PSVR 2, Sony’s second take on their virtual reality device has been released and already we’ve seen a lot of games we’re hyped for. While the launch window of the games was a bit questionable, we can’t deny that there are a lot of solid titles to enjoy and one of them, Honey’s anime, caught our eye almost immediately! Clearly inspired by ’80s anime like Akira, Runner by developer Truant Pixel is a love letter to the days of early sci-fi anime like Akira and Macross. We’ve played several hours of this on-rails arcade-like title, but is it worth buying the nearly $600 PSVR 2 headset or should you load up on some old anime and get too close to the screen? We find out in our review of Runner for PSVR 2!

RUNNER’s story is very simple and to be honest, it doesn’t deserve much attention. Your goal is to take control of Mina, grab your futuristic motorcycle, don your two guns, and ride through the city to escape the hordes of cops aiming to take you down! The focus of Runner is to drive and survive through a city full of vehicles and enemies/checkpoints… simple as that. There is a lot of deep information about Runner but to see what we mean, you will have to keep reading as we discuss an added bonus when you buy Runner! Returning to the gameplay. Runner is very simple. With your fancy new PSVR 2 controllers, you have controls for a bike that can shoot different ordnance, and two guns that use up energy. When you race on highways you can gain energy to heal damage to your bike and with enough energy, you can go into a matrix-like mode where you can replicate both of the guns you have on your bike And can be heavy on his pursuers. The gameplay never really deviates from this formula, and there’s rarely a major enemy standing in your way when you’re on the run. As you progress through the runner you will gain new weapons, upgrades and abilities that will make survival easier and you will need it if you want to complete this short but tough VR title.

We’re not usually the kind of people who judge a book by its cover, but we can’t deny that Runner was one of those purchases we made because of the cover. From the trailer to the intro sequence, RUNNER appeals to our old otaku days when we used to watch those cool sci-fi anime on Saturdays or via VHS rented from Blockbuster. From the art to the music, which was mostly done by Fat Bard, Runner screams old anime and that makes it that much easier to jump into.

Here at Honey’s Anime, we won’t deny that many VR games give us extreme motion sickness. While the PSVR 2 also gave us some moments of bad nausea, especially when we played a game about kayaking, surprisingly RUNNER was quite easy to stomach! Yes, we did feel a bit sick when our gaming sessions lasted an hour or two, but the Runner’s use of minimal movement made it easy to play for longer sessions. Does it get rid of motion sickness completely? No. Again, you’ll no doubt have this if PSVR 1 or 2 already bothers you a bit, but RUNNER can be played with minimal issues, at least for us.

You might be surprised when you download Runner and see a separate download as Runner: Prelude appears. No, you didn’t get cheats for the two games but are instead getting a prequel VN—an experience similar to that found in Ghostwire: Tokyo—with fully voiced segments and a solid soundtrack! The prologue isn’t a very long VN, but it does a good job of giving you more depth on the world of VICE, a main character in RUNNER, and his purpose in this tech-heavy future.