Ski Jumping Pro VR | PS4 Review

January 1, 2020 Scott Clark

I’ve never been one to watch the Olympics with much interest. But when I saw an opportunity to experience ski jumping in virtual reality, I jumped at the chance. The thought of flying through the air at incredible heights equally terrified and intrigued me, and I couldn’t wait to try Ski Jumping Pro VR from Yippee Entertainment and Kalypso Media. The game feels like a good start, but definitely needs a bit more polish to encourage continued play. It also suffers from a weak tutorial and a difficulty that makes it inaccessible for many players. But for the price of admission, it’s not a terrible investment.

Might As Well Jump!

Ski Jumping Pro VR uses the PlayStation Move controllers to simulate the sport. You are judged on a number of small actions when completing a jump. The first revolves around your timing when releasing from the top of the hill. You hold both controllers vertically in the air while waiting for a countdown timer. When it gets to “1”, you pull them straight down, simulating pushing off the wall. Next is the downhill run. Here you must balance yourself by holding the controllers straight up again, raising or lowering each to keep yourself centered on the track. The more centered you are, the higher the score.

Next comes the release. At this point, you must raise the controllers high in the air and spread your arms in a “V” shape. This is similar to how a real ski jumper would move his or her skis to extend the length of their jump. Finally, you must bring the Move controllers down to stick a landing. Unfortunately, if you fail this part of the jump, all of your points are negated completely, and you end up with a score of zero.

It’s All Downhill From Here

This is the extent of the gameplay present in Ski Jumping Pro VR. Yes, it’s very complicated and takes quite a bit of precision to get quality scores. But I felt as if the game asked too much of me, particularly in landing. I don’t know if I struggled because of my lack of skill or because I was using inferior hardware. As of this writing, I have yet to successfully land on my feet even a single time.

The tutorial is incredibly basic and only gives you a vague idea of what you’re supposed to do in each stage of a jump. For a game that requires a great amount of precise movement, I would have appreciated a bit more direction. It’s deflating to be punished for not finishing the most difficult task in the game. Getting a goose egg despite doing everything else will make a player less likely to push forward and get better. You need some semblance of success in order to drive you forward

Ski Jumping Pro VR Final Verdict

I wish I had more positive things to say about this title. It had the potential to be something I really enjoyed. I was hoping for a brief sensation of flight, and instead I received a frustrating control scheme without any satisfaction. Perhaps the experience would have been better on a superior platform, but I can’t say I enjoyed it on PSVR very much at all. Hopefully tweaks will be made in future titles with an easier barrier of entry, but this feels like nothing more than a good start. The visuals are serviceable and there’s a ton to unlock, but I have very little desire to push forward for any of it. I have a hard time recommending this title unless you have far more patience and/or love for the sport.

This review is based on a PS4 (PSVR) copy of Ski Jumping Pro VR provided by Kalypso Media for coverage purposes. It is also available on Steam VR.