TEST Pavlov: “it was not my war” and yet… What is this PSVR 2 edition worth?

At first sight, Pavlov is a title which will not impress the neophyte or the refractory to the FPS. We are obviously thinking of a Counter-Strike-like unpretentious, as there are so many others in virtual reality. Think again, the title in front of you is not just a simple port of the PC version VR and is also not the FPS good by default because it would be the only one of its kind available on the Playstation Store.

Pavlov is not a game that takes you by the hand.

Pavlov is a FPS arcade-oriented multiplayer that can be played by up to 10 players in simultaneous. That doesn’t mean you can fragger your opponents way DOOM Eternal. VR obligatory, all the salt of the title comes from the way you interact with your weapons and with your own body. Unlike a game flat where you just have to press a key or a button to reload your weapon, here everything is done by hand. You’ll need to remove the cartridge, fetch a new one through your belt, insert it into your weapon, and squeeze your thigh (your weapon’s, obviously) to fire.

If it may seem simple on paper, it is not in the game, because each family, even each weapon has its own method of reloading, as in reality. You have to remember that with one in particular you will have to press the B button to eject the cartridge, while with others you will have to eject it with your free hand or insert the bullets one by one, etc. Also, you can only run by lowering your weapon, and if you want to crouch, prone, or pick up a downed weapon, you’ll have to physically do so.

pavlov makes you feel that little bit of pressure and thrill when you have to recharge as quickly as possible. The title has several tutorials in order to practice with weapons, grenades and bombs. Born rush not this part! Slowly learn how to handle the different weapons at your disposal, fire them, unload them and reload them, then watch the upgrades you can clip onto compatible ones, until you feel ready. The pleasure of your first games will only be increased tenfold.

During your first tutorial on target, a wow effect is created instantly, the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback, combined with the realism of the sound, immediately place the title next to the reference of the genre: Gun Club VR. The feeling of the weapons is such that you will find your memories of sports shooting on target, it’s completely amazing, especially when you feel the trigger harden and feel the socket go.

During a headshot, you will feel the casing pierce your brain.

When you understand that each weapon has its own haptic feedback, your first instinct will be to try to play with all of those available to you. Small mention for the snipers: you will need, as in reality, to close your eye to aim welland again, like the film Leon, each sniper rifle has its own margin of error. In other words, it is not because you shoot right in the middle that the trajectory of your ball hits the mark, so you have to find the sweet spot of each weapon at long range to hope to master them.

Exit from tutorialin your first game against bots (which we recommend to get your hands on), you will be surprised by the exhilarating effect that these haptic feedbacks bring, undeniably making this version the most accomplished to datebecause the only one to offer it, thereby transcending the very image we had of the title. Never has it been so enjoyable to fragger or to be fragger in VRbecause the vibrations in the helmet tell your nervous system that you are really in danger.

Pavlov therefore offers a total experience and, as much to warn you from the outset, the game is very gore (you can deactivate the effect), both visually and in terms of sound. Although dismemberments aren’t in the game, you’ll get the sound of hemoglobin flowing, a choking sound if you hit the respiratory system, or even fountains of blood every head shot. Our low instincts are really solicited and contribute a lot to the release side of the title.

Pavlov is a must.

In terms of content, 15 modes are available: Zombies, Hunt, Team Deathmatch, Search & Destroy, Gun Game, WW2 CT, WW2 Gun, TT, One in the Chamber, The Hide, Push, King of the Hill, Infection, Prop Hunt And it is even possible to mix some of them through the mode Custom. In terms of originality, we recommend you from this list Gun, One in the chamber, WW2 CT, TT And The Hide. However, we advise against Zombies to start, as the difficulty can put off.

The mode Gunis clearly one of the best stress relieversbut the least tactical, the goal being to be the first to kill everyone with all the weapons in the game, these changing with each kill. One in the Chamber calls on your dexteritygiving you a single bullet to defeat an opponent, and each kill done gives you one back. WW2 CT is a mode for obtaining World War II weapons and driving vehicles and tanks. To handle your tank, you will need to be at least three : one who fires the machine gun, the other who places the missiles and fires them, and the last who takes care of maneuvering the machine, the whole thing is altogether quite prodigious in terms of gameplay and immersion! The mode TT is a Among Us-like where you play as a random detective, citizen, or traitor who must attempt to kill everyone without getting caught. Finally, The Hide is a mode where you will have to hunt a transparent spy or be the latter and try to kill your enemies one by one, trying somehow to hide in the background.

Of course, in all team modes, you can talk to your teammates, in particular by putting your free hand at ear level to switch on your radio. on the party Onlinemany players respond present and the game being cross playso you can play with your friends who come from the PC version VR. On the card side, 10 are availableit may not seem like much, but most of them are gigantic and offer within each of them multiple environments with different atmospheres, in addition to having a night mode and a day mode. However, we hope that the developers find a way to make it possible to download custom maps to avoid repetition (as is possible in PC VR), even if for this game, you will need a hell of a lot of hours to master everything, long before you reach the slightest feeling of weariness.

Rest assured on the graphics the game is clean and crisp it was never a tech showcase and never claimed to be but its definition is good and here and there you will find details and such highlights that easily flatter your retina. So yes, thealiasing is present, especially over long distances, but overall, the title is doing with honors and does not have to blush against its PC counterpartwhich can certainly always boast of being able to offer better definition and better anti-aliasing more easily, but which can in no way be able to compete with it on haptic feedback, than only the PSVR 2 is currently able to deliver.

If you like the genre or want to discover it, Pavlov is an indispensable, it cannot disappoint you, unless you are against the idea of ​​reloading your weapons by hand or not being able to crouch or lie down using simple buttons. Especially with the PSVR 2 and his wire, it is quite wobbly to offer such a physical exercise, moreover for sniping comfortably in a lying position. Note that if you have the PC version VR, the purchase is clearly not useless, if indeed you are fond of haptic feedback, OLED and HDR. However, if you own the fall edition, you will totally rediscover the game and eat the slap of your life… Literally !