Mr. PSVR-2
“Da plane Boss, da plane”. When that plane flew to Fantasy Island every week, you couldn’t help but wonder which celebrity was on the plane and going to visit the island. I remember thinking it would be awesome to fly that plane and pretend I was carrying passengers or cargo to the island in virtual reality. I am happy to say that Ultrawings for the PlayStation VR from Bit Planet Games allows me to live out that fantasy.
Being an open-world and the first aerial-themed game, I got excited about the possibilities of flying in virtual reality. Soaring over the ocean, doing flybys, and making that perfect landing. It’s all here, and thanks to the team at Bit Planet Games, everyone can have that feeling of flying and become the pilot they always dreamed of becoming.
Ultrawings provides you with a lot of content. You have four planes to unlock, all while doing different tasks, such as flying through rings, racing, and shooting targets (and there is nothing like flying and shooting outside the plane), and put those photography skills to use around landmarks. By completing the different tasks, you will earn medals that will allow you to unlock items such as airports on the different islands, planes, and missions.
But one thing I really appreciate is the option to just get away. Meaning if you just need a break from other games or your own reality, Ultrawings allows you to take that mental virtual break and just escape and fly. Just be cautious of your fuel.
You can either use the DualShock 4 or the Move controllers. Using the Move controllers, you can interact with every instrument of your plane. Compared to playing with the DualShock 4, playing with the Move controllers feels like the training wheels have come off and you are truly on your own.
Before you actually begin, you must have a license. To have a license to fly, you must get used to some simple tasks like taking off, going through rings, and landing. Then and only then are you allowed to act out your Top Gun flybys. For each mission, you are given instructions on what needs to be completed. This comes in handy, but if you are like me and you’re ready to fly, there was one announcement that I missed, and I had to restart. Which is no big deal and is a nice feature, but take it from me: don’t be in a rush and really enjoy what Ultrawings has to offer.
Another thing that I think some players will appreciate is the immersion. When you are flying without changing anything, looking straight ahead, you can see out the window, and to the left and right of your vision, it is blacked out. But if you turn to look, it all becomes clear. You can turn this off so that all the windows are clear if you want the full flight view, which again, is a nice touch to have these options.
If you are looking for a graphics-intensive game, this is not going to be it, and it doesn’t need to be or try to be. The immersion from the beginning of the game to where you are out there flying is where it needs to be. I appreciate the direction and the artistic views Ultrawings presents to me. Flying over the water and seeing the waves and the beach, along with the details of the controls from inside the plane, is greatly done. And yes, it is possible to decrease the gas and cut the engine in mid-flight and feel that sense of silence when you look down and see the ocean as you begin to aim toward the ocean that could have Jaws swimming below, all while your stomach gives you that feeling like you are flying down.
Ultrawings is where it needs to be, and being able to have this type of fun shows how dedicated the team was in creating it. I just hope that more missions, scenes, and weather elements get added. It would be cool to have a mission to fly over a Bermuda Triangle-type area with crazy weather and dramatic music; it would be awesome, but that’s just my wishful thinking.
Being able to hear the engines and the propellers, or not hearing anything at all, really takes you out of normality and brings you to a world of flying in your new reality. Flying past windmills, flying under bridges, and trying to land on certain targets—it just goes to show you, with the right passion and desire, virtual reality can take us to new heights and flights. From taking off to landing, to racing other planes, to shooting targets, and adding photography is amazing in virtual reality. It’s all here for you to explore or just escape; the choice is yours. Ultrawings deserves to be on your destination of PlayStation VR flights.
Ultrawings is out now for PlayStation VR on the PlayStation Store. A review copy was provided. To learn more about Ultrawings, please visit the site. To learn more about Bit Planet Games, please visit their site, follow them on Twitter, and like them on Facebook.
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I am just going to go and fly to Fantasy Island.
