. It’s often gorgeously clear, for one thing, letting you peep at the fish going about their day-to-day below the surface, and there’s a serene calmness in most settings that is only disturbed almost exclusively by your wake. There’s a degree of physicality as well, whether it’s ducking under a fallen tree trunk, or pushing yourself off from rocks.

As delightful as Kayak VR is, it’s also ultimately a rather minimalist experience. Each of the four destinations – Kings Canyon in Australia, Antarctica, Norway and Costa Rica – has some time of day settings so you can explore them in different light and weather